PyroDrive
Phase Smearing. Harmonic Folding. Physical Resonance. One Masterpiece.
Currently exclusive to Windows systems (additional OS support in development).
What is it?
PyroDrive is a chameleon-like saturation engine designed to bridge the gap between vintage analog circuit modeling and aggressive digital destruction. It is not merely a 'clipper'; it is a collection of 9 distinct non-linear topologies that completely reconfigure the DSP architecture depending on the selected mode.
From the voltage sag of a starved tube amp to the math-mangling of a wavefolder, PyroDrive gives you access to a massive palette of colors. It features a Smart Auto-Gain system that locks your output volume in place, allowing you to automate the Drive parameter from 0% to 100% without wrecking your mix balance. With integrated Mid/Side processing and a flexible Tone stack, it is the ultimate tool for adding weight, grit, or total annihilation to any signal.
Key Features
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1
Nine Distinct Distortion Topologies
PyroDrive offers nine unique algorithms, each with its own internal circuit behavior: Analog Models:
- Vintage Tube (with dynamic plate voltage sag)
- OpAmp (tight, symmetric clipping)
- Germanium Fuzz (spitty, gated, starved-battery tone) Digital Manglers:
- Bitcrusher (with anti-imaging filters and jitter)
- Wavefolder (West-Coast style harmonic folding)
- Rectifier (full-wave doubling) Esoteric:
- PWM Fuzz (Velcro-style pulse width modulation)
- Tape Hysteresis (magnetic memory effects)
- Phase Distortion (FM-style warping)
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2
Context-Sensitive "Character" Control
The Character knob morphs its function based on the active engine:
- In Bitcrusher mode, it controls the Sample Rate and jitter amount.
- In PWM Fuzz mode, it adjusts the Pulse Width, taking you from a square wave to a razor-thin needle.
- In Germanium mode, it controls the "Temperature," affecting the gate tightness and transistor spittiness.
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3
Transient-Safe Smart Auto-Gain
Distortion typically ruins gain staging. PyroDrive solves this with an always-on Distortion Auto-Gain system. It uses an algorithm to match the wet signal's energy to the dry signal, while employing "Fuse" protection logic to prevent volume spikes or dropouts during silence. You can crank the Drive knob, and the perceived volume remains perfectly steady.
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4
Advanced Stereo & Mid/Side Processing
The module features three distinct stereo operation modes:
- Discrete: Left and Right channels are distorted independently.
- Linked: The louder channel drives the saturation for both sides, preserving the stereo image stability of dynamic sources like drum buses.
- Mid/Side: Separates the mono (Mid) and stereo (Side) information, allowing you to distort only the width of a synth pad while keeping the center sub-bass clean.
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5
Pre/Post Tone Sculpting
A Tilt EQ with a dedicated "Air" damper is built directly into the signal path. A "Routing" switch allows you to place this Tone stack Pre-Distortion (to push specific frequencies into the drive circuit for different saturation textures) or Post-Distortion (to tame harsh high-end after mangling).
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6
High-Fidelity Oversampling
To prevent digital aliasing (the harsh, non-musical side effects of digital distortion), PyroDrive runs on an Oversampled Core. This ensures that even when using heavy foldback distortion or bitcrushing, the high-frequency content remains clean and free of "birdie" artifacts.
Audio Demos
Specifications
FAQ
Q:What is the "Gate" knob used for?
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The Gate knob is primarily active in the PWM Fuzz (Velcro) mode. It controls a "silence threshold" at the input of the comparator circuit.
- Low settings: Allow sustain and trailing notes to ring out.
- High settings: Create a staccato effect where the sound chokes off instantly when the volume drops, mimicking the sound of a fuzz pedal with a dying battery.
Q:Why does the volume stay the same
when I turn up the Drive?
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That is the Smart Auto-Gain engine at work. Unlike standard limiters that just squash peaks, PyroDrive analyzes the RMS (average energy) of your input signal and dynamically adjusts the output gain to match it. This allows you to make unbiased decisions about the texture of the saturation without being fooled by the "louder is better" psychoacoustic phenomenon.
Q:How does the "Vintage Tube" mode
differ from standard saturation?
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Standard saturation usually just clips the waveform. The Vintage Tube mode in PyroDrive implements a physical model of a tube amplifier’s power supply. It includes "Plate Voltage Sag," meaning that loud transients momentarily starve the virtual circuit of power, causing a dynamic compression and a spongy feel that reacts to your playing dynamics, rather than just shaving off the top of the waveform.