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1. Best Free Vst Distortion Plugin
2. Best Guitar Distortion Vst Plugin
3. Best Vst Distortion Plugins

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When I first get started with music production, I wonder why some music producers would want to mess with a distortion effect in their tracks, perhaps, I initially have an understanding that there is a limit for how loud an audio signal can be, once this limit is reached, it would distort and produce an annoying, raspy, fuzzy loud sound that is unwanted for the hearing.

This is where I got it wrong, I was thinking in terms of digital clipping, although not bad as sometimes the DAW peak meter can be somewhat pretentious (use your ear for accurate judgment), but it gets worse when your sound is being cut off when the signal reaches 0 dBFS (full-scale) on a meter, which results in an unsmooth distortion.

Welcome to the world of analog distortion where it is more forgiving in how it distorts when compared to digital, the output waveforms are “rounded” when it reaches the limit. Analog distortion is used creatively by musicians and recording engineers all the time.

Does that mean, you need to buy analog hardware to use a distortion effect, hell no! There are lots of VST plugin emulations that can act as close as possible to the real thing, and honestly, how you use them is strictly a matter of choice, just don’t overdo and trust your ears.

For example, you can use them to warm up your sound, by giving them more character and not too harsh type of sound, and you can also go the other way round, e.g creating an in-your-face, crunchy type of effect. Anyways, it is up to you on how you use it, let’s go over the best free and paid distortion effect VST plugins of the year 2020.

Please use the table of contents to navigate around!

Page Contents

• Distortion Effect Plugins (Paid)
• Chorus Effect Plugins (Free)

Distortion Effect Plugins (Paid)

Starting with…

1.) Trash2 + Expansions

The first giant on our list is the Trash2 distortion plugin by renowned Izotope, this new version is built to feature an entirely new sonic architecture, with optimized performance, pristine sound quality, and better support for modern hosts & formats.

Let’s deep dive into Trash 2 main features:

The edge Trash 2 has over other distortion plugin is that it combines the power of multi-band, dual-stage distortions, and advanced post-filtering for immediate sonic transformation. If you want a warm crunch on the midrange or you want to spice your low end without sacrificing the quality of the sound, then Trash 2 is what you want, it does the job without little to no side effects.

Ideally, you’ll want to use distortion for your guitar or perhaps basses, well, that’s an old story, you can use it for your drums, synths, woodwinds and more as long as it musically connects the rest of the element in the mix.

What if you could design your distortion algorithms? With Izotope Trash 2, you can simply draw in, tweak, and create a plethora of distortions, if you are like me, I’ll go over the 60+ distortion algorithms and adjust to your heart desire.

Creating a distortion algorithm is one thing, morphing sound from one object with the Convolve module is another thing, with this module you can load any .wav or .aiff file into Trash 2, and create a powerful sonic characteristic of your wildest imagination onto any track or instrument., all done with a single mouse click. Also, the Convolve module includes over 100 impulse responses—a collection of amps, objects, animal sounds, and mouth shapes that are ready and waiting to transform your sound.

Another interesting thing about Trash 2 is that you can control the frequencies you want into distortion or tame the ones you don’t want. On top of that, you get over 20+ sweepable filters for tons of tonal options that range from clean and warm to fat and juicy to harsh and clipping.

What I do not like about Trash 2 is that there are lots of options to play with, just too many to count, so, if you are looking for an advance distortion plugin, then Trash 2 is the way to go, if you are looking for something simple and snappy, then I’ll recommend using either Ravage or Distortion Snapin, which are both covered on this list.

