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bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 5:25 pm
by pigmaker
i know there are many of these now, and utube demo videos can only do so much for you.
im assuming some of you have played damn near every bitcrusher pedal there is.
so now i ask for your recommendation.
really my only priority is tweakability, because i am a control freak.
monetary cost is not an issue, because i shit golden bricks.

is it the geiger counter that i am after?

please...do tell. :excellent:

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 5:39 pm
by hollowhero
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Shtr4eTlBC8[/youtube]

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 5:57 pm
by Warpsmasher
The Geiger Counter is definitely the most tweakable by far. It's so deep and complex that most people never completely understand it, but it's still easy to get cool sounds out of it. It will keep you amused for as long as you want to be, but it will also make you see the benefits of something simpler.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:08 pm
by zRobertez
I'm getting the Malekko Bit at some point in the next month or two

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:15 pm
by pigmaker
Thanks for your inputs all

zRobertez wrote:I'm getting the Malekko Bit at some point in the next month or two


I was considering this as well. Have you tried out some others and reached the decision that the BIT is the one for you? Soulmates?

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:18 pm
by zRobertez
pigmaker wrote:Thanks for your inputs all

zRobertez wrote:I'm getting the Malekko Bit at some point in the next month or two


I was considering this as well. Have you tried out some others and reached the decision that the BIT is the one for you? Soulmates?


lol no. I've never played a bitcrusher. Going by youtube videos, the bit and the iron ether bitcrusher on the less crazy mode are my favorites. But the malekko is cheaper/smaller so I've been excited for that one more.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:44 pm
by sonidero
Sonic Alienator or Biscuit or GTFO...

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 6:54 pm
by pigmaker
I might get a biscuit just for putting on my processing pedalboard - what im using for processing samples from my soundcard.
for guitar pedalboard i am currently leaning hexe bitcrusher.
i dont think i will be able to find a sonic alienator anywheres.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 7:01 pm
by kosta
Bugbrand Bugcrusher is my favorite of the ones I've had (which is admittedly only 2 different Bugcrushers, a Geiger Counter and a TSP Downgrade.) Just sounds the best to my ears. The Geiger Counter is definitely cool and full of awesome sounds, but I didn't care for the harsh, "digital-ness" of it.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:23 pm
by Mudfuzz
that civilian is hot!

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:49 pm
by Ghost Hip
Hey I know I say this a lot... but Ibanez Phase Modulator... saw tooth mode.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:16 pm
by pigmaker
PumpkinPieces wrote:Hey I know I say this a lot... but Ibanez Phase Modulator... saw tooth mode.


cool i wil check that out. thanks PP. HAHAH, PEE.

did you ever post on netphoria or do i just know your name from youtube demos? i asked this in the "post your band" thread but i dont think anyone reads that thread. i got exactly zero plays.

Yours in whine,

Pigmaker.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:25 pm
by Shish
Frantabit if you need a versatile bit crusher.
Bit is neat little thing, simple but musical.
How about Mobius, or even Timeline? I use my Timeline for bitcrushing, it does it just fine.
Ring Thing can do bitcrushing too, among all the other things.
Heliotrope is my personal favorite for the bitcrusher after fuzz and filter.
Biscuit is much more than just a bitcrusher, I'd like to have one for synth processing.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 9:54 pm
by bigchiefbc
I've tried a bunch, the Geiger, the Antenna, the Sonic Alienator was fucking hot, but I actually liked the Hexe most.

Now I just use my Mobius.

Re: bitcrusher pedalz

Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:03 pm
by Tristan
There's two things I think every bitcrusher should have: 1. mix / blend control, 2. expression control input and / or an LFO.
These features just make the bitcrusher effect so much more useful and versatile because with the mix / blend you can tweak it from full out madness to a light harmonic shimmer on top (this can be really beautiful) and the expression / LFO makes it way more dynamic.
Most bitcrushers have a maximum resolution of 8 bit which in my experience makes for an effect that goes over the top of what you play instead of really integrating with your signal.

I currently have a Hexe Electronics Bitcrusher III and a Iron Ether FrantaBit and they're both great but quite different beasts I must say.

The FrantaBit has a range from 24 bit to 1 bit so when you sweep the bit depth it sounds much more extreme than most other bitcrushers.
I mainly use the Frantabit for harsh gated synth effects (minimum bit depth and maximum mix) and complete destroying of a loop or something I play (bring down the sample rate with lower bit depth) down to just some crazy watery warbles or screaming noise.
It's also possible to dial in some absurd gated synth fuzz tremolo like sounds that vary in speed with the notes you play, freaky shit! :)
I contacted Taylor a few times to ask some things about the pedals and he responded very quickly so in my experience the costumer service is very good.

Good thing about the Bitcrusher III is it has a range from 12 bit to 1 bit which is kind of a sweet spot I think.
It has also got the Telephone filter which is very useful for dialing in computer sounds but it can also help taming down the treble of another effect (you can use the Telephone filter on the Bitcrusher III without the Crush or Downsample) which makes it quite a versatile pedal (I use it to tame down the highs of the FrantaBit sometimes).
The Downsample on the Bitcrusher sounds incredibly sweet and is great for laying harmonic shimmers on top of your signal, which I use it for mostly.
Another cool feature I end up using quite a bit is the LFO, it's just so easy to use because the LFO sweeps the downsample parameter for you so you don't have to use an expression pedal all the time, it's really great.
Customer service is also really great because Piotr is helping me by programming a different bitcrushing algorithm into my pedal (the current one is just a bit too sensitive with my setup and gives me some noisy artifacts I don't really like) and also tweaking the depth of the LFO to go a bit deeper on high downsample settings (faster speed) so I can get more of these freaky yayaya sounds and that kind of stuff. :)
By the way, for the real tweakers Piotr released the new Bitcrusher III Studio Edition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07ZgzIhDJpM
Quite a bit of money but that thing is a true beast with the four crush modes, seperate LFO's for Crush, Downsample and Telephone parameters and MIDI control.

I also tested the Geiger Counter but for me it was too much, it's really not useful for live applications in my opinion, and offcourse it lacks a mix / blend control which I think, especially in the case of the Geiger Counter with the high gain preamp and 8 bit max resolution, is a fail.

I never tested the Biscuit but that one would have definitely been on my list if I wasn't particularly looking for a bitcrusher in a guitar pedal format.
It seems quite expensive but the filter is supposed to be really great, add in the step sequencer and the fact that you can also use it as a synth that makes it great value considering these options aren't too overwhelming (could be for me).