this is a sample rate reducer, which is the analog
counterpart of the digital bitcrusher. this is achieved
with a very tailored sample and hold circuit and the
resulting effect is also often compared to ring modulation
at certain settings, but the DG is capable of much
more then that
the new version of the downgrade has been completely
redesigned, and it is now 100% analog and 100% original.
i've also added a couple of new features, each of which
are described in detail below, but you can just ignore
all that and listen to the samples
for the v2.3 i've cleaned up the pre amp a little
bit, changed knobs again and moved a few things around
inside to keep nice and clean in there. nothing really
that significant and i don’t plan on making anymore
updates - photo soon
there have been a few changes with v2.2, the
switches and knobs are different, the CV / EXP toggle
is on the back between the IN and CV jack. the input
level led was removed so i could do some things inside,
but the violet leds i was sent this time look more
like blue to me, sorry. the option to use the reducer
itself to process DC control voltage signals like you
would audio has been removed by default, but if you
want it restored just let me know before i ship it,
but what this means is that it will no longer pop at
times when bypassing it, which some people didn't like.
you can of course still control the rate with external
CV
i'll be putting together a proper PDF manual one of
these days, i promise
I/: this is the
input gain, which is in phase, has little or no frequency
loss, and a ridiculous amount of gain ( over 200x )
so you can plug low level or passive devices directly
into it with no need for an extra pre-amp. at its lowest
setting it simply acts as a buffer, there is no input
attenuation. like all of my devices
its been designed to accept all synth, line level and
instrument level inputs sources with no impedance issues
so feel free to plug your synths and sound cards directly
into it without the need for any stepdown. note:
at the highest setting there will be some self oscillation
and noise so if oddly pitched noise or cleanliness
is a concern simply don't use the highest setting -
i should point out that this is just a feature for
the noise makers out there. normal use will never require
you to run the pre that hard.
disrupt: this is
the new distortion control, at high levels it will
completely squarewave the input signal by itself. also
at high settings the distortion is so strong the reducer
will seem to have little or no effect so be careful. note:
at the highest setting there will be some self oscillation
and noise so if oddly pitched noise or cleanliness
is a concern simply don't use the highest setting -
i should point out that this is just a feature for
the noise makers out there. normal use will never require
you to run the distortion that hard.
downgrade: this
gives you control over the rate reduction (clock).
it controls the speed that the sample and hold is triggered.
this is the heart of the pedal and setting it to the
desired position will determine the max sweep range
for the EXP pedal / CV input when its in use.
dissect: this is
a new feature that you won't find anywhere else. but
its hard to explain if you don't fully understand how
reducers / sample and holds work. to put it simply,
it gives you control over how long the sample of
the sample and hold is. from the very short length
used to make the reducer effect, to a wide squarewave
used for a normal sample and hold. the samples and
videos should explain further. what this does is allow
you to use the downgrade in far more applications because
you can now adjust the amount of the source sound that
comes through the reduction process. also if you flip
the descend switch and increase the range that the
reducer can travel, what used to be rather worthless
in the lower setting can now be slowly swept into a
big chunky sample and hold similar a squarewave tremolo
except that the sound that comes through is now a sample
and its staggered in time. so if its hooked up in parallel
with other effects you can achieve very interesting
results. also being as how this can be put under voltage
control you can use it as a modulating chopper/ stutter
effect
\O: this the output
volume control.
dialup: this allows
you to switch on an internal feedback / self oscillation
bend that lets you use the DG as a fucked up bass heavy
synth. nearly every control has a different effect
on the result so you will have to play around with
it yourself. the CV input will give you control over
the pitch but its not perfect. its really just intended
more for special effects or noise making. when feeding
the DG a source that is really loud, like a synth for
example, you may need to turn it down at the source
a little to not overpower the feedback or it may just
work more like a 50/50 wetness control.
descend: this is
a reduction range extender which allows you to choose
between the higher range of the reducer giving you
more precise control over the downgrade and dissect
settings, or the full wide range that will allow you
to achieve the slow blocky sample and hold / tremolo
effects.
LEDs: this is a
clock rate indicator used to tell you the speed you
are running at. at higher speeds it will just seem
to stay solid but when you flip the descend toggle
and you start running at slower speeds it will pulse
in time. i did this to help make it easier for you
to sync up the rate with an outside tempo. for example
to sync up the DG with a drum loop, which you will
probably do quite often. it will also pulse along with
an CV signal you send it. there is no real power indicator
so you will have to pay attention to whether or not
its on or you can waste batteries
bypass switch: this
is a heavy duty true bypass / power stomp switch
9V wall jack: this
is a 9 volt 2.1mm center negative power input so you
can run it off of any standard 9v wall wart. the DG
only consumes about 6ma at the most so just about any
will work. there is reverse polarity and over voltage
protection to keep you from destroying it. you can
feed it anything up to about 25vDC and be fine
single 9v battery clip: the
new DG now only requires one 9 volt battery and only
6ma at most. so it will run for approximately 100 hours
or 4 days solid on a standard alkaline battery.
input jack: the
mono input is on the right side and marked with a triangle
pointing into the box. there is also over voltage protection
here as well - the ring shunts to ground
expression / CV pedal input: there
is now an expression pedal / control voltage input
that gives you external control over the downgrade
/ rate reduction. upon plugging in an EXP pedal or
control voltage the downgrade knob becomes the range
limiter and turning it adjusts how much the sweep of
the EXP pedal or CV will effect the reduction, but
the range of the sweep is somewhat limited, only giving
you about 50% of the normal knob range. there is a
switch on the back to choose between CV and EXP pedal,when
facing the front - left is EXP, right is CV
audio output jack: the
audio output is on the left side and marked with a
triangle pointing away from the box - the ring shunts
to ground
WARNING: although
i don't see it happening i just want to formally say
i am not responsible for damage to other equipment.
use common sense
these samples are not overly exciting
i guess. i just tried to cover the full range of each
control. they usually start off with a clean sound
then adjusting the distortion up and down, then sweeping
the downgrade knob down and then opening up the dissect
a notch and sweeping up, then turning the dissect another
notch and sweeping down again, over and over so you
can see how the dissect feature start to take bigger
samples, changing the reduction sound and you can hear
more of the source with each sweep. then hitting the
descend toggle and working the dissect and downgrade
sweeps backwards, then just fucking around towards
the end of each. hopefully this helps you make sense
of it all
some casio drums,
at no time did i alter the tempo. that is the
DG at lower settings with the dissect open,
yes it works as a crude analog beat slicer
too
standard disclaimer: these
samples are just me hitting record and messing around
in an attempt the show you the full range of options
with no musical intent whatsoever. they are all from
one single pass, some i cut in half for size. no effects
or editing were used at all so some volumes are a little
quite in places. people that make samples that have
been smashed with compression or are smeared with reverb
or delay are fucking morons that are trying to hide
or exaggerate their results. as usual with any sample
not labeled as being made by someone other then myself
you can feel free to use these in your own work.
