FreeDistortion and compressor · Coming soon

Crusher, a free CamelCrusher alternative

The CamelCrusher sound, freshly
squeezed.

I measured CamelCrusher and rebuilt it from scratch. It sounds the same, and now it can crush in three bands.

Tell me when it’s out

CLAP, VST3 and Audio Unit · macOS and Windows · No iLok

Crusher's panel
Crusher’s display: a kick’s spectrum across the three bands, and the compressor’s curve

Each band’s spectrum and where the compressor is on its curve, live.

0.1 dB
from CamelCrusher’s loudness, on the same drums, bass and vocals
1%
from its Tube and Mech curves, of full scale
0
samples of latency at 1x
Same
CPU as CamelCrusher at default settings

Distortion

Tube and Mech, just like the original.

Both distortion modes, rebuilt to within 1% of CamelCrusher’s curves. Tube is smoother, Mech is harsher, and you can use both at once.

The Distortion section: Tube and Mech

Compress

The compressor, with Phat.

Compress pulls the quiet parts up toward the loud parts, so everything comes out dense. Phat works the same as CamelCrusher’s, and if you turn it off you get a clean compressor.

The Compress section and the Phat button

Filter

A low pass before the distortion.

The resonance gets crushed along with everything else, up to +17 dB. It’s off when the knob is all the way up, same as the original.

The Filter section: Cutoff and Resonance

Bands

Three bands, if you want them.

CamelCrusher runs the whole mix through one curve, so the kick and the hats get mashed together. Turn on Bands and the lows, mids and highs each get crushed by their own amount.

The Bands section: Low, Mid and High, and where they split

Out

Oversampling, if you want it.

At 1x it aliases exactly like CamelCrusher, because that grit is part of the sound. At 4x the aliasing goes away and you get 75 samples of latency.

The Out section: Mix, Output and the oversampling switch

System requirements

Mac

macOS 11 or later

Apple silicon and Intel

Windows

Windows 10, 11 (64-bit)

Formats

VST3, AU, CLAP (64-bit)

Hosts

I’ve tested it in:

  • Ableton Live 12
  • Apple Logic Pro
  • FL Studio 20 or later
  • REAPER
  • Tracktion Waveform 14

It’ll probably work fine in:

  • Ableton Live 10 or later
  • Bitwig Studio 4 or later
  • Steinberg Cubase 10 or later
  • PreSonus Studio One 5 or later
  • Reason 13 or later
  • Any other DAW that loads VST3, AU or CLAP

It won’t load in Pro Tools, which only takes AAX.

If it gives you trouble in your DAW, email support@nonsense.audio and I’ll consider taking a look.

Frequently asked questions

Crusher

Is Crusher the same as CamelCrusher?

Crusher is a new plugin built by measuring how CamelCrusher responds, so its distortion and compression sound very close to the original (maybe even better?). The three-band mode, per-band compression and oversampling are modern additions to the original.

Does Crusher add latency?

Crusher runs with zero latency by default. Turning on 4x oversampling adds 75 samples, and Crusher reports that to your DAW so your tracks stay aligned.

How much CPU does Crusher use?

At default settings it uses the same CPU as the original CamelCrusher. Switching on the three bands needs a bit more, and 4x oversampling more again.

Why is it lemonade themed?

Why not?

Installation

Is Crusher free?

Crusher is completely free, because I don’t want to deal with licenses or payment.

Do I need an internet connection?

No internet connection is needed to install or use Crusher.

Does Crusher run natively on Apple silicon?

Crusher runs natively on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

What if I need 32-bit?

Too bad.

One email when each one’s out. Nothing else.

No iLok, because it sucks.