Macro Shred

s3g Macro Shred is a pressure, circuit-distortion, and bounded resonant-feedback processor designed for voice and microphone input. It is available as Mono, 8-channel, and 24-channel CLAP plugins.

The default SHRED circuit reflects peaks back into the signal instead of clipping them flat. Seven additional NIM-derived drive circuits provide compressed, hard-clipped, asymmetric, sagging, and gated alternatives. The resonant loop can follow the input's broad spectral center, so vocal color and articulation steer the processed tone.

Macro Shred 8ch circuit selection, pressure, distortion, resonant feedback, centroid tuning, lane relationships, and containment controls — Macro Shred 8ch with circuit selection, pressure, resonant feedback, centroid tuning, lane relationships, and containment.

Workflow

Insert the mono, 8-channel, or 24-channel build on a matching REAPER track, route the input, and begin with a low monitor level.
Route the result to the main speakers, a direct panner, or a stereo or quad fold-down, then begin playback. Another effect may precede that destination when its build matches the current bus width.
Choose a CIRCUIT, then raise PRESSURE, SHRED, BODY, and MIX to establish the core voice treatment.
Introduce FEEDBACK deliberately, then use COLOR and TUNE to set its fixed or centroid-following behavior.
On multichannel builds, shape the lane relationships and confirm containment and final output level before automating.

Versions and Routing

s3g Macro Shred Mono: one input and one output channel with the core voice controls.
s3g Macro Shred 8ch: eight independent kernels with shared controls and lane relationships.
s3g Macro Shred 24ch: twenty-four independent kernels with the same multichannel control model.

Set the REAPER track channel count before inserting an 8-channel or 24-channel version. Each input lane is processed independently; the plugin does not mix or ambisonically encode its channels.

Voice Controls

Control	Meaning
CIRCUIT	Selects SHRED, WOOL, RAT, ZONE A/B, FUZZ I/II, or DIODE. Changes crossfade over 20 ms.
INPUT	Applies gain before envelope analysis, pressure, and the feedback loop.
PRESSURE	Raises pre-saturation density and compression-like vocal force.
SHRED	Sets circuit intensity. In the SHRED circuit it morphs from saturation toward stronger wavefolding; in the other circuits it acts as gain, sustain, or distortion.
FEEDBACK	Raises the bounded internal resonant loop. It is not an acoustic microphone-feedback path.
COLOR	Voices the selected circuit and sets the fixed loop frequency. With centroid tuning active, it also biases the tracked frequency by as much as one octave down or up.
REACT	Lets input energy and transients push pressure and feedback more strongly.
TUNE	Blends from the fixed Color frequency toward a smoothed estimate of the input spectral centroid.
BODY	Restores a lower, cleaner vocal component alongside the folded signal.
MIX / OUTPUT	Sets the processed blend and final level.

Circuits

Circuit	Character
SHRED	The original Macro Shred saturation and wavefolding path. It remains the default for old sessions and presets.
WOOL	Two compressed clipping stages with interstage recovery and a broad tilt.
RAT	Frequency-dependent high gain, hard clipping, and a variable post-filter.
ZONE A	Tighter upper-mid focus after two high-gain stages.
ZONE B	A lower, wider, more asymmetric Zone response.
FUZZ I	Asymmetric saturation with envelope-driven voltage sag.
FUZZ II	Gated comparator fuzz with hysteretic memory.
DIODE	A color-variable symmetric-to-asymmetric diode curve.

The seven added models use the same shared transfer kernels as the corresponding NIM inserts. Macro Shred supplies its own pressure stage, resonant loop, body blend, lane relationships, and containment around those kernels.

Centroid Tuning

TUNE uses a lightweight four-band log-frequency estimate rather than an FFT. Confidence gating prevents very quiet input from steering the loop, and smoothing keeps consonants from producing abrupt frequency jumps. At 0%, feedback follows COLOR alone. At 100%, the input centroid provides the main tuning target while COLOR remains an octave offset.

The LOOP readout shows the current feedback frequency beside its activity meter. In the multichannel versions it shows the geometric center of the active lane frequencies.

Multichannel Relationships

The 8-channel and 24-channel versions add the same relationship controls used by Macro Delay and Macro Pitch:

SPREAD distributes feedback tuning around the center lane.
DEVIATION adds repeatable lane-specific tuning and intensity variation.
SKEW biases the field from its first lane toward its last lane.
CENTER moves the neutral point of the spread.
GLIDE smooths relationship changes.

Containment

The internal loop caps its feedback gain, removes DC, monitors its own energy, and reduces regeneration when the loop becomes too dense. A final limiter keeps output finite at extreme settings. PANIC clears the loop immediately without changing the current parameter values.

These safeguards constrain digital output, but high monitoring gain can still be hazardous. Begin with low monitor level and raise FEEDBACK deliberately when using a live microphone.