Erica Synths Xenodrive distortion-overdrive-waveshaper

General

Many fans of analogue synths praise its purity, of the oscillators, the filters... Razor-sharp, warm, no digital aliassing, just nice and full-range. Pleasing to the ear. Quite right. But... not right now! The Erica Synths Xenodrive makes mincemeat of all these lauded subtleties. The Xenodrive is rough and ready, an overdrive that can be heard from Latvia all the way here. And 'tis not just overdrive, after all, that would still sound somewhat conventional. The very waveshaper in this product is the fancy butcher that kneads your incoming source sound into spreadable Filet Americain. Guitarists know these kinds of effects they have in their effects pedals, but these only have a handful of parameters. The Xenodrive has many more options on board to subtly add some nuance to the mincer. In that respect, 'tis mostly a real tool for sound designers. Erica Synths and 112db have once again made a fine and versatile product, though not intended for your Stradivarius.