"Bit Crusher" pedals ... any recommendations/experiences?

SquireJapan

So I'm thinking about buying a "bit crusher" pedal. Being into all that "rave music" in the 90s, I love me some 12 bit "grit". Plus I've been getting back into more industrial metal/rock so fancy making some weird noises with my guitar.

Just sold my seven string, which I'm regretting a bit now... Nu metal is definately dead though ... 

I've been fancying something like the "WMD Geiger Counter", but wondered if you guys had any recommendations? Are they even usable effects in a band setting?

ThePrettyDamned

SquireJapan said:

So I'm thinking about buying a "bit crusher" pedal. Being into all that "rave music" in the 90s, I love me some 12 bit "grit". Plus I've been getting back into more industrial metal/rock so fancy making some weird noises with my guitar.

Just sold my seven string, which I'm regretting a bit now... Nu metal is definately dead though ... 

I've been fancying something like the "WMD Geiger Counter", but wondered if you guys had any recommendations? Are they even usable effects in a band setting?

Actually, I've been listening to a lot of nu metal, korn is my band of choice in the car for work tomorrow morning. 

COME ON, IT'S OOOOONNNNNN

Genuinely some great guitar work in some nu metal. 

guitarfishbay

7 strings are like no man's land these days.  Most regular players never swapped over from 6 strings but the heavy/progressive metal players are now eyeing up 8 and 9 string guitars.  

I've never used a bit crush pedal but I'd imagine you'd have to watch out for some really harsh tones.  But I guess that is the whole point!

This looks fun at least.  Some of the sounds remind me of a Fuzz, but then it goes totally nuts beyond what a Fuzz can do.

guitarfishbay

On the Nu Metal thing... One of the people who auditioned for my band was an 18 year old student who had never heard of Limp Bizkit.  I died a little inside, I realised I was no longer young.  She was wearing a Black Veil Brides hoodie, I'd never even heard of them.. another nail in the coffin )

AxeWieldingBastard

There's the Civilian Issue Geiger Counter which looks a bit more usable.
Death By Audio do one called The Robot thats worth checking out too.

allicio

Dr scientist bit crusher from joes pedals is what you seek!

carlos

I have a geiger counter and really like it. Some of the settings are quite conservative, e.g. bit wave #20 which is just a normal sine wave and will give you a sort of DS-1 sound. And there are 200+ other waves which are progressively bonkers. With an exp pedal it's quite tameable thought,

SquireJapan

The Geiger Counter does seem to be the leader atm - how useful do you find it in terms of making music/live setting etc?

(Sorry if that's an odd question, but have had pefals that are just plain fun to play with, but never worked out for me when trying to make music).

carlos

Well it's great for recording and home work. Live you really need to have some presets ready. What's at the other end doesn't really matter for the geiger counter, but what comes in is really important. So a preset that works great for an EMG humbucker at all 10s will not work for a strat in the '4' position. If you're in control of all components of your rig then it's fine, you can fine tune stuff at the venue but mostly it will do what you want. This is a really good guide:

http://0xdfx.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/a-new-owners-guide-to-getting-the-most-from-your-wmd-geiger-counter/

I then use an exp pedal to control the Sample Rate until I hit the sweet spot. It's really not that complicated but you wouldn't want this box for 2 different settings in a show as it will take you a bit to find the sound you want with a crowd there waiting for you.

SquireJapan

Awesome link, thanks! Man GAS is an affliction. Wonder if you can get patches on the NHS?

ThePrettyDamned

guitarfishbay;373990" said:

On the Nu Metal thing... One of the people who auditioned for my band was an 18 year old student who had never heard of Limp Bizkit.  I died a little inside, I realised I was no longer young.  She was wearing a Black Veil Brides hoodie, I'd never even heard of them.. another nail in the coffin :))

Trust me, black veil brides are not something to look into!

OP, there is a poodle pedals kit for a basic bit crusher pedal. Might be worth a look in for a budget taster