The 5 Best FREE BitCrusher VST Plugins (2022)
“What are the best free bitcrusher plugins?”
Bitcrushing is a digital audio effect capable of producing some bizarre, unique, distorted sounds. To put it simply, bitcrushing is the process of reducing the accuracy of a digital signal, and essentially discarding some of the digital information used to create a sound. This is characterized by notable distortion, and digital degradation of the audio input.
A few decades ago, the concept of reducing the digital accuracy of a sound in a creative sense was unheard of. Recently, with the emergence of countless electronic genres utilising this concept, bitcrushing is a fairly commonly used audio effect in the producer sphere.
The Best Free Bitcrusher Plugins
There are many incredibly powerful bitcrusher VST plugins available, and most DAWs will come with one or two decent bitcrusher tools.
However, if you’re not ready to reach for your wallet just yet, there are a great selection of FREE bitcrusher plugins that are capable of adding fantastic-sounding bitcrushing effects similar to the commercial plugins.
Below are the best free bitcrusher VST plugins in 2022, that will give you professional bitcrusher effects without ever spending a penny.
Click here for our guide to the top 100 FREE VST plugins of all time.
The Best Free Bitcrusher Plugins in 2022 (+ Download Links)
1. Trikit – Krush
In my opinion, there isn’t too much competition for the number 1 spot on this list. Trikit’s Krush is the freeware version of their popular bitcrusher Krush Pro, and comes with most of the weird and wonderful features of it’s commercial counterpart.
Krush is capable of almost any bitcrush’ed effect you can imagine, from subtle, digital crunch to bizarre, mangled, warped effects. The plugin is also very light on CPU, with a clear, simple layout – so it’s perfect for beginners!
This free bitcrusher plugin features drive, bit depth reduction and sample rate reduction controls, as well as 2 analog modeled resonant filters (low-pass and high-pass). It also features a modulation section, containing a free/tempo-synced modulation speed control, 4 modulation waveforms and modulation depth controls for every parameter.
It also comes with an eclectic range of bitcrusher effects presets to dive into.
This plugin is available for Mac / PC and 32-bit / 64-bit versions.
Click here for a FREE download.
2. MeldaProduction – MBitFun
MBitFun is a seriously advanced bitcrusher with a LOT of creative flexibility and control.
In terms of freeware, this is arguably the most in-depth distortion / bitcrusher plugin available. Like most bitcrusher plugins, you can convert the audio to various bit-depths, in this case from 1 single bit up to 16 bits per sample. However, MBitFun allows you to apply processes to each bit individually – something I’ve personally never come across in a free plugin.
The downside here is the inevitable learning curve. MBitFun is pretty difficult to get your head around at first, and I wouldn’t say it has the most intuitive interface. This free bitcrusher is insanely versatile, but it’s not for everyone. If you’re looking for a more rudimentary bitcrusher, check out some of the other options on this list.
Please note: MBitFun is only download-able as part of MeldaProduction’s free MFreeBundle.
This plugin is available for Mac / PC and 32-bit / 64-bit versions.
Click here for a FREE download.
3. ToneBoosters – TB TimeMachine
If you’re after a free bitcrusher plugin with a fat, vintage tone, I’d recommend checking out TB TimeMachine by ToneBoosters.
This plugin has been around for a while, but it’s still a great choice for various bitcrushing processes.
TB TimeMachine appears to be designed to emulate famous vintage samplers like the E-mu SP-1200, so it’s ideal for adding retro, crunchy effects to your sounds. The engine features an adjustable sample rate control between 1000 and 44100 Hz, and bit-depth is adjustable between 0 and 16-bits on a continuous scale. It also has aliasing and saturation knobs for finetuning your bitcrush effects.
For such a simple plugin, you can create a lot of wacky, digitally-distorted sounds.
This plugin is available for Mac / PC and 32-bit / 64-bit versions.
Click here for a FREE download.
4. Stagecraft – BitCrusher
Stagecraft’s BitCrusher is another example of a simple, yet surprisingly powerful, free bitcrusher plugin. This free plugin features standard bit rate and rate reduction controls, as well as a visualised stereo spread control, and noise filter / LFO options
The noise filter / LFO options are particularly interesting as they allow you to manipulate just the noise output of the sound, and it allows you to easily some interesting “swooshing” effects.
This bitcrusher plugin also allows you to automate any parameter (noise, rate reduction, bit depth, wet/dry mix), to create your own warped, sonically evolving sounds.
This plugin is available for Mac / PC and 32-bit / 64-bit versions.
Click here for a FREE download.
5. Xfer Records – Delta Modulator
Xfer Records, best known for their revolutionary wavetable synthesizer Serum, have an (admittedly very outdated) bitcrusher plugin still available to download.
Delta Modulator is a very basic bitcrusher plugin with standard samplerate and bit-depth controls. According to Xfer Records it is “based on a signal modulation technique found in Nintendo NES console’s delta modulation channel”.
This free plugin uses delta modulation techniques, so the resulting sound is more “blocky” than more bitcrushers. This gives sound output reminiscent of Nintendo NES gaming console’s sampling channel, so you can achieve some cool, retro-style effects.
This plugin is available for Mac / PC and 32-bit / 64-bit versions.
Click here for a FREE download.
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