Crusher

The Crusher gives a deck lo-fi sampler grit by reducing its bit depth and its sample rate. Use it to make a clean sample sound like it came off an old hardware sampler. It is the third unit in the effect rack. Its faceplate is the LX-12 Sample Crusher, and its screen draws the stepped “staircase” the crusher makes of the wave.

Controls

Control	Range	Default	What it does
Bits	2 to 16 bit	8 bit	Bit depth. Fewer bits add more noise and distortion.
Rate	/1 to /32	/4	Divides the sample rate: each sample is held for this many samples. Higher values sound darker and more aliased.
Jitter	0 to 100%	0%	Randomly varies how long each sample is held, for a less regular, dirtier sound.
Mix	0 to 100%	100%	Balance between the dry deck and the crushed sound.

The strip’s readout shows the Bits setting.

Using it

• Classic sampler colour. Around 12 bits with Rate at /2 to /4 roughens a sample gently without wrecking it.
• Destroyed. Drop Bits to 4 or below and push Rate up for a harsh, digital sound. This works well on simple tones, where the added harmonics are easy to hear.
• Unsteady grit. Add some Jitter at a high Rate to make the aliasing wobble instead of sitting at one pitch.
• Keep the punch. Set Mix to about 50% to blend the grit with the clean scratch.

Tip

Because the units run in a fixed order, the Crusher always comes after Drive and before the Compressor. A compressor after heavy crushing helps even out the level of the noisier signal.