Pisstortion

Name: Pisstortion
Author: UnplugRed

by UnplugRed · Distortion · Sine-fold distortion

Not rated yet

Pisstortion is a free, open-source sine-fold distortion from UnplugRed.

It sounds like the developer's Plastic Funeral but a bit softer.

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

Keywords: drums, free, wide, open source, bass, snare, enhancement, freemium, synths, wavefolding, bright, gentle, mixing, mono, single-band, sound design.

What it does

Pisstortion is UnplugRed's "take on sine fold distortion", a free waveshaper that folds the signal back on itself to add bright, complex harmonics. The developer pitches it as a gentler sibling of Plastic Funeral: similar in sound, but a bit softer.

Sine folding: instead of clipping peaks flat, the waveshaper folds them back with a sine curve, so pushing it harder adds more and more overtones rather than just squashing the sound.
Softer character: less harsh and metallic than Plastic Funeral, which makes it easier to use on parts where you still want the original sound to come through.
Stereo spread: the distortion can be widened into stereo, which adds presence to mono sources such as drums.
Bypass button: a green on-screen button switches the effect in and out for quick comparison.
Free and paid versions: both work the same; the free version only shows a small "free version" banner, and buying the paid one supports the developer.
Open source: the code is released under GPL 3, and the plugin runs on all three major desktop platforms.

Version 1.0 is free; the developer's site asks for an email address before download.

Source: UnplugRed product page

When to use it

Pisstortion is the pick when you want wavefolding and nothing else, for free, with a softer edge than most folders. Compared with Saturn 2 and Rift, it has no multiband split, modulation or other distortion styles, but it costs nothing and gets you to a folded sound in seconds. It is gentler than its sibling Plastic Funeral, which is built to sound harsh and metallic, so it sits better on drums and parts that should stay recognisable. Unlike Devil-Loc Deluxe, it doesn't crush or compress the sound; it adds harmonics by folding.

Best for: adding bite and width to snares and drum buses, and wavefolded colour on synths and bass.
Genres: electronic, hip-hop and experimental music.
Look elsewhere if: you want warm analog-style saturation (Saturn 2 or Thermal), several distortion types in one plugin (Rift), or a harsher, more extreme fold (Plastic Funeral).
Tip: try it on a snare or a whole drum group and widen the distortion into stereo; one reviewer found that gave drums much more presence.

What producers say

There are few reviews yet; the one write-up found it does more than its plain look suggests, especially on drums.

Chillout with Beats (Japanese production blog) found the sound softer than similar folders and called the results on a full drum kit "considerably good", with clearly more impact on snares.
KVR users had not rated it when checked.

Chillout with Beats review

Where to buy

UnplugRed: Free

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Thermal by Output · Multi-stage · $149
Distortion by Kilohearts · Multi-mode waveshaping distortion · Free

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