Distortion is one of the most powerful tools at a producer’s disposal. As well as performing obvious functions such as making sounds grittier and louder, distortion, saturation and overdrive effects can be used for such varied purposes as compression and limiting, adding mid-range harmonics and replicating the sound of vintage studio gear.
In this video:
0:00 – Intro
01:30 – Saturator on an 808 sub bass: Adding harmonics for small speakers
06:12 – Saturator on drums: Adding crunch and limiting
07:40 – Erosion on chords & drums: Subtle grit & old-school bitcrushed texture
10:23 – Redux: Old-school sampler effect
12:55 – Creative bass design with Redux: Turning a sine into l;o‑fi bass
14:08 – Overdrive as an exciter: Adding top-end harmonics to muddy drums
16:40 – Pedal on 808 bass: Overdrive, distortion & fuzz
18:30 – Pedal on vocals
20:05 – Dynamic Tube on vocals and drums
23:24 – Live's other distortion effects: what you need to know
24:47 – Using Cabinet to create a 'phone' transition trick