Dist TUBE-CULTURE

Vivid harmonic saturator

Dist TUBE-CULTURE is an enhanced software version of a modern distortion classic, bringing authentic valve-powered warmth and harmonic character to your DAW production. Crank the heat in your mixes with studio-grade saturation and crunch in a few clicks.

99$/99€ Buy Now
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Dist TUBE-CULTURE
99$/99€ Buy Now

Tube distortion
mastered

Saturate your mix bus with responsive analog heat; scorch your instruments and stems with destructive distortion; enjoy the unmistakable character of tube-drive studio hardware in your DAW like never before. This is Dist TUBE-CULTURE.

Channeling tube character

Nothing saturates, colors, distorts, or breathes harmonic life into a sound quite like heated vacuum valves. Dist TUBE-CULTURE meticulously emulates this behavior for the most authentic virtual valve sound you could wish for.

Choose your temperature

Enjoy warm mix-gluing saturation, white-hot fuzz, and everything in between. Dist TUBE-CULTURE will respond to your projects with whatever heat you need.

For any sound

Enrich your guitar tracks, fatten your topline vocals, crush your drum transients, or roast your mix bus to serving temperature. This faithful emulation might just be the finishing touch that your production is looking for.

Tastefully enhanced

Overcome the limitations of studio hardware and go beyond analog circuitry with modernized features like gain compensation, post-drive EQ and expanded stereo processing. Old distortion, new tricks.

The sound
of heat

Many of music’s most legendary guitar riffs, iconic vocal lines, and soul-stirring mixes simply wouldn’t have been possible without the humble vacuum tube.

These decades-old components are temperamental in their behavior, fragile in their operation, and limited in their lifespan. Yet their ability to produce a beautifully even harmonic response gives any valve-processed sound a rich, warm, smooth character that’s hard to match.

Couple this with their unique ability to dynamically distort incoming sounds with varying levels of grit and aggression, and you’ve got a formula that remains irresistible to musicians, producers, and audio trailblazers to this day.

Whether it's a vocal line in need of some extra color, a drum bus that needs some crunch, or your guitar & synth tracks begging for some edgy crunch, Dist TUBE-CULTURE puts this sought-after sonic attitude in your hands. Experience the stunning sound of a modern studio classic reimagined in virtual form.

Getting Crispy E Guitar

Adding a bit of crunch to the dynamic peaks of the guitar track.

London Dance Synth

Make your synth slightly more agressive with the Triode mode. Add harshness to the high end with the presence switch.

Oh That's Nice Drums

Subtle loudness on the bottom of your drums. Compensate with the presence switch.

Vox Enhancer

All is in the title: it's an enhancer for voices to help you to bring out the vocals in the mix.

Quick N Easy Mastering

Very clean use of the Tube Culture here. The Bias meter is set to a very small value to only add subtle harmonics from the pentode.

909 Bassdrum Exciter

Here, the sound is filtered pre-distortion so it only affects low frequencies. This can be used to create harmonics on a particular frequency band, then blend it with the dry signal using the mix knob.

Authentic studio
immersion

Emulating the sound, circuitry behavior, and straightforward layout of its hardware predecessor, Dist TUBE-CULTURE makes you feel like you’re working with a genuine bit of studio hardware.

But Dist TUBE-CULTURE doesn’t stop at authenticity; we’ve retrofitted this distortion workhorse with a selection of useful and creative features designed to work seamlessly with your workflow.

Here’s a closer look at its feature set.

  • Overview

    Dist TUBE-CULTURE

  • 1

    Drive

    Set the amount of distortion applied to your signal, from crisp transparent harmonics at counter-clockwise to sizzling crunch at clockwise. Don’t be afraid to crank.

  • 2

    Bias

    Limit the amount of current going through Dist TUBE-CULTURE’s virtual tubes for a variety of distortion flavors. Go from full-bodied grit to dead-battery fizz in a single sweep.

  • 3

    Function selector

    Select from 4 configurations of tube operation: Triode, Pentode 1, Pentode 2, or Pentode 3. Triode mode tends to offer a warmer, more natural sound, while the 3 Pentode modes bring higher power output and more varied dynamics - the choice is yours.

  • 4

    Presence

    Add a slight boost to the upper midrange or high frequencies with the Presence and Air switch, great for sprinkling extra detail onto vocals, percussion, stringed instruments, and more.

  • 5

    Ammeter

    A classic visualizer for real-time feedback on Dist TUBE-CULTURE’s virtual tube current. When you engage the Advanced panel, the VU meter changes to a digital display for a more detailed overview of your sound.

