UK-based midierror let us know that they have introduced the 8BitM8, a new bit-crusher pedal, inspired by the tonal qualities of vintage samplers, MPCs and lo-fi sounds.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
“Hardware bit crushers are hard to come by and are often simply ‘sample rate reducers’ without any effect on the number of bits. The 8BitM8 is a fully digital bit crusher with settings for 4, 6 and 8-Bit – meaning the sounds of early samplers, lofi keyboards and digital effect units at your fingertips.
The 8BitM8 processes sounds using an 8-Bit AVR Microcontroller, sampling the input signal from the pre-amplifier at high speed, going to the DAC at an adjustable interval set by the RATE knob. Prepare for a heady audio spectrum spanning subtle glitchy overtones to supercharged distortion, with a WET/DRY MIX knob to set how much of the signal is processed.
A simple LOW PASS FILTER is available for the wet signal to swoop from sparkly brightness to low end warbles. The LEDs reflect the outputted audio rate, and provide a snazzy representation of the processed audio, be it smooth and musical or edgy and raw!
The pedal has true bypass, controlled and engaged by a relay which is triggered by the arcade button; a genuine arcade cabinet component built to withstand extreme button bashing. It functions as a momentary switch or as toggle by simply pushing the button during power on or not. This gives you the chance to create quick staccato chops or engage the crusher for a more sustained period.
Bit crushing is a superb effect to use in conjunction with other effects and works supremely well on keys, vocals and bass sounds. If you’re a fan of the EMU SP1200, Akai S3000, Akai S950 or even the Casio SK-1, this pedal will process your sound with authentic degraded digital goodness.”
Pricing and Availability
The 8BitM8 is available now for $185.
It’s always a bummer for me to see such cool pedals in mono only. I want cool stuff like this for my stereo send effects chain.
I bought a Zoia and so I’m pretty good but still, more pedals need to be stereo!
I feel the same way. Hunting for stereo pedals is pretty tedious, sadly. I’m particularly looking for pedal-format comp/limiter/sat “final stage” effects for my rig, and the selection is really limited. Remove the “stereo” requirements, and suddenly I have thousands of options. Literally thousands.
Yea I hate the struggle to find stereo pedals…especially analog ones. That is why when I develope my own pedals in the future I will do a stereo version of each.
You might want to take a look at the Elextro Harmonix Platform. I haven’t used it myself, but it looks to check a lot of the boxes you mentioned.
Just use plugins, there are enough great sounding options.
And how exactly does that help in a dawless environment?
Just use a DAW, don’t be stuck in the 90s!
That comment pretty much shows that you have no idea what you are talking about. We have DAWs since the 70s and 80s.
There were no DAWs in the 70s. If you were rich you could have had a DAW or rather sampler-synthesizer-hybrid like a Fairlight or Synclavier in the 80s. In the 90s software sequencers and still somewhat expensive DAWs came out, but most of us used hardware sequencers until the late 90s. DAWs as we know today include plugins and that is something that came in the early 2000s and really only started to get good in the last couple of years.
History lesson over.
Well if you consider the Fairlight a “DAW”, then the first appeared in 1957, as Max Matthew’s MUSIC I running on an IBM 704. By the early 1970’s, Matthew’s MUSIC system was already a very powerful and widely used platform for electronic music composition.
That’s why I said sampler-synthesizer hybrid. There was no DAW (as we know it) until the mid 80s with the Synclavier and its hard disk recording option was widely avialable.
The distinction is not clear. I never touched it, but I understand even this earliest versions of MUSIC were capable of recording performances.
it’s pretty small, just buy two:)
Great idea.?
Set them slightly different for L and R, might make for some interesting phase differences. 🙂
The Meris Ottobit Jr is stereo.
“Hardware bit crushers are hard to come by and are often simply ‘sample rate reducers”
Hardware bit crushers may have been hard to find over 10 years ago but now there are so many : WMD Geiger Counter, Malekko Scrutator, Meris Ottobit Jr, Mooer Lofi Machine, Dr Scientist Bitquest, Red Panda Bitmap, Iron Ether Frantabit, Hexe Bitcrusher.
And all of them do both sample and bit reduction.
Still the 8bitM8 looks fun.