Devastor 2 Walkthrough - Multiband Distortion Unit

In this tutorial, we walk through Devastor 2 – the updated multiband distortion unit from the excellent D16.

Devastor 2 is the second generation of D16’s first FX Plugin from the SilverLine Collection series. Devastor is a deceptively simple yet remarkable Multiband Distortion Unit. It is an enhanced version of the distortion unit you can find in Phoscyon, but with full control over multiband processing. This elevates its sonic mangling capabilities to an entirely new level!

The plug-in consists of four essential blocks:

Dynamics-flattener module (one-knob controlled input signal compressor)

Diode-clipper distortion

Three multi-mode filter sections

Optionally activated signal limiter

The plug-in offers nine different connection topologies between its filters and diode-clipper. Filters can 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.

Devastor’s filters are not simply the peaking EQ type which are commonly used in classic multiband distortion units: rather, they are like those found in analog synthesizers (low pass, high pass, band pass and band reject) with adjustable resonance and cutoff parameters. As a result, Devastor has a completely unique sound. Just check out the factory content and hear for yourself!

Devastor can be used to distort and enhance a wide range of sounds, from full-on acid synth sounds to guitar fuzz or an analog amp with speaker combo. It can even be used with drums to make them sound dirtier and more dynamic! Devastor isn’t just good at creating distorted, monster sounds: it can also be used subtly to improve the timbre and character of gentler sounds. For example, reducing the preamp gain, increasing the threshold, and selecting a soft-knee for the dynamics will bring out more warmth and detail in a sound without introducing distortion.

When designing Devastor, we applied special antialiasing techniques to the output signal to make sure it was devoid of aliasing (one of the reasons why digital distortion units can sound so cold and un-musical). As a result, Devastor has a warm, musical, and very high quality sound.

We would like to invite you to listen the audio examples to whet your appetite and to check out the demo version for yourself if you need any more convincing. Devastor uses algorithms of such high quality that you’d be forgiven in a blind test for wondering if the sound has somehow been sent from the computer to an external analog distortion unit and back into the computer again!