MWaveShaper
by MeldaProduction · Distortion · Custom-curve waveshaper
Not rated yet
MWaveShaper is a free waveshaper from MeldaProduction that lets you draw your own distortion curve.
It can be used for anything from gentle saturation to heavy distortion. It is free and part of MFreeFXBundle.
Best for: Keys & Synths, Bass, Drums, Mix Bus, Sound Design. Genres: all genres.
Keywords: free, bass, drums, gentle, heavy, auto-gain, bus processing, full mix, hard clip, harsh, linear-phase, mid/side, MIDI-controllable, minimum-phase, mix bus, mixing, multi-band, resizable UI, soft clip, sound design.
What it does
MWaveShaper is a free waveshaper from MeldaProduction. Rather than offering a few fixed distortion types, it lets you "construct your own shape": you draw the transfer curve that bends the waveform.
- Custom curves: draw and edit the shaping curve in a visual editor, from gentle soft clipping and saturation to hard clipping and harsh distortion.
- Automatic gain compensation: keeps the output about as loud as the input, so you hear the change in tone rather than a level jump.
- Upsampling: adjustable from 1x to 1024x, with minimum-phase and linear-phase options, to reduce aliasing from heavy shaping.
- Safety limiter: a brickwall limiter keeps the output below 0 dB.
- Channels: mono, stereo, M/S, surround up to 8 channels and ambisonics up to 64 channels.
- Workflow: A to H preset slots, A to D morphing on an X-Y pad, MIDI learn, cloud preset sharing and a resizable, GPU-accelerated interface.
MWaveShaper is free, on its own or in MeldaProduction's MFreeFXBundle. No version number is shown. A multiband version, MWaveShaperMB, is sold separately.
Source: MeldaProduction product page
When to use it
MWaveShaper is the better pick when you want to decide exactly how a signal clips. Compared with Saturn 2 or Decapitator, it has no modelled styles, so there is no ready-made analog character; you get a blank curve and full control over the harmonics instead. It is also single-band, unlike Saturn 2 or its own sibling MWaveShaperMB. Being free, it is a good tool for learning how waveshaping works and for building custom clippers.
- Best for: custom saturation and clipping curves on drums, bass and buses, and learning how transfer curves shape tone.
- Genres: any; hard curves suit electronic, industrial and bass music.
- Look elsewhere if: you want characterful distortion fast (Saturn 2 or Decapitator), or different shaping per frequency band (Saturn 2 or MWaveShaperMB).
What producers say
The user feedback is short but enthusiastic.
- KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 1 review, which called it "the best waveshaper on the market" and said its curves can get close to paid saturators such as Oxford Inflator.
Where to buy
- MeldaProduction: Free
Tutorials and reviews
- Melda Production MWaveshaper Inflator Presets
- MWaveShaper by Melda Production Audio Technologies
- FREE MWaveShaper by MeldaProduction
- Why MWaveshaper is BETTER than a compressor
- Free VST - MWaveshaper - Melda Audio
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