Shaper

Name: Shaper
Author: Kilohearts

by Kilohearts · Distortion · Custom-curve waveshaper

Not rated yet

A free waveshaping distortion from Kilohearts where you draw your own transfer curve or pick one from a factory library.

Overflow modes decide what happens when the signal is driven past the edge of the curve, and the developer says the shaping has minimal aliasing.

Best for: Bass, Keys & Synths, Drums, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap, Metal.

Keywords: free, bass, drums, sound design, synths, CPU-light, extreme, mixing, single-band.

What it does

Shaper is Kilohearts' "Freeform Distortion": "Get all your distortion needs met with your own custom distortion shapes, or choose any shape from the included factory library." It was released as a free plugin in 2024 alongside the paid Shaper Table.

Shape editor: draw a custom distortion curve or load one from the factory library.
Drive: boosts the input into the shaper.
Overflow: chooses whether a signal past the curve's edge repeats the wave, holds the edge value or mirror-repeats.
DC Filter and Mix: a switchable DC filter removes offset from asymmetric shapes, and Mix blends dry and wet.
Snapin use: loads in Phase Plant, Multipass or Snap Heap, where its knobs can be modulated and it can be combined with other Snapins.

It also loads as a Snapin inside Kilohearts' Phase Plant, Multipass and Snap Heap. It is free as part of Kilohearts Essentials.

Source: Kilohearts product page

When to use it

Shaper is the pick when you want to draw your own distortion curve for free, or add a custom waveshaper inside Phase Plant and Snap Heap. Unlike FabFilter Saturn 2 and iZotope Trash, it does not offer multiband distortion and many preset styles, and unlike Kilohearts' own Shaper Table, it does not morph through a wavetable of shapes.

Best for: custom waveshaping on bass, synths and drums, and extreme foldover tones in sound design.
Genres: electronic, hip-hop and metal.
Look elsewhere if: you want ready-made analog saturation or multiband control; Saturn 2 is a better fit, and Shaper Table adds morphing between shapes.
Standout: a drawable distortion curve with Overflow modes.

What producers say

There are few user reviews of Shaper alone; launch coverage liked the curve editing, and opinion on the Kilohearts Essentials set is positive, with the main criticism that the plugins are minimal.

Bedroom Producers Blog (2024) found editing curves "fairly quick even on a trackpad" and wrote "Shaper does just fine by itself, too," calling it one of the "top-shelf free effects."
KVR users rate the Kilohearts Essentials set 5/5 from two reviews: one (2022) called it a "Good, useful collection of professional, but compact plugins," and another (2025) praised "Superb lightweight plugins rivaling many commercial and on-hype products!"
Gripe: a 2026 review of Essentials found that "many of the Essentials plugins feel minimal" on their own, and that they are "designed for precision rather than coloration."

Where to buy

Kilohearts: Free

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

MWaveShaper by MeldaProduction · Custom-curve waveshaper · Free
Shaper Table by Kilohearts · Wavetable waveshaper · $19.50
inShaper by Sound Particles · Waveshaping and wavefolding distortion · $69
Distortion by Kilohearts · Multi-mode waveshaping distortion · Free
MWaveShaperMB by MeldaProduction · Multiband custom-curve waveshaper · $39
Berzerk Distortion by Waves · Waveshaper · $32.93
Things - Fold by AudioThing · Wavefolder · $17.87
MWaveFolder by MeldaProduction · Wavefolding distortion · Free
Trash by iZotope · Multiband waveshaper · $93.13
Harmonics by HoRNet · Harmonic waveshaper · Free

All distortion