Key Features:

• Distort in ways you never dreamed with the Trash module’s 60+ distortion algorithms, perfect for transforming your sound into something never before heard
• Design your unique distortions, from massive to mild and everything in between, with a new, customizable, multiband Waveshaper
• Let your tracks inhabit any space or object with the new Convolve module. Choose from over 100 impulse responses or load your own to put your bass in a washing machine or your keys in a cave
• Find a new voice: make your audio speak and growl with two redesigned Filter modules, each one featuring new vowel formant filters, screaming peaks, node modulations, and more
• Start trashing your audio immediately with an extensive new preset library and an ear-friendly Limiter that ensures you can play without fear
• A Sampling of 30+ Impulses: Voodoo, Muck, Gravel, Big Wheel, Magnum, Taxicab, Powerman, Ignite…
• A Peek at 70 Patches: Electric Blaze, Hard Cider, Parasite, Filter Shred, Bleached, Ugly Couch…

System Requirements:

• Mac: OS X 10.8.5 Mountain Lion – macOS 10.15 Catalina
• PC: Win XP (32–bit Service Pack 3) – Win 10
• AAX (64–bit), AU, RTAS (32–bit), VST, VST3

Let’s get onto the next one…

2.) Subvert

Subvert comes bundled with a plethora of features to create a great distortion effect. It incorporates 5 effects: multimode distortion, FM ring modulator, digitizer, metallizer and multimode filter. Also, it offers three parallel channels of each effects chain as well as a rich modulation routing options.

With its multi-channel layout and per-effect bypass option, you can readjust the order of effects in each chain in a variety of creative ways. On top of that, there are 15 effects processors, global EQ, numerous modulation options, and global randomizer.

Lastly, it has a multi-mode filter which gives you the possibility to set up multi-band effects patches where each channel is processing a different frequency range of the incoming signal. Bypassing certain effects within a chain allows you to globally reconfigure the order of effects, thereby giving you many options in setting up parallel and serial processing patches.

Unfortunately, there are way too many options in this plugin and a little hard on the eye, so, if you need something really simple, you might want to check other plugins on this list, other than that, it is a powerful plugin and gives you the flexibility to create an advanced distortion effect.

Key Features:

• Multi-Channel Distortion
• 3 Parallel Multi-Effects Chains
• Extensive Routing Options
• Extensive Modulation Options
• Global 3-Band Equalizer
• Scalable User Interface
• Win/Mac VST/AU 32/64bit

System Requirements:

• Mac: OS X 10.8 or higher (32 & 64-Bit / PPC not supported)
• Win: Windows 8 or higher (32 & 64-Bit)
• Minimum 2 GB RAM
• Minimum recommended CPU: Core 2 Duo, 2GHz
• CPU with SSE2 support
• VST/AU

3.) Ravage

Ravage is one of the most renowned and simple distortion plugins out there, it features six modeled distortion algorithms: Tube, Digital, Diode, Linear Fold, Zero Sq and Rectify, each with a different personality for adding grit and dirt to audio.

It also has a Drive control for pushing the signal harder, and depending on the level you aiming for, you can also experiment with the Destroy parameter for achieving an in-your-face type of distortion, just don’t overdo. There is also a high and low pass filter, as well as a Dark/Bright slider to weight the distortion’s energy.

One of my favorite features of this plugin is the Ravage’s Movement panel, which lets you assign modulators to one of eight destinations including Drive and Pan. You also can customize an LFO’s movement using nodes and curves to whip up customized patterns. To take your modulation further, Ravage offers playhead reversal, waveform smoothing, and pulse width manipulation.

Key Features:

• Heat things up with 6 distortion types: Digital, Tube, Diode, Lin Fold, Zero Sq and Rectify
• Add movement to parameters using custom-drawn modulation shapes
• Destroy parameter pushes the signal even harder through the distortion processor
• Pan the distortion across the stereo field
• Tailor the distortion response with filtering, input/output gain, and dark/bright weighting
• Reverse, Smooth and adjust Pulse Width for modulator signals
• Auto output control compensates level when Drive is increased
• Oversampling is set intelligently behind the scenes to ensure the best sound quality

System Requirements:

• Mac: 10.12 – 10.14 (Catalina not supported)
• Windows: 7, 8 or 10 (32 & 64-bit)
• VST/VST3/AU/AAX (Pro Tools 11.0.2 or higher)
• RAM: 8 GB RAM or more is recommended. Plus at least 8 GB hard disk space for installation.
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 X2 or newer.
• Sample Rates: Supported sample rates: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz, in both mono and stereo.

