Distortion Flashcards
Understand the different types of distortion
Types of distortion
Overdrive
bit crushing
Vinyl crackle
Overdrive
The clipping of the signal
Once an amp runs out of headroom (The amount of volume by which the circuit can amplify signal) it clips
Driving an amplifier beyond it’s limit causes overdrive
Bit crushing
Take place on a digital signal
Reduces the bit depth of a sampled piece of audio
Results in a grainy sound
More on bit crushing
Reduces the accuracy of the digital recreation of the analogue signal
Linked…but separate…is sample rate reduction
Also recuses the accuracy in the other axis
Can be used subtly or with extreme settings
Vinyl crackle
Vinyl records are a physical media
Susceptible to dust and grit getting into the grooves
The needle picks up these bits of dust, creates noise and reduces quality
Scratches on a record, break the audio and add additional noise
More on vinyl crackle
Can be used to make audio sound artificially old
When combined with a BPF can sound even older
Add subtle grit to a performance
Portishead pressed whole album to vinyl, covered in dust and re-recorded
Can now be done with a plugin
Tape noise
Tape machines are mechanical
Susceptible to electrical interference
Noise can end up on the recording
Caused by poorly maintained machines/electrics
Normally a low hum sound
More on tape noise
Other forms of tape degradation included
-Wow
-Flutter
There are forms of modulation
Caused by changes in motor speed or poorly maintained motors etc.
Often combined with tape noise for lo-fi
