Shimmering distortion

Distortion is a perennial tool for adding energy and destroying sounds. But it comes in many flavours…

> Step by step 7. Exploring distortion with RP Distort CM

1

You can choose to distort any sound you like, but if you’re trying to break boundaries you might want to avoid obvious candidates like guitars and basses, and head for beats, vocals and synths. Let’s see what mayhem we can create with a simple plugin and beat loop. 2

Rob Papen RP Distort CM has five classic distortions – fuzz, overdrive, rectify, two-band overdrive and amp simulator. Load this up across a beat and you’ll find these five types offer an impressive choice of flavours. Nevertheless, the plugin has lots of parameters, so start by loading up the Default option from the preset menu. 3

Head for the distortion section and from the drop-down, choose Fuzz. You’ll have Volume and four further parameters. Leave the Pre-boost and Normalize in place but use the Volume to adjust overall output level. Now, focus on the frequency and amount controls. 4

At max frequency and amount, the effect focuses on the high frequencies and completely mashes our beat loop, leaving it thin and squelchy. Gradually sweep the frequency down to focus on different aspects of the loop. We like zoning in on the kick or snare. 5

Next up, for full-on tonal alteration, load up the amp simulation setting. Change the type parameter and you’ll see you have a number of cabinet types, then simply dial up the distortion amount to taste. Our favourite here is the suitably small Combo setting. 6

Multiband distortion might seem like overkill but it gives much more control. Load RP Distort CM’s two-band overdrive option and you have independent high/low controls, an adjustable split frequency and overall mix balance between the two. Try mashing up the lows and mids of a synth bass sound, keeping the highs relatively clean.