  • 6

    Dry/wet

    Use Dist TUBE-CULTURE for parallel distortion processing without the need for aux tracks or complex configuration - simply blend the processed signal with the original sound and find your perfect crunchy balance.

  • 7

    Stereo mode selector

    Explore valve distortion in full width by selecting how Dist TUBE-CULTURE affects your stereo field: process the left and right, only the center of the mix, or only the sides.

  • 8

    Dynamics

    Target your distortion on signals below or above a threshold for a more focused sound; turn the Dynamics control left for the former (Gate), and right for the latter (Comp).

  • 9

    Output EQ

    To further tame Dist TUBE-CULTURE’s gritty output signal, we added a post-distortion EQ, with low pass, high pass, and a +/-12dB tilt centered on 630Hz.

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Artistscorner

  • Steve Levine

    Producer / Engineer (Culture Club / Beach Boys)

    Turn the drive up and then the creamy magic kick is in on the stems and the mix

  • Stan Greene

    Producer / Rihanna, Big Sean, Snoop Dogg, O.T. Genasis

    The Dist TUBE-CULTURE is a BEAST. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a plugin that breaks up your sound as beautifully. A little bit added into your 808’s or completely crushing a synth, breaking it apart bit by bit, then gently adding it back in, goes a long way.

  • Thiago Baggio

    Recording & Mixing Engineer

    These plugins are amazing. The results that I’d achieve with the combination of two or even three different distortion plugins can now be done with only Dist Tube-Culture.

Stan Greene

with FX Collection

LA-based Stan Greene knows what he wants when engineering a mix. But for him, part of the challenge - and privilege - of being an engineer is being trusted to elevate someone else’s art to the next level.

Read the Story

A modern crunch
classic

In an age of digital precision and demanding hi-def audio, sometimes you just want good old fashioned analog fatness.

In the late '90s, as the music production world was becoming ever more focused on the flexibility of working with computers and the DAW was beginning to dominate, some manufacturers sought to buck the trend.

Enter UK-based Thermionic Culture, a small company committed to the belief that valve-driven gear couldn't be beaten on sound. In 1998, they released The Culture Vulture, an all-valve stereo distortion rack unit, designed to counter the increasingly sterile world of digital music production.

Offering up a proverbial rainbow of saturation, coloration, and distortion applications, this unassuming piece of handwired gear ultimately became one of the world’s most coveted bits of studio hardware, used by everyone from Deadmau5 to Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme. Now you too can explore this modern classic, faithfully emulated and tastefully enhanced.

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.

Learn More

The features
you need

  • DAW ready

    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.

  • ASC

    Arturia Software Center lets you download, organize, and update all of your Arturia software titles in one place, as well as manage all of your licenses across multiple devices. Keep it simple.

  • Resizable GUI

    Whether you want the full visual immersion of our classic effects emulations, or to save precious screen real estate, the interfaces for all of your Arturia plugins can be resized to a scale that suits you.

  • Real-time control

    Every parameter in every FX Collection plugin can be mapped to your favorite MIDI controller for instant, hands-on control of your mix. Sweep a filter, crank a preamp, or warp your modulation on the fly.

  • In-App Tutorials

    Every plugin in FX Collection comes with built-in tutorials, guiding you step-by-step through the crucial parameters, adjustments, and mixing hacks to get the most out of your sound. The tutorial panel also explains the controls you’re using in real-time - so you’ll never miss a tweak.

  • Preset browser

    FX Collection’s streamlined preset browser lets you filter, organize, and save your favorite presets for instant recall. Search by instrument type, genre, production technique, and much more - so you can quickly find the tweak you need and save valuable creative time!

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.

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Gallery

Main Features

  • Stereo distortion and saturation effect with emulated vacuum tube character
  • 4 modes of tube configuration: Triode 1, Pentode 1, Pentode 2, Pentode 3
  • Drive and Bias controls for customizing your distortion character
  • 2-mode Presence switch
  • Analog ammeter (switches to digital when Advanced controls are in use)
  • Stereo mode selector: L-R, Mid, Side
  • Added Dry/Wet control for parallel processing
  • Dynamics control to add Gate/Compression to incoming signal
  • Input & output filters module with Tilt EQ
  • 2 Oversampling modes for supreme audio quality or lower CPU usage
  • A/B comparison
  • NKS-ready

Platforms specifications

Windows

  • Win 10+ (64bit)
  • 4 GB RAM
  • 4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost)
  • 1GB free hard disk space
  • OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
  • ARM processors not supported on Windows

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
  • 1GB 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.

*NKS ready