You're currently on:
Dist OPAMP-21
Amped distortion classic
Dist OPAMP-21 is a distortion and saturation effect inspired by a guitar pedal cult classic, known for its direct amp-like sound. Add mix-cutting punch, harmonic color, and pure aggression to any sound with a certified studio legend enhanced for DAW production.
Studio-to-stage saturation
Whether it’s that gritty rough edge, that in-your-face impact, or that final transparent boost you’re after, Dist OPAMP-21 delivers the full range of crisp, urgent, colorful distortion and saturation that you’ve been looking for.
Amp-like distortion
Just like its hardware ancestor, Dist OPAMP-21 delivers a unique flavor of solid state guitar amp-style grit; responsive, organic, immediate, and as hot as you need it to be.
Character unlocked
Explore hundreds of possible distortion configurations with Dist OPAMP-21’s deceptively simple controls; combine its 4 modes with up to 8 ‘character’ switches to find your own crunchy flavor.
For any sound
From adding sizzling heat to your vocals, to adding amped analog character to your instrument tracks, to saturating your whole drum bus, Dist OPAMP-21 is a true distortion Swiss army knife.
Modern enhancements
Surpass the traditional possibilities of guitar pedals and studio gear for a DAW-friendly workflow; enjoy a host of additional contemporary features, from parallel processing to expanded stereo controls.
Amped sound in a few clicks
Sometimes a sound just needs a little ‘more’. Maybe it’s more volume, more detail, more sustain, more warmth, or more presence - whatever it is, you want ‘more’ of it. That’s where Dist OPAMP-21 comes in.
Reinvigorate any sound with the thrill of guitar amp presence, the harmonic depth of cascaded op-amp circuitry, and that elusive sense of ‘more’ that sometimes only analog distortion can bring. The best bit? Get all this and more in a few clicks, no audio expertise necessary.
From mix-smoothing saturation to all-out distorted attitude, Dist OPAMP-21 is a go-to that you never realized you needed. Perfect for when your guitars need extra richness and bite in a mix, your vocals need a touch of extra presence and a grungy edge, or your drums could use a little extra punch - once it's engaged and cranked in your mix, you’ll never look back.
Stompbox feel, studio sound
Dist OPAMP-21 is designed to strike the perfect balance between software effect flexibility and tactile guitar pedal immediacy. Plug in, experiment, customize, and enjoy - just like the real thing.
But this classic pedal turned studio staple has been enhanced with a number of extra features, designed to make it that little bit more creative, flexible, and fun as a DAW distortion toolkit.
Here’s a closer look at its feature set.
Overview
Dist OPAMP-21
1
Drive
Dial in your preferred amount of distortion, from subtle transparent crispness to screaming overdrive that’s not for the faint-hearted.
2
Presence
Introduce more distortion to the higher frequencies of your incoming signal to emphasize extra noisy content in the top end. In lower gain configurations, this control can really bring a sound to the front of your mix.
3
High control
Control the amount of trebly detail in your output signal, great for retaining transients and sibilants in percussive or vocal sounds.
4
Mode selection
Like the original hardware, this control changes Dist OPAMP-21’s virtual preamp tonestack to mimic the character of classic guitar amps: choose Normal for Mesa Boogie®-style preamps, Lead for Marshall®-style preamps, and Bass for Fender®-style preamps. We added a Modern setting with no coloration or EQ so you can build your own sound from scratch.
5
Character selection
A like-for-like recreation of the 8 dip-switches on the original hardware, letting you dial in your own combination of additional amp and EQ characteristics.
6
Dry/wet
Get that parallel distortion effect without needing to create aux tracks or fiddly sends. Tweak Dist OPAMP-21’s added Dry/Wet control for a custom blend of distorted and clean.
7
Pre-Drive input filter
It doesn’t always have to all or nothing; target specific frequencies to process with pre-drive high-pass and low-pass filters.
8
Stereo mode selection
Choose how Dist OPAMP-21 affects your stereo field: process left and right, target the middle of the mix, or focus on the sides only.
9
Post-Drive EQ
Sometimes distortion and saturation can have unexpected effects on the output signal; keep it under control with a 3-band post-drive EQ, complex with a real-time visualizer.
