Welcome to a new world of sound synthesis!
Concept crusher-X is a shareware program whose powerful vapor synthesis  algