Dist Coldfire
The latest effect plug-in from Arturia is advertised as a „dual distortion reactor“plug-in from Arturia - that sounds very much like sounds just like our taste! Already the first time we tested it, we could be sure, that basslines become as fat as the biceps of the Hulk, riffs as biting as Venom and beats as hard as the hammer of Thor. But is it possible to control this sound power? We take a closer look at the plug-in.
Dist Coldfire integrates two distortion units with a total of 11 algorithms, including analog-modeled types such as tape, tube, transistor, transformer, germanium and force. On the other hand, there are also five digital algorithms at the start: Rectifier, bit crusher, bit inverter, wavefolder and waveshape. Very versatile sonic results are immediately possible with one distortion module, especially since many algorithms feature different types. You can give electric guitars and basses powerful distortion and drums more punch, give vocals more presence with the warm tube saturation, or make synth sounds scream or turn them into grainy textures with the bitcrusher. It gets really interesting when you combine both distortion modules, where the routing can be adjusted as desired. In addition to serial and parallel routing, there are also stereo, Mid/Side and band split modes. The latter mode allows two-band processing with adjustable crossover frequency. While this cannot replace a more flexible multiband design, such as in FabFilter‘s Saturn, it still offers great potential for experimentation.
Both distortion units have their own pre- and post-filters. While the post-filters are designed as a simple combination of high and low pass, the pre-filters score with a flexible multimode design with adjustable resonance. In addition to the usual suspects, comb filters are also available. With the comb filter modes and the feedback module, you can also create phaser effects or tuned flanging; and even clanging delay effects are possible. In addition, Dist Coldfire‘s scalable control surface features a Dynamics module with Compressor, Multi-Band and Limiter modes that can be placed in the signal path before or after the distortion units. This is ideally suited for making signals even louder or giving them more pop, whereby the OTT mode of the Multiband Compressor is particularly impressive. And the compressor is a real asset, especially for drums and percussion.
A remarkable set of features, isn‘t it? It gets even more exciting when you enter the Advanced section, which hides six modulation slots. LFOs, function generators, envelope followers and step sequencers are available to modulate almost any parameter, allowing for very lively sound variations and dynamic effects. The assignment is quick and easy with the mouse. It‘s just a pity that the LFOs don‘t allow audio rate modulation. The plugin gets plus points for the scalable interface, which has been thought-out in detail and even has an undo/redo and an A/B comparison function, as well as the excellent preset library featuring more than 150 presets.
Verdict
Dist Coldfire is not only powerful like Hulk, but also cunning like Iron Man and flexible like Mr. Fantastic, making it a real superhero in your plugin folder. This tool masters an amazing range of classic saturation and decay effects in excellent quality. Not least of all, thanks to the digital types, the plug-in is also suitable for striking LoFi effects or even for total sound destruction. Thanks to the possibility of combining, filtering and modulating two distortion types, a variety of dynamic and experimental effects can also be achieved. For example, gate, stutter, glitch, stereo and exciter effects and rhythmic filter rides can also be achieved. Although the plug-in offers a remarkably flexible set of features, it remains easy to use. The only small drawback here is the lack of a MIDI Learn function.
Developer: Arturia
Web: www.arturia.com / www.tomeso.de Price: 99 Euro
Format: VST2, AU, AAX, NKX