Decimort2

Distortion is an extremely common practice in music production. By using distortion on various instruments in a track you can add various nuances that may often mean a fuzzier or grittier sound. You may initially think that distortion is used only in more abrasive subgenres of rock and electronic music, but as I’ve already said, it’s a very common process.

There are many ways to achieve this effect; bitcrushing is but one of them, even though you won’t hear it too often in popular music. Bitcrushing effectively reduces the sample rate or resolution of a digital audio input, which most often results in a less polished “old school” sound. This may easily be a harsh sound, but it may very well be a warm sound, depending on how you use the effect.

A plugin that can help you achieve a retro sound for your music through bitcrushing is Decimort2. At its core is a resampler that allows you to readjust the input’s sample rate. At the same time, you can change the resolution from 1 to 16 bits. You can also add dithering, jittering, and various types of filters until you achieve the sound you desire. Finally, the retro plugin comes with plenty of presets that show its capabilities and may help you find your musical direction.