Artists corner
Romesh Dodangoda
Producer / Mixer Motorhead, Bring Me The Horizon, Funeral For A Friend, Twin Atlantic
“The OPAMP-21 by Arturia is a brilliant recreation of a piece of gear I use all the time! A secret weapon for drums and vocals, it’s not just for guitar! ”
Steve Levine
Producer / Engineer (Culture Club / Beach Boys)
“The DIST-OPAMP 21 amp sounds terrific on guitar tracks - really helps the mid range of the guitar blend with the vocals.”
Thiago Baggio
Recording & Mixing Engineer
“So versatile and sounds so good. Dist OPAMP-21 has already replaced my go to distortion plugin for bass and vocals right away and will live in my mixing template from now on, it was a no brainer.”
A direct hit
Let’s step back in time to the late ‘80s, at a time when the world of music technology was witnessing innovation after innovation.
Sampling was fast becoming the in-thing, analog synthesizers were being upstaged by their sharper digital descendents, and guitar players were discovering the compact, reliable, consistent alternative to valve amps that was solid state technology.
This growing demand in alternatives to the old-school of heavy, temperamental amps was answered by a number of manufacturers and industry names, who raced to emulate the elusive tube sound - that’s where Tech 21 came in. The SansAmp® was released in 1989, and it was a guitar pedal that immediately looked like it had a lot going on under the hood. More than just a distortion pedal, this little black box was designed to give guitarists a convincing amped-up sound straight into the desk. To this day, it’s considered the first ‘amp in a box’ solution offered to musicians.
By today’s standards, its amp emulation may not be perfect. But, like many innovative and novel bits of gear, it ultimately transcended its original purpose. Its relative wealth of controls, modes, and coloration options made it a surprisingly effective saturator, great for injecting grit and warmth into any sound. Its notoriety landed it in the hands of countless musicians, from Kurt Cobain’s iconic screaming guitars to Tchad Blake’s signature parallel saturation heard on records by Arctic Monkeys, The Black Keys, and many more. Today, Dist OPAMP-21 puts all that op-amp character - and more - right in your DAW.
Included in FX collection
Effects you'll actually use
This effect is part of FX Collection, a suite of essential audio effect plugins empowering musicians, producers, and artists to get creative with their production. From iconic recording gear modeled with breathtaking accuracy, to cutting-edge contemporary effects, the collection includes the most sought-after studio tools, rare guitar pedals, modern mix enhancers, and beyond. Elevate your production and add color to your mix like never before.
The features you need
However you use these plugins; for the amazing tone of their reverb, for the gritty preamps, or for their incredible sound design abilities, you'll be safe in the knowledge that they are fully compatible with your setup. These plugins work with all major DAWs, and on both Windows and MacOS.
TAE® Powered
The exclusive analog modeling technology that makes our emulations indistinguishable from the originals.
By accurately mimicking the characteristics of analog oscillators, filters, and soft clipping, we can provide astonishing component-accurate detail and authentic analog charm in equal measure.
Main Features
Stereo distortion and saturation effect with emulated op-amp circuit behavior
4 modes of virtual preamp:
- MODERN: flat EQ, no coloration
- NORMAL: Mesa Boogie®-style preamps
- LEAD: Marshall®-style preamps
- BASS: Fender®-style preamps
Combine up to 8 ‘Character’ switches:
- Mid Boost 1
- Mid Boost 2
- Low Drive
- Clean Amp
- Bright Switch
- Vintage Tubes
- Speaker Edge
- Close Mikin
Drive, Presence, and High controls for customizing your distortion sound
Stereo mode selector: L-R, Mid, Side
Added Dry/Wet control for parallel processing
Pre-Drive high-pass and low-pass filters with Curve low-end emphasis
3-band Output EQ with visualizer
2 Oversampling modes for supreme audio quality or lower latency performance
A/B comparison
NKS-ready
Platforms specifications
Windows
- Win 8.1+ (64bit)
- 4 GB RAM
- 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost)
- 6GB free hard disk space
- OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
Required configuration
- VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS (64-bit DAWs only).
Apple
- Mac OS 10.13+
- 4 GB RAM
- 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
- 6GB free hard disk space
- OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
Work with ASC
- An elegant and simple solution to help you install, activate, and update your Arturia software.
All manufacturer and product names mentioned on this page are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Arturia. The trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose features and sound were studied during the development. All names of equipment, inventors, and manufacturers have been included for illustrative and educational purposes only, and do not suggest any affiliation or endorsement by any equipment inventor or manufacturer.
| Variant | 1 |
