What Is Distortion in Synthesis?

Distortion is any process that changes the shape of your waveform — typically by clipping, folding, or otherwise crushing it. While it’s often associated with guitar amps, distortion in synths is a powerful sound design tool that adds harmonics, character, and punch.

Even subtle saturation can make a flat sound come alive, while heavier distortion can push your signal into wild territory — aggressive basses, broken textures, crunchy percussion, and more.

Types of Distortion

• Saturation: Mild, often analog-style overdrive that gently compresses and colors the signal. Warm and rich.
• Clipping: Hard limit on signal amplitude. Can be soft (rounded) or hard (brutal). Adds harmonics fast.
• Wavefolding / Waveshaping: Technically a form of distortion — bends the waveform instead of clipping it. Adds complexity.
• Bitcrushing: Lowers bit depth or sample rate. Harsh, digital, gritty.
• Tube / Tape Emulation: Saturation that mimics analog gear. Often compresses and fattens up the signal.

Use Cases in Patching

• Boost Thin Sounds: Give sines or basic waveforms more edge and harmonic content.
• Beef Up Bass: Add presence, fuzz, or “woof” to low-end signals.
• Dirty Drums: Smash your kicks or hats for extra aggression and texture.
• Signal Chain Shaping: Put distortion before or after a filter for different results — pre-filter distorts raw harmonics; post-filter keeps it shaped.

Distortion isn’t just about making things louder or meaner, its an expressive tool you can use in modular or desktop synth setups.