Basic Distortion Operation - Source Audio Aftershock User Manual

Basic Distortion Operation
Distortion i s a t ype o f e ffect t hat w orks b y d istorting t he i nput s ignal. D istortion c an o ccur i n a v ariety
of w ays a nd r esults i n a w ide v ariety o f o utputs. T his t able s hows a s imple r epresentation o f w hat
some d ifferent t ypes o f d istortion l ook l ike.
Clean s ignal: W ith n o d istortion, t he g uitar
signal p asses t hrough t he c ircuit u naffected. I n
this e xample, a p ure s ine t one i s u sed a s a t est
signal.
Tube/transistor s aturation ( soft c lipping):
Tube a nd t ransistor a mplifiers e nter a
saturation s tate w hen o verdriven a nd s tart t o
distort t he s hape o f t he s ignal. T his i nvolves
some s oft c lipping a t t he p eaks a nd v alleys o f
the s ignal, a nd m ay b e s ymmetrical o r
asymmetrical i n s hape.
Diode c lipping ( hard c lipping): D iodes c an
clamp o r l imit t he s ignal t o a m aximum l evel.
Overshoot: D epending o n t he c haracteristics
of d iodes a nd t ransistors i n t he c ircuit, t he
signal m ay e xceed i ts n ormal c lipping p oint
before s ettling, w hich i s k nown a s o vershoot.
SA246
Asymmetrical:
Symmetrical:
Symmetrical h ard c lipping: T he s ignal c lips
equally o n t he t op a nd b ottom.
Asymmetrical h ard c lipping: T he s ignal c lips a t
different l evels o n t he t op a nd b ottom.
Aftershock B ass D istortion U ser's G uide 8