Distorted Realities

Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Peter Wetherbee

Not just for heavy guitar, distortion flows everywhere through the world of music; learn to use it like a warm breeze or an icy storm

We all know what it sounds like to run a sound through the cranked-up amplifiers or overdrive pedals guitarists use; basically, it's the same thing that happens when you overload your microphone inputs while recording and the meters peak too long in the red: The sound gets dirty, fuzzy, grungy and gritty. That is commonly known as distortion, and the same qualities of harmonic saturation that are revered by guitarists can be a bane to recording engineers and home recordists who are simply trying to get a good, clean track recorded.

Distortion, overdrive and clipping are all variations on the same theme, and the result is a saturated signal that sustains and resonates with overtones and character. To overdrive a sound is to crank up its essence and saturate it with its own harmonic content; a cooking analogy would be stewing something in its own juices. This textural modification of a sound can be horrible or sublime, but careful filtering of distortion to remove or enhance certain frequency ranges can make all the difference between magic and mayhem.

Much has been made about the difference between tube and solid-state gear, analog versus digital, warmth versus accuracy, and the qualities that define good sound and bad. In most cases, those distinctions relate to the degree and qualities of the distortion generated. In a tube microphone preamp, for example, the kind of “warmth” that is most highly valued is a subtle distortion characteristic that softens peaks, clips gently and enhances the character of the microphone or instrument it is transforming to a recordable level. The staggering array of new, handmade boutique tube gear available — as well as great-sounding digital products that are devoted to emulating the quirky funkiness of old-school “warmth” — mean that the right tools are available to anyone who cares to learn how to use them.

LICENSE TO SHRED

Extreme distortion over the years has been the realm mostly of guitarists, who worship harmonic overdrive and saturation with evangelical fervor. Early tube guitar amplifiers made by Mesa Boogie — along with other amps such as the less versatile but no less fearsome Marshall stacks favored by Jimi Hendrix — in many ways put overdriven and sustaining lead guitar sounds on the map in the early '70s (think Carlos Santana). An early innovation on Boogies was a five-band graphic EQ that allowed a remarkable amount of tone shaping, using filters to tame otherwise uncontrollable feedback and saturated tone. When you have a sound that is fat and juicy, a flanger or phaser in the signal path really has something to chew on, resulting in some fine sonic pornography. (See audio examples 1 through 3.)

SPIRIT OF '76

Now with over-the-top use of distortion out of the way, let's turn down from 11 to some more subtle instances of distortion to expand upon. These techniques for adding texture and harmonic content can bring some fresh perspective to the traditional tasks of recording and mixing a song.

On the pristine, superhigh-end, pop-record side of things (Mariah, Celine, other superdivas), many producers and engineers agree that the best compressor to put on a lead vocal is the venerable UA 1176. It's one of the great compressors in the history of music recording, but it stands out is because it imparts a very sweet musical bite to a lead vocal track — particularly to a female voice. That is a subtle but effective use of distortion in a place few might expect to find it, and it is a sort of old-school predecessor to an aural exciter-type of effect; it is worth noting that aural exciter circuits actually add tiny bits of distortion at high-mid frequencies to create an extra sparkle on a sound. (See audio examples 4 through 5.)

There are several digital emulations of the 1176, and most of them capture its enhancing quality fairly well; this effect is worth checking out on just about any midrange-or-higher frequency track that you want to sit up-front.

On the opposite end of the frequency spectrum, one of my favorite compressors to use to record a down-and-dirty DI bass track is the FMR Audio RNC 1776, which is capable of an unusually fast release time that distorts in a way that imparts a wonderfully natural-sounding fatness. (See audio examples 6 through 7.)

Listening to the radio in 2008, our ears are increasingly accustomed to hearing different types of idiosyncratic distortion from tools currently in vogue; extreme settings on the ever-present Antares Auto-Tune plug-in, for example, bring a kind of resonance to a signal by adding a sort of sine-wave power, which bites and cuts. Many mainstream pop records of the last eight or more years use it overtly on vocals, which again underlines how distortion is used in unexpected places. Add a little tasteful overdrive effect to a healthy dose of Auto-Tune, and a simple background voice or strings can become truly enigmatic. Especially in the freewheeling, constantly innovating and rule-breaking worlds of hip-hop, ambient, techno and all forms of deep club music (which in turn influence the larger world of pop music), pushing these various envelopes leads to creative satisfaction. (See audio examples 8 through 10.)

Want to use this article? Click here for options!

I want to SUBSCRIBE to remix

REMIX RESOURCES

Download PDF files of glossaries, charts and mixing tutorials to hang up in your studio as quick-and-easy references for your recording process.

POLL QUESTION