Crowbait released GnomeDistort, a freeware distortion plugin for Windows and macOS (although the macOS version needs to be compiled manually).
The developer describes GnomeDistort as a “weird little distortion plugin,” and I’m very inclined to agree. This is an unusual distortion that doesn’t really conform to the notions of most pedal emulations.
What is GnomeDistort?
It is the debut VST from the developer and aims to go beyond the usual “tame” distortion plugins you see on the market. To this end, this gnome-themed distortion is a little more unruly and crazed than you might expect.
The interface is reminiscent of any pedal you might see, especially those doom and death metal-themed distortions with the funny branding on them. You’ve got a low-cut and high-cut filter, each with a selectable slope.
Alongside the filters, you’ll find a peak filter with an adjustable frequency, gain, and bandwidth control.
The real meat of the plugin is the distortion controls, and you have a massive amount of pre and post-gain applicable to any given signal. There is an option to bias it, though it doesn’t sound like your typical tube-based distortion.
The developer set out not to emulate any specific functions of typical waveshapers, so the actual sound is quite different to the ears.
On guitars, you can emulate functions like a boost, fuzz, or just generally hard clip the signal in new ways. I found quite a bit of success just placing it in front of the Rockerverb emulation on my Helix and letting things fly.
GnomeDistort is an absolute monster on things like acid synths and Reese basses, where that peak filter can really poke things through with additional harmonics with ease.
You’ve got a variety of different distortion algorithms to play with, which lend themselves well to a variety of materials.
I wouldn’t use it as a mix bus saturator by any means, but for single instruments in more aggressive music, it would work quite well.
As it stands, this is an interesting distortion. I don’t know if I would rely upon it frequently, but if you need to just absolutely destroy something with gain, this fits the bill quite handily.
The primary binary for GnomeDistort is available for Windows. The developer does have a build available for Mac computers, but you’ll need a copy of Xcode to compile it for your system.
If you like distortion plugins, check out our free BPB Dirty Filter Plus.
Download: GnomeDistort (FREE)
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