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moosers
Published on 04/21/10 at 23:06
Digidesign's AIR Distortion is a plug-in that is offered free in Pro Tools 8, the latest version of the industry standard audio recording software. In fact, there are a large number of AIR plug-ins available with the newest version of Pro Tools, so if you have Pro Tools and haven't done the upgrade yet, I'd definitely recommend doing so. There isn't anything that needs to be done in terms of installation of the Digidesign AIR Distortion plug-in beyond installing Pro Tools 8, as it takes care of installing all of the free plug-ins on it's own when you do so. The interface of this plug-in may be plain looking, but it makes it easy to get a quick grasp on it, which I think is the idea. In terms of parameters, it's got knobs for drive, output, mix, and mode. You've got hard, soft, and wrap to choose from in terms of mode, as well as a stereo button. In then has a section for tone with parameters for pre shape and high cut, and a section for clipping containing parameters for DC bias and threshold. I don't believe that they make a manual for this plug-in, but luckily one isn't necessary anyway.
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
I can't say that I've ever had a problem running this plug-in. I'm currently running it on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run Pro Tools LE 8 with a Digi 002R audio interface or a Digidesign Micro Box depending on where I'm working from. While I haven't used this plug-in very much beyond initially trying it out, it isn't the type of plug that will take up too much processing power. If you're currently running some plug-ins in Pro Tools on your system without a problem, you'll definitely be able to run this one without a problem as well.
OVERALL OPINION
In general I'm not a fan of distortion plug-ins, so maybe I had a bias going into using the Digidesign AIR Distortion, but I just don't like the sound that it produces. I tried it on vocals, clean guitars, and bass guitar, and with all three I got a similar type of digitally scared sound. While there is a good amount of versatility and I do think that some people will find this useful, it just isn't for me. I always try getting my overdrive sounds from the source rather than a plug-in anyway. If you have Pro Tools 8 I'd definitely encourage you to try it and judge for yourself...
SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE
I can't say that I've ever had a problem running this plug-in. I'm currently running it on a Mac Book Pro that has a 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. I run Pro Tools LE 8 with a Digi 002R audio interface or a Digidesign Micro Box depending on where I'm working from. While I haven't used this plug-in very much beyond initially trying it out, it isn't the type of plug that will take up too much processing power. If you're currently running some plug-ins in Pro Tools on your system without a problem, you'll definitely be able to run this one without a problem as well.
OVERALL OPINION
In general I'm not a fan of distortion plug-ins, so maybe I had a bias going into using the Digidesign AIR Distortion, but I just don't like the sound that it produces. I tried it on vocals, clean guitars, and bass guitar, and with all three I got a similar type of digitally scared sound. While there is a good amount of versatility and I do think that some people will find this useful, it just isn't for me. I always try getting my overdrive sounds from the source rather than a plug-in anyway. If you have Pro Tools 8 I'd definitely encourage you to try it and judge for yourself...