4.) Screamo

Screamo is an intuitive distortion plugin that features a few numbers of knobs to get a superb distortion effect, let’s get to know some of its features:

Smear: This is two resonant shelving filters that producers a talk-box-like effect when used with restraint or full-on screamer when pushed hard. You have the option to play with 3 different styles of smear effect: upward, downward or two-way frequency modulation.

Up next is the Drive control which makes your drum loops or synth cut through the mix, this won’t work for all synth or percussion loop for sure, you just have to pay careful attention to details when applying the control. For example, you can push your signal from subtle saturation to extreme overdrive.

Also, you don’t have to worry about syncing, the Smear, Drive, and Makeup controls are all synced together allowing you to create tempo-synced scream effects that would normally be very complex to achieve with normal plugin routing.

I also love the way you can add more control to the distortion, for example, Screamo features the Shape, Speed and Smooth knobs for controlling and designing how you want the waveform to look like, It’s possible to create a slowly evolving talk-box effect or crazy fluttering overdrive – and everything in between.

Key Features:

• 25 Creative Presets for one-click transformations
• 3 Smear modes
• 3 Distortion types
• 5 Sync modulation wave shapes with adjustable start points
• Sync speed control with straight, triplet and dotted rhythms
• Real-time output level display and gain
• Full PDF Manual & Tutorial video

System Requirements:

• VST Windows 7 or higher (32 / 64 bit)
• VST / AU Mac OSX 10.7 or higher (64-bit only)
• AAX – ProTools 11 or higher

5.) Devastor 2

Devastor 2 is a plugin by the D16 Group, and it is built with multiband distortion unit in mind, it has full control over multiband processing, which can greatly enhance your sound,

Best Free Vst Distortion Plugin

The way Devastor work is that it has nine different connection topologies between its filters and diode-clipper. So, you can either process the signal before or after it gets fed into the diode-clipper, but some of the configurations even allow the filters to work alongside the clipper, which greatly increases the possible sonic palette.

Whether you plan on using it on a percussion loop, guitar, synth and whatever you can think, it can be used to improve the character of the sounds, just make sure you are gently applying it, this way, you can achieve more of a warmth and detail in your sound without introducing unwanted distortions, but if you are looking for something rugged and jagged, you can also push up the knobs accordingly.

Another great thing about Devastor is that D16 Group has built special antialiasing techniques to the output signal to make sure it was devoid of aliasing, this way, it sounds more interesting, warm, and musical, enjoy away.

Key Features:

• Probably the best diode-clipper emulation on the market today
• Analog-modeled filters of extremely high quality (refined filter models)
• Dynamics flattener (with improved peak detection and more natural envelopes)
• Optional output limiter
• Tag-based preset browser
• Two alternative GUI sizes
• MIDI-learn functionality throughout
• 9 different topologies of connections for filters and the diode-clipper
• 64bit internal processing
• Ultra-low aliasing output

System Requirements:

• Win: OS version Win 7, Win 8, Win 10
• Mac: OS version 10.7 and later
  
• CPU 1.5 GHz with SSE (Multicore system 2.0 GHz recommended)
• RAM 4 GB (8 GB Recommended)
• Software AU / VST / AAX compatible host application (32bit or 64bit)

6.) FabFilter Saturn Distortion Unit

The next distortion plugin on our list is the Saturn Distortion Unit by Fabfilter, it offers a range of numerous high-quality distortion models, which are inspired by the vintage sound of tubes, tape, and guitar amps. To top that, you get three creative distortion styles, with which you can smudge, stretch, crush, rectify, and clip your sounds in weird and unimaginable ways.

There is also a multiband design and per-band feedback module, which can help you narrow down on how you want the distortion applied to your track, on top of all this, you also have the ability to blend in modulation for a great warm and superb distortion effect.

