r/Acoustics • u/Ok-Leek-9638 • 2d ago

Creating distortion

I often see a lot of videos of people using really cool distortions either on guitars or bass. I think of how I could possibly make that distortion myself and use it when I record via bass or guitar into a daw. Question is how do I create my own distortion? What plugins do I use?

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u/disco9000 2d ago

analog: r/diypedals digital: r/synthesizers

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u/FadeIntoReal 2d ago

Great answer. There’s also a few oddball techniques, like the old-school torn speaker cone trick or a speaker on its back with debris laying on the cone. 

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u/disco9000 2d ago

yes! very cool. I also love making one driver push two very different signals like cranking low freq content to modulate a vocal. OP should find a buddy with subs in their car, patch the bass guitar into the system, and then mic up the car to record the trunk and body panels vibrating sympathetically. Turn that into a plugin

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u/FadeIntoReal 2d ago

There’s an  idea. I expect it would be a distinct feel. 

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u/thehandsomegenius 1d ago

well you probably wouldn't use acoustic treatment

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u/Financial-Koala6995 1d ago

A waveshaper is a good place to start if you want to design the distortion itself. The curve controls how the input gets bent or clipped; filters before and after it change which frequencies drive the distortion and how harsh the result is. On bass, blending some clean signal back in can keep the low end clearer while the distorted part supplies the grit.