CableGuys CrushShaper €39/$44

CableGuys add a bitcrush effect to their ShaperBox collection. So what has this crusher got to offer that others don’t?

CableGuys updated their modulation-focussed multi-effect tool ShaperBox towards the end of last year, and now the developers are adding a new processor into the mix. CrushShaper is a bitcrusher designed to make use of the same customisable modulation tools as the rest of the ‘Shaper’ family. It runs within ShaperBox 2 and comes as part of the full ShaperBox bundle, but it’s also available as a standalone purchase.

Seasoned producers will, no doubt, be fully familiar with the general principles of bitcrushers. These digital distortion effects reduce the resolution and bandwidth of the target audio to achieve effects ranging from a subtle lo-fi quality to full-on destruction. It’s a common effect, achievable via the stock plugins in most DAWs, so what does CableGuys’ take have to offer that others don’t?

CrushShaper is housed inside the same ShaperBox container as its sibling effects and, as with those tools, the emphasis here is on modulation as much as it is the effect itself. The UI’s focal point is the central grid in which users can shape their own custom LFO/envelope used to control the depth of the effect. ShaperBox itself offers an assortment of tools to make this possible. There are pens, curve generators and a selection of editing tools that allow for deep, yet easy refinement of the automation curve.

However, there is also a selection of predesigned curves that can act as a ready source of starting points. There’s plenty of control over the speed at which CrushShaper cycles through its modulation curves too. These can be sync’d to the project tempo at a host of different beat divisions, set at a free-running Hz rate or set to track the pitch of incoming MIDI notes.