Key Features:

• Sixteen different distortion styles, from subtle saturation to heavy guitar amps and bit crushing
• Multiband processing (up to 6 bands)
• Per-band drive, mix, feedback, dynamics, tone, and level controls
• Per-band solo and mute options
• Optional HQ mode (8x oversampling)
• Mid/side processing
• Interactive multiband display
• Easy-to-use interface, using our innovative what-you-use-is-what-you-see concept
• Endless modulation options, with all the 16-step XLFOs, XY controllers, envelope generators, envelope followers
• Easy drag-and-drop modulation with 50-slot modulation matrix
• Over 150 presets
• Modulation source signal visualization
• Interactive MIDI Learn
• Unique per-component presets
• Available in VST, VST3, Audio Units, AAX Native and AudioSuite formats (all both 64-bit and 32-bit), as well as RTAS (32-bit only)

System Requirements:

Windows:

• 32-bit: Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP
• 64-bit: Windows 8, 7 or Vista (x64)
• VST 2/3 host or Pro Tools

Mac OS X:

• 32-bit: OS X 10.5 or higher
• 64-bit: OS X 10.6 or higher
• AU or VST 2/3 host or Pro Tools
• Intel processor

7.) Distortion Snapin

Every kiloHearts plugin I have tried always have a form of simplicity, and to be honest, they are good and straight to the point. Distortion Snapin is one of their product and offers 5 different distortion shapes, which can be used to add a tinge of edge or rip things apart.

It is as simple as that, if you need something complex, then you can check one of the distortion plugins above.

System Requirements:

• CPU: 2 GHz or faster
• Memory: 1 GB or more
• Operating System: Windows (7 or newer) or Mac OS X (10.7 or newer)
• A VST / Audio Unit / AAX compatible DAW
• Supported formats: AAX / AU / VST2 / Snapin

Chorus Effect Plugins (Free)

8.) Temper Distortion

Temper is a modern digital distortion plugin by the Team at Creative Intent, it features a rich saturation stage and a unique phase distortion. You can use the variable saturation curve to add warmth and edge to your sound and let the phase distortion bring character and clarity through your mix.

It also features a simple resonant lowpass filter and a feedback path to drive the intensity of the tone.

If you are a plugin developer, I would want you to know that the open source is widely available, you can contribute and glance through the code, you can even the tweak it to your use cases, that is the beauty of open-sourcing.

Video Sneak Peek:

Features:

• Unique Phase Algorithm: Temper delivers a unique phase distortion algorithm that adds energy and clarity to any element of your mix.
• Before & After Visualisation: Temper’s design features a real-time comparison of your input and output audio spectrum to help you see your sound.
• Multiple Formats: Available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX for both Windows and Mac OS X.

System Requirements:

• Windows: 64-bit VST2, VST3, AAX
• macOS: 64-bit AU, VST2, VST3, AAX
• Microsoft Windows 8.1 or newer, and
• MacOS 10.9 or newer. Note: Catalina
• compatibility and AAX support for Remnant is coming soon.

9.) Rangebastard (Free Distortion Treble Booster Plugin)

When it comes to emulating distortion effects, I give Distorque Audio 90% rating, and now they present Rangebastard which is an emulation of a Dallas Rangemaster with added controls for tweaking or for use as a full-range booster, an overdrive, and more. Also, it supports both mono, and stereo, and has 2x oversampling.

About Rangematser

The Rangemaster was a Germanium transistor treble boost developed in the 1960s. It and similar effects have been used by Eric Claption, Brian May, and many more great guitarists. It’s most often used to drive a distorted tube amp into more distortion, while boosting the upper-mids for a screaming lead sound.

