Bitcrusher - Arturia VOCODER V User Manual

9.5.8. BitCrusher

Arturia instruments make maximum use of digital technology to generate high-fidelity
sounds. But sometimes you want to be nasty, and this technology can also be warped to
create gritty, lo-fi, industrial sounds. The Bitcrusher adds digital distortion by intentionally
reducing the bit depth and sampling rate of incoming signals. If you're nostalgic for the
early days of digital with 4-bit audio resolution and an 11.025 kHz sample rate, this is the
effect for you.
To explore the BitCrusher, start by setting the Bit Depth and Downsample dials to minimum.
Then gradually turn up each dial to reduce the incoming signal's bit depth and lower its
sampling rate. Each knob has a different degrading effect, so experiment with different
settings to find the ideal amount of sonic destruction and devastation.
Bit Depth Turn up this knob to reduces a sound's resolution (i.e., the number of
•
bits used to render an output) from 16 bits to 1.5 bits.
Downsample Resamples the already bit-reduced signal (set by the Bit Depth
•
knob). As you turn up this knob, your incoming signal will be re-sampled at lower
and lower frequencies, which increasingly destroys the sound's fidelity.
72 Arturia - User Manual Vocoder V - The Effects