Distortastudio Troubleshooting

Last modified: 2026-08-24

Table of Contents
  1. General resources
  2. 1. Volume or gain drops 10 to 20dB when the module is engaged
  3. 2. Distortion is higher than expected
  4. 3. Sound is muffled/low-pass-filtered
  5. Request Troubleshooting Support

General resources

Volume or gain drops 10 to 20dB when the module is engaged

Double check all resistor values. In nearly every reported case, this symptom traces to these two resistors being swapped on the board. Desoldering and correctly placing them resolves it.

Distortion is higher than expected

This is most likely normal. The Distortastudio runs a very high default distortion and output level compared to gentler Colour modules. If you would like to reduce the amount of distortion, try the Distortastudio less distortion mod.

Sound is muffled/low-pass-filtered

Double check the values of all capacitors to make sure you haven't swapped any of the 47p and .1u caps.

Request Troubleshooting Support

If you weren't able to solve your issue from this guide, you can request email support from one of our troubleshooting experts here: Request Troubleshooting Support.