Features:

• emulation of a Dallas Rangemaster
• overdrive
• full-range booster
• 2x oversampling always on
• Input Level – This is a volume control on the input of the effect. You can adjust this to compensate for different pickups, different input levels, etc. It can also be cranked to overdrive the simulated transistor.
• Input Filtering – This adjusts the amount of filtering that is used on the input, which gives the ‘treble boost’ frequency response. Turn it down for a full-range boost, or put it at maximum for the normal Rangemaster sound.
• Treble – This allows you to roll off some of the high ends. This is useful to avoid harsh distortion if you are using the effect as an overdrive. You can also turn this down along with the Input filtering control for a mid or bass boost.
• Transistor – This lets you pick between two simulated transistors
• Stereo/Mono – This switches the effect between Stereo and Mono operation.
• Grid Current – Turning this above zero activates an emulation of tube grid limiting clipping. That’s the tube distortion caused by the Rangemaster overdriving the input of a tube amp. The higher the control, the more distortion.
• Pickup – This emulates the interaction between the Rangemaster and guitar pickups. For the most accurate tone, set this to match the kind of pickup that you’re using. The ‘None’ setting turns off the pickup filtering, emulating running a buffer before the effect or using an active pickup.

System Requirements:

• PC and VST only.

10.) TAL-DAC (Free Bit-Crusher)

TAL-DAC is a free bit crusher and sample rate reducer by TAL Software.

It is based on the TAL-Sampler sound engine, and emulates a sample recorded on a low sample rate with reduced bit depth, and upsamples it to the desired host sample rate.

Also, it is possible to choose different algorithms for the upsampling process to emulate the characteristics of different samplers.

Features:

• A low and high shelf EQ together with an AMP Drive in the reconstruction section allows it to approximate the sound character of different sampler AMP’s.
• Also, it is possible to emulate hot recorded signals using the input volume knob.
• This plug-in can be used on a wide range of audio material, but it’s especially useful and authentic on drum sounds.
• Recording stage with input volume control and soft clipper (adds odd harmonics).
• Variable recording sample rate (1000Hz-44100Hz).
• Variable recording bit-depth (4bit-16bit) with different algorithms (mu-law, mu-law delta, linear).
• Reconstruction section with different reconstruction methods (hold, variable, linear, S1000/sinc).
• Very steep reconstruction filters (optional).
• AMP drive (add’s even and odd harmonics to the signal).
• A high- and low shelf filter (12dB).
• All non-linear components are 8x oversampled to avoid aliasing.

Last Updated on December 15, 2020 by

I decided to create this post in the hopes that it will help you find the plugins you need in order to create some cool Hardstyle music.

This is only a list of the ones that I found to be the best, but I will also leave a couple links below where you can find loads of other plugins for your projects, both free & premium.

Useful related posts;

Now, without further ado, let’s get into the post.

Trash 2 by iZotope ($99)

When it comes to making Hardstyle you can’t go without having a proper distortion on your Kicks and Basses.

This is where the iZotope Trash comes in.

This plugin offers a great distortion sound with little effort, and it has various presets to make your Kicks, Guitars and Bass stand out.

If in any case you like sound design and playing with effects, it does offer various filters, LFOs, modulations, delay, multiband compression and various other features.

It is currently available for 10-day free trial download on their website, but in case you want to buy this plugin it will cost 99 USD.

Best Guitar Distortion Vst Plugin

Find out more about iZotope Trash 2 here.

Sylenth1 by Lennar Digital ($139)

Now that you have a great Kick and Bass to ride the song, you will need a proper lead, chords, pads and plucks.

This is where I would suggest using Sylenth 1 as it has various presets available
already built into the plugin, or you can download some others as well.

Also, don’t forget that there is an option to do your own sound design and play with existing presets.

This plugin is my favorite as it sounds great right off the bat with little to no additional work/FX needed.

Find out more about Sylenth1 here.

Helix by Audjoo ($75)

This is one more plugin that I love using for sound design.

It has great in-built features that will keep you interested and invested.

It has a great ‘Industrial’ and ‘Grainy’ sound, and if you are looking for this kind of sound, you will be on the right track with this one, that’s for sure.

As for the other features, it has over 100 wavetables available and you always have an option of importing your own.

