Effects
Every effect in Draw.Audio explained: reverb, distortion, delay, chorus, tape, vinyl, sidechain and ring mod, and what each control does.
- Effects Panel
- The Effects panel has three tabs: Effects (reverb, delay, distortion, stereo spread, chorus and ring mod), Sidechain and Tape/Vinyl. Each effect has an on/off switch next to its name. Tape and Vinyl apply to all tracks; every other effect is set per track. Per-track effect sliders can also be drawn as automation.
- Reverb
- Adds space and ambience. All tracks share one reverb, and each track sends its own amount into it. Mix: how much of the track feeds the shared reverb. The Mixer's Reverb Send sets the same value Decay: how long the reverb tail rings out. The reverb is shared, so this changes the tail for every track
- Distortion
- Adds crunch and harmonics after the filter, from subtle warmth to extreme mangling. Every mode shares the same controls, and the output level is matched automatically so modes and drive settings can be compared at equal loudness. Mode: Tube (warm, asymmetric saturation), Clip (overdrive to hard clipping), Fuzz (high-gain, gated), Fold (wavefolder), Rectify (half- to full-wave, octave-up), Crush (bit and sample-rate reduction) Drive: input gain into the mode Shape: the mode's character control. Bias (Tube), Hardness (Clip), Gate (Fuzz), Symmetry (Fold), Blend (Rectify), Bits (Crush) Rate: sample rate for Crush Tone: tilt around 800 Hz. Negative darkens, positive brightens Mix: dry/wet blend. Keep some dry signal to hold the low end
- Delay
- Creates echoes that repeat after the original sound. Six modes are available: Ping Pong: echoes alternate between left and right channels Mono: single delay line, both channels hear the same echo Stereo: staggered L/R delay lines with cross-feedback for stereo movement Slapback: a single short echo with no feedback Reverse: captures audio and plays it back reversed Pitch Shift: each repeat shifts pitch cumulatively Sync: locks the delay time to a note value, from 1/1 to 1/32 or the 1/4T and 1/8T triplets. On by default at 1/8 Time: delay time in ms, used when Sync is off Feedback: how much signal feeds back (higher = more echoes) Offset: L/R time offset (Stereo mode) Pitch: semitones per repeat (Pitch Shift mode) Fine: cents per repeat (Pitch Shift mode) In Slapback mode, Sync is off, Time sets the echo length, from 20 to 300 ms, and Level sets how loud the echo is.
- Stereo Spread
- Widens the sound with a second copy of each voice, panned opposite to it. Width: how far apart the two copies sit left and right Detune: how far the copy is tuned away from the voice, in cents See Sound Synthesis for more detail.
- Chorus
- Makes the sound fuller by layering slightly shifted copies. Rate: modulation speed Depth: pitch variation amount Mix: wet/dry balance
- Tape
- Emulates old cassette tape machines. Applies to all tracks. Turn it on with the switch next to its name, step through seven presets with the arrows, or open Customize to set each control. Hiss: filtered noise layer Wear: high-frequency rolloff Saturation: compressive harmonic warmth Dropout: random amplitude dips Wobble: pitch instability (wow + flutter) Wobble Rate: speed of the wobble
- Vinyl
- Emulates vinyl records and turntables. Applies to all tracks. Like Tape, it has an on/off switch, seven presets and a Customize button. Crackle Vol: loudness of the pops and clicks Crackle Rate: how often pops and clicks occur Noise: steady surface noise from groove friction Wow: slow pitch drift Rumble: low-frequency vibration Wear: high-frequency loss Stereo: subtle stereo wandering
- Sidechain
- Ducks a synth track's volume each time a drum track plays, the classic "pumping" effect used in electronic music. It has its own Sidechain tab: turn it on for a synth track and choose the drum track that triggers the ducking under Source. Depth: how much the volume ducks (higher = deeper pump; at 100% a loud drum hit silences the synth) Ratio: how hard the volume is pulled down once a hit crosses the threshold Attack: how fast the volume drops when a drum hits Release: how fast the volume recovers after the hit Makeup: compensate for lost volume
- Ring Mod
- Multiplies your sound by a sine wave for metallic, bell-like or robotic textures. Mix: wet/dry balance Freq: frequency of the sine wave, from 20 Hz to 2 kHz