COLDFIRE vs RIFT vs THERMAL
Arturia’s new _Dist Coldfire distortion has been a lot of fun, but I keep seeing one comparison over and over
“is it similar to rift?”
While this is a fair comparison, I feel like it’s mostly a visual comparison, and another very obvious distortion keeps being left out of the conversation, Thermal
I’d say Coldfire falls somewhere between Rift and Thermal in terms of features and all 3 can
co-exist within my workflow and serve different functions
Here I will briefly go over everything that’s similar between the three,
then for each one go over their unique features, and how I use them
*it is worth noting before we continue that I have been paid to make presets for Coldfire and am planning on releasing my own pack for Thermal soon
I have done my best to observe and compare these distortions based solely on features and no favoritism
however, I should also mention that my comparisons are based on features I personally find valuable, perhaps someone else can better judge the quality of distortion/ over sampling or other features I might not be paying as much attention to
ACROSS ALL 3
-all 3 are multimode distortions, with at least 2 simultaneous distortions each
-freely routable modulation
-a feedback delay line (either tempo synced or ms)
-some level of multi-band or signal dependent distortion routing
and filtering/ basic dynamics
-I went to compare each distortion algorithm for all three plugins, running a sine wave through each of them and viewing the results on an oscilloscope
my plan was going to list off each unique algorithm and here I’d list off which any of the algorithms that were shared across all three
I discovered than not only did each one have mostly its own unique set of models, but even the very few that were shared had different output curves*
I feel very confident in saying that there is no redundancy across all three plugins
*DC Filtering: one reason the shapes are so different between each of these 3 plugins is due to DC filtering, Coldfire does not appear to DC filter the output of any symmetrical distortion curves (specifically the waveshape and wavefold algorithms, I can not speak on the analog emulations)
Rift understandably has a DC filter across the whole plugin, as being an asymmetrical distortion, and Thermal has a DC filter as well, but with a different resulting curve (I’m assuming due to the filter frequency).
disregarding this DC filtering, some of the curves are redundant across all 3, but even then only a small handful would be shared.
COLDFIRE
Distortion types: > 30
Multi-band & routing: 2 band split, mid/side & stereo, parallel or serial
Feedback: either channel or both, tone or notch filter
range: 1.1ms - 1sec
Filtering: per band; pre filter, multimode including notch and comb, post filter hp/lp, master tone control
Modulation: 6 modulation slots either lfo/sh, mseg, sequencer, envelope follower
Dynamics: compressor, multiband dynamics, or limiter (pre or post)
Unique features: it is worth noting that while rift has a similar total distortion types count, cold fire has more customizable bit reduction
modes, which cover all of the bitdepth and sample rate algorithms from rift (perhaps not exactly)
if we compare just the waveshape and wavefold modes, cold fire has 5 additional waveshape modes and one additional wavefold mode
it is also worth noting that Coldfire has more analog modeled distortions that rift and thermal
Unique limitations: an issue for some, no dark mode, though I find this to be unfair as thermal has no light mode
and no macros
Personal use cases: Coldfire has loads of modulation, so when it comes to distortion sequencing, or adding rhythmic grit, I prefer using Coldfire, there’s just a lot more motion you can play with over all
also for adding “analog warmth” and subtle fatty texture, many of the algorithms are just nice and beefy and thick
RIFT
Distortion types: 30
Multi-band & routing: 1 variable width band and variable dc asymmetrical splitting
Feedback: 1 feedback, pre or post distortion, high and low cut, spread, negative feedback
range: 5ms - 2sec
Filtering: morphable filter, pre or post distortion,
Modulation: envelope follower, lfo w/ randomization, 2 drawable lfos
Dynamics: basic limiter w/ no controls (post)
Unique features: mentioned above, the bipolar splitting allows you to apply a different distortion to both the top and bottom of any incoming waveform
as well the morphable filters are worth detailing, as they include multiple shapes, but also unique ways to morph between shapes and add filter motion
as well rift can also be midi controlled, meaning all lfos can be triggered via note on messages, and both feedback and filter frequency can be controlled via midi note #
a new discovery as I’m writing this: audio rate filter amp mod
Unique limitations: each distortion type on rift only has one control, where Coldfire and Thermal have some modes with up to 4 controls
Personal use cases: Rift tends to lean more towards top end texture and hiss, if I want to add some air or dust to a bass I reach for rift.
Especially for basses and monophonic synth parts as the midi control essentially makes it an extension of whatever synth it follows
THERMAL
Distortion types: 19
Multi-band & routing: 3 independent bands w/ variable width
Feedback: per distortion, (3 total) w/dynamics
range: .2ms - 300ms
Filtering: re-filter per and tone control per band and master filter
Modulation: 2 drawable lfos with humanization
Dynamics: compressor (post)
Unique features: each band has a stereo spread control, and can have an effect, additionally there are 2 post distortion effects slots
Effects include: bit reducer, chorus, compressor, stereo delay, filter, flanger, frequency shifter, phaser, and reverb
you can also modulate crossover frequencies, though they do produce aliasing
Unique limitations: no envelope following and only 2 lfos really keeps thermal pretty simple in the modulation department
Personal use cases: Thermal is probably the most extreme of the three, it’s distortion modes, while fewer can get pretty gnarly, also having 5 total fx and an XY macro it is much closer to a multi effect than just a distortion
i find thermal to be more fun on a purely creative level, clicking through presets and totally transforming sounds, it also reminds me most of the mid-range bite that I enjoy personally in the type of music I try to produce
FINALLY it’s important to mention that these are not the only 3 multi-distortion plugins out there, ofcourse there are many others, but I find these 3 to be the most similar
some others which were not included in this discussion are Izotope’s TRASH, FabFilter’s SATURN, OhmForce’s OHMICIDE, and Unfiltered Audio’s DENT and TRIAD
if this article helped convince you to purchase any of these plugins, please consider using one of my affiliate links below. (after you have searched to make sure you can’t get a better deal elsewhere)
_DIST COLDFIRE: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/30-Distortion/9537-Dist-COLDFIRE?a_aid=61c378ab215d5
THERMAL: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/30-Distortion/6525-Thermal?a_aid=61c378ab215d5
RIFT: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/2-Effects/30-Distortion/7803-Rift-2-0?a_aid=61c378ab215d5