A new architecture for musical distortion is proposed. Based on WaveShaping as the distortion generation element, a multiband front-end is used in order to extract simple (ideally monotonal) non-full band signals. Distortion pattern can be adjusted per band, with the benefit that intermodulation distortion is kept low, balancing the end result towards ‘harmonic’ distortion rather than ‘metallic’ or ‘ringing’. Many parameters can be adjusted by the end user in a musically meaningful domain, allowing the creation of rich, detailed and highly personal sounding distortions to be imposed over real world signals.