Using Bitcrushing over an already distorted signal path.. =)

[Disporeflectriad]

Hey all! this place seems AWESOME. I am new, aka newbie. Please dont bite.


I am very new to the idea of "bitcrushing" and a lot of these fuzz pedals by companies like devi-ever, metasonix and wmd. I am getting into it though and LOVING it.

My question is; I play through two simultaneous amps, my signal is split between and Mesa and a Marshall. There are times in songs, where I just want a crazy wacked out wickeded overdriven bitcrushing sound..

Example?

If you listen to the solo in "We're in this together now" off Nine Inch Nails the Fragile. Thats the kind of uncontrollable sound im after.


So my problem is I am already running an overdriven signal... to switch both of those amps to a clean channel.... and then turn on a bitcrusher is a pain in the balls.

Can I use one in one of the amps FX loops ontop of the over drive or is that a bad idea?

What does one usually do when they are using a normally distorted signal and then they want to just funk it up and go all crazy for a solo?



thanks so much guys and girls! if my questions aren't clear let me know and ill try my best to rephrase.

carpe diem

[Heavy_Soul]

hey welcome to the forums, stick around and post in the hello thread in the general discussion!

I have no idea what effect a Bit Crusher would have in an effects loop, but I'm almost 100% sure that someone here will...!

[Bassus Sanguinis]

bit crusher shouldn't care the less, it will just crap the shit out of your sound by redusing the bitrate and that then adding dirt and whatnot on that. It's totally cool to have it in fx loop after the preamp gain, that what I wound go for. As usual, dirt before the modulation would make sense but placing it the very last after ALL else can be a wonderful experience. Try both, see which You like better.

...and welcome to the empire of lovely, fuzzy awesome.

[coldbrightsunlight]

If it's crazy you're going for, starting with a distorted signal is never bad. I've run bitcrusher after dirt before and it sounds awesome, putting one in the FX loop should sound great. If you're just going for the sound in that song an insane amount of gain (stacked pedals) and a wah pedal/other filter should do it, but bitcrushers are super fun so go for that.
Welcome to the forum!

[Disporeflectriad]

Thanks so much all!

Based on the sound I told you about... The NIN "we're in this together now" solo... what bitcrusher from what brand would you choose?

to give you an idea of my rig:

epiphone LP- boss tuner- wah- eq- noise suppressor- phaser- Lehle Amp Splitter

Then it splits to a Marshall JCM 2000 and a Mesa Tremoverb

Inside of the Marshall FX Loop I run:

micro amp- digitech whammy- flanger- tremelo- flanger


im thinking of putting it in that marshall fx loop...

so which one!? thanks!

[theavondon]

http://mtlasm.blogspot.com/p/wrong-side-of-uranus.html

http://mtlasm.blogspot.com/p/wrong-side-of-uranus.html

http://mtlasm.blogspot.com/p/wrong-side-of-uranus.html

http://mtlasm.blogspot.com/p/wrong-side-of-uranus.html

[Astricii]

Welcome!

Describe your set up and I'll see what I could recommend. if you're running true stereo it might be kind of hard to have a simultaneous bitcrushed sound without a stereo bit crusher... (good idea actually... hmm)

Listening to We're in this together It sounds like some kind of Metasonix tube based distortion for the main sound. some kind of EQ and a wah.

[Disporeflectriad]

heyyy, described my setup in the post right before yours, thanks!

[coldbrightsunlight]

Definitely agree about Montreal Assembly. Dude makes some GREAT bitcrushers/noisy things.

[ashdown]

i don't know much about bit crushers either but i found this

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0zCUt-ln8o[/youtube]

and i want it

[Gone Fission]

I'd figure it's like fuzz -- if you want to hear the rough edges, don't put distortion after it as you'll end up smoothing and homogenizing it. If you're using preamp gain on your amp, make sure that the bit crusher you chose will work in the loop level and impedance wise.

[Disporeflectriad]

The montreal assembly one is a bit more complicated... still not sure on which pedal!

my rig is in the post above

[Astricii]

Oh wait... fuckin duh...

http://redpandalab.com/products/tc-bitcrusher/


stero bit crusher.

though I'm not sure true bitcrushing is going to give you the sound you're after. maybe into a dirty amp it might though...

[Eric!]

problem solved:

[onelouderash]

Welcome to the forums!

Interestingly enough, if you want to nail the "We're in This Together" solo tone, you're probably best off looking for a Digitech XP 100 Whammy/Wah as opposed to a bit crusher.

That being said, the WMD Geiger Counter is both immense and in use in the NIN studios. Not for the faint of heart, though! Robin Finck uses the Devi Ever Bit fuzz in his live setup, but the Bit fuzz is actually fairly different from proper bit crushing.

As an aside, anyone else feel like we should have a sticky in Gear for "How Do I get X Sound?" Seems like it'd be handy to have a repository of tips and factoids? Just a thought.