Most saturation plugins work from a fixed point. You set a drive level, the transfer curve shapes your signal the same way every time, and the result is predictable. Drift – Shape Shifter by Stephan Bolch (All The Machines) takes a different approach. The distortion curve doesn’t sit still — it shifts continuously, steered by a dedicated Drift parameter, so your signal is never processed the same way twice. At low settings it’s warm and musical. Pushed hard it gets gritty and unpredictable. The space between those two poles is where the plugin earns its name.
The control set is focused and clearly considered. Drive pushes the signal into saturation from gentle warmth to hard clipping. Drift steers the saturation curve continuously over time, with the Depth parameter controlling how far that curve travels from its center position — the distance between subtle drift and wide variation. Spread widens the behavior independently across left and right channels for stereo movement that doesn’t feel artificially panned. React determines how quickly the curve responds to transients: low React produces smooth, gradual drift while high React gives you transient-following distortion that tracks the dynamics of your source material. Tone handles post-saturation frequency shaping, and a dry/wet Mix control makes parallel processing straightforward. As an AUv3 plugin it runs inside AUM and Loopy Pro with multiple independent instances, each with their own settings. Early users confirm it sits well on drums and holds up as a guitar drive, with the drift behavior described as musical rather than erratic at moderate settings.
The companion to Strange — Bolch’s chaos-based distortion released the same day — Drift covers the more controlled end of the character spectrum. Where Strange uses mathematical attractors to reshape audio in ways that are explicitly unpredictable, Drift’s movement is continuous but steerable. You can shape how far it wanders and how fast it reacts, which makes it practical for both subtle analog warmth and more deliberate sound design use. The interface scales across all modern iPhone and iPad screen sizes. No in-app purchases, no subscription.
Key features:
- Continuously Shifting Saturation Curve: The distortion character moves over time, driven by the Drift parameter — never the same pass twice
- Drive: From gentle warmth to hard clipping across the full saturation range
- Drift: Steers the saturation curve continuously over time — higher values mean more character shift
- Depth: Controls how far the curve travels from center — the range of variation
- Spread: Widens drift behavior independently between left and right channels for stereo movement
- React: Sets how quickly the curve responds to transients — from smooth gradual drift to transient-following distortion
- Tone: Post-saturation tonal shaping to roll off or open up the high end
- Mix: Dry/wet blend for parallel saturation processing
- AUv3 Plugin: Multiple independent instances in AUM, ApeMatrix, Audiobus, or any AUv3 host
- Universal on iPhone and iPad, all modern screen sizes — minimum iOS 14.0
App price: $1.99
No in-app purchases.
Original release: May 8, 2026 | Latest update: May 8, 2026
