# Drive

> Four nonlinear shapers with DC removal, tone and latency-aligned filtered oversampling.

Source: https://docs.tune.toys/nodes/std.drive/

Drive adds harmonics by pushing a signal into a nonlinear shaper. A little adds warmth; a lot adds grit.

## What it does

The input is multiplied by Drive (in dB), passed through the chosen shaper, filtered by Tone, blended with the dry signal by Mix and trimmed by Output. The shapers are Soft clip, Hard clip, Asymmetric and Wavefold. A DC blocker removes any constant offset that Bias or the Asymmetric shaper creates. Quality sets filtered oversampling to reduce aliasing; every setting has the same 12-sample processing latency, aligned before the dry and wet signals are blended.

## When to use it

Use it to warm a clean tone, thicken bass, or add edge to a synth. Follow it with a [Low-pass filter](https://docs.tune.toys/nodes/std.lowpass/) or its own Tone control to tame brightness, and with a [Limiter](https://docs.tune.toys/nodes/std.limiter/) if the level gets hot.

## Ports

<!-- ports:start -->

| Port    | Direction | Signal | Lanes                   |
| ------- | --------- | ------ | ----------------------- |
| `audio` | Input     | Audio  | Inferred from the cable |
| `audio` | Output    | Audio  | Inferred from the cable |

<!-- ports:end -->

## Parameters

<!-- parameters:start -->

| Parameter | Label   | Range        | Default | Unit | Scale  | Notes                                                                                                                                         |
| --------- | ------- | ------------ | ------- | ---- | ------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `drive`   | Drive   | 0 to 36      | 9       | dB   | linear | Gain into the selected nonlinear shaper.                                                                                                      |
| `tone`    | Tone    | 200 to 20000 | 20000   | Hz   | log    | Low-pass cutoff; maximum is Open.                                                                                                             |
| `mix`     | Mix     | 0 to 1       | 1       |      | linear | Dry/wet blend. Processing latency is aligned before blending.                                                                                 |
| `output`  | Output  | -24 to 0     | 0       | dB   | linear | Post-blend output gain.                                                                                                                       |
| `type`    | Type    | 0 to 3       | 0       |      | linear | Selects the implemented algorithm. Choices are discrete and are not LFO targets. Choices: 0 Soft clip, 1 Hard clip, 2 Asymmetric, 3 Wavefold. |
| `bias`    | Bias    | -0.9 to 0.9  | 0       |      | linear | Offset into the shaper. A DC blocker removes persistent offset.                                                                               |
| `quality` | Quality | 0 to 2       | 1       |      | linear | Filtered oversampling factor. Every setting has the same 12-sample processing latency. Choices: 0 1×, 1 2× filtered, 2 4× filtered.           |

<!-- parameters:end -->

### Drive (`drive`)

The gain into the shaper, 0 to 36 dB. More drive means more distortion and more loudness.

### Tone (`tone`)

A low-pass cutoff on the wet signal, 200 to 20000 Hz. At the maximum it is Open.

### Mix (`mix`)

Dry and wet blend. At 1 only the shaped signal is heard; lower values give parallel distortion.

### Output (`output`)

A post-blend gain from -24 to 0 dB. Use it to compensate for the loudness added by Drive.

### Type (`type`)

Soft clip, Hard clip, Asymmetric or Wavefold. A discrete choice.

### Bias (`bias`)

An offset into the shaper, from -0.9 to 0.9. It changes which half of the wave is shaped harder, adding even harmonics. A DC blocker removes the offset afterwards.

### Quality (`quality`)

The filtered oversampling factor: 1x, 2x filtered or 4x filtered. Higher settings reduce aliasing at more CPU.

## Tips

- Lower Output as you raise Drive, or the result will be much louder.
- Soft clip is gentle and sounds warm; Wavefold is more extreme and bright.
- Use Mix around 0.3 to 0.5 to keep the original attack and add grit underneath.

## See also

[Low-pass filter](https://docs.tune.toys/nodes/std.lowpass/), [Filter](https://docs.tune.toys/nodes/std.svf/), [Limiter](https://docs.tune.toys/nodes/std.limiter/).