JST Pixelator

The bit crusher plugin from Joey Sturgis Tones is a great little source of power to add some dirt to your mixes.

This post is a review of the JST Pixelator plugin from Joey Sturgis Tones which is a bit crusher type VST effects plugin which works on Windows and Mac. We discuss the features of the plugin along with the settings available.

Jump to:

• Introduction
• What can JST Pixelator do for your mix?
• Hear the Pixelator in action
• Notable Features of JST Pixelator
• Presets Available
• Alternatives Available
• Pixelator FAQ's
• Review Summary of JST Pixelator
• Where To Buy

Introduction

The JST Pixelator is a simple yet effective bit crusher plugin. The main function of the plugin is to take the inbound sound and reduce down the segments of the wave form from a bigger number to a smaller number. In doing this the effect becomes more binary and therefore providing a grainier effect.

Is JST Pixelator worth it?

Yes, if you want dedicated bitcrushing with more sound-shaping options than a stock plugin gives you. The five algorithms cover clean digital crush through to gritty, unpredictable degradation, which is more range than most bundled bitcrushers offer. It won't suit anyone who only needs an occasional lo-fi effect, since a free option will cover that.

What can JST Pixelator do for your mix?

The JST Pixelator is a VST plugin which takes incoming signal and slices it up to crush the section. The plugin can be dropped on any track but works particularly well on synth leads which need a bit of fizz. I've also had success adding a slight (and I mean slight) amount dialled in to a full drum buss. This will provide a bit of dirt on the mix and make it have a tad more grime to it.

Hear the Pixelator in action

Press the button again to stop the music.

Notable Features of JST Pixelator

• Bypass button / Mix dial
• Sample Divider
• A/B button

The Bypass button does exactly that, it bypasses the plugin entirely and is a quick escape button if you dial something into the mix that sounds awful. Similarly to the bypass button is the Mix dial. Moving the dial down to 0 is essentially bypassing the plugin again, but you can gradually dial in the amount of effect that you want. Furthermore, this can be automated as a midi function if your DAW will allow you.

The Sample Divider ranges from 1 to 64 and will determine how many segments the section of the sample is to be divided into. The lower the number, the more intense the bit crusher effect will be.

The A/B button is a quick and easy way to set two types of setting within the plugin and see what works on your mix.

Presets Available

There are no specific presets available with the JST Pixelator so when doing this review all actions were captioned manually. The main changes that can be made are the sample divider and bit depth dials. These were the biggest impact factors on the changes of sound with this plugin.

Sometimes a plugin is so simple and what I found when doing this JST Pixelator review was that native DAW plugins might just offer what you need. I found the distortion mode in Bitwig Studio was enough to provide a similar effect as to what this plugin offered.

Alternatives Available

If you are looking for a wider variety of options within your bit crush plugins you could look at Decimort 2 by D16 or Crushshaper by the Cableguys. Both of these plugins will give you more options when it comes to both settings that can be tweaked and also presets available to show you what it can do.

This is part of my guide to the best saturation plugins so be sure to check out some other options in there.

The JST Pixelator is a simple but effective plugin so if you are looking for pure distortion to your sound signal which is not a stock DAW plugin then you can't go wrong with this one.

Pixelator FAQ's

Review Summary of JST Pixelator

Where To Buy

You can purchase JST Pixelator from Joey Sturgis Tones directly.