Explanation
Project context and scope
Understand the design decisions, alternatives, and limits.
- 01Condition input
- 02Tube / flux / bloom
- 03Adaptive control
- 04De-emphasis
- 05Blend & output
A low-latency audio effect that combines anti-aliased tube saturation, quasi-hysteretic flux memory, transient bloom, and adaptive spectral control.
Hearth is a Max for Live saturation device designed for warm, stable harmonic coloration across vocals, guitars, synths, drums, and mix buses. Instead of exposing a generic distortion curve, Hearth uses three cooperating nonlinear lanes supervised by a Warmth Servo that reacts to brightness, roughness, level, and transient density. The device prioritizes low-latency performance, interpretable controls, and musical safety: upper-band drive backs off when the input becomes bright or rough, transient bloom remains time-local, and stereo protection keeps the center image intact. This paper summarizes the research basis, signal path, control surface, and first audio examples behind the Hearth implementation.