This Plugin is stereo in and out, which means that it will give you a wider sound.

There are also 3 stages of distortion per voice in the channel, and this is perfect for creating hard leads.

As far as the price for this plugin goes, it’s currently available for 75 USD.

Find out more about Helix by Audjoo here.

Pro Q by FabFilter ($150)

As far as hardstyle music goes, the lower portion of your mid frequencies can get muddy.

This would be the perfect place and time to use some EQ and cut out unnecessary noise and mud.

I recommend this plugin mainly because of its ease of use, sound quality, and just overall awesomeness!

I am certain you will be amazed by how it can affect your music, since it will allow you to hear more room in the mix and make your tracks stay on the normal side of ‘FULL’ sound.

Find out more about the FabFilter Pro Q here.

Ozone by iZotope ($99 – $250)

At some point, you will have to finish and master your song.

I know you guys love to spend weeks, if not months, on one project and I love it too, but we have to wrap up and collect our fame and earnings we deserve.

Here is great place to insert iZotope Ozone 8/9 and let it do its magic .

It has various mini plugins available inside this plugin – Equalizer, Maximizer, Compressor, Stereo Widener, Dynamics, etc.

Also, with this plugin you can just copy the way your favorite tracks are mastered by having it analyze the song, and it will tweak the settings accordingly to master it in a similar fashion.

Best Vst Distortion Plugins

The price for the advanced version of Ozone 9 is 249 USD.

Find out more about Ozone by iZotope here.

Battery 4 by Native Instruments ($99)

Hoping to find some great kicks for Hardstyle? Don’t worry, I’ve got
you covered.

This plugin will give you massive amounts of samples and drum sounds to choose from.

In fact, you could spend days playing around with them and you still won’t be done testing them all.

Also, it offers various features and effects, such as; Pitch modulation, Filters,
Compression, and much more.

This plugin will leave you speechless with how many different features it comes with, and you can even tweak the most basic Kicks and end up with the sound you need.

This plugin is available to try as a Demo version, or you can buy it for 99 USD if you like it.

Find out more about Battery 4 here.

Serum by Xfer Records ($180)

Let’s start with some sound design for your leads, plucks and chords.

This is where Serum is at its strongest; it offers many presets that are great sounding right from the start, and you can always create your own sounds fif you wish to do so.

There are multiple waveforms available and you can also insert your own custom images (yes, images – you and your dog) and it will use those images to create wavetables.

Serum also offers various effects for you to play with, and I would recommend trying out the distortion and some chorus modulations, just to see how you like those.

Find out more about Serum here.

Massive by Native Instruments ($75)

Let’s not forget that you will also be needing to add some basses, and this is where Massive comes in;

Much like Serum, Massive offers various sound design options and presets.

It doesn’t come with as many features as Serum, but for creating nice sounding basslines, it is definitely worth a shot.

Find out more about Massive here.

Valhalla Room by Valhalla DSP ($49)

This is a reverb plugin meant not only for Hardstyle music, but for any type of music.

It’s not a coincidence that many producers in the whole industry use it.

It can go well with you bass sounds, lead sounds and even add a bit of flavor to your kicks.

Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Find out more about Valhalla Room here.

Kombinat Tri by Audio Damage ($49)

This is a three multi-band distortion plugin that you could use if you were looking for a replacement- or cheaper version of iZotope Trash.

This plugin has a price of 49 USD, half of what iZotope Trash is at, yet it offers the same high quality distortion effect and will basically yield a great sound at cheaper price.

As this is a multi-band plugin, you can always choose which portions of the sound will be distorted and which ones won’t.

It can be used as a slight saturator or for creating full blown distortion.

It’s one of those tools that you might end up using a lot more than you think.

Find out more about Kombinat Tri here.

Conclusion

All of the plugins on this list are absolutely fantastic and worth the money.

However, if you prefer to try free software first, make sure to check the posts I listed at the start of the post!

See you one the next one!

Have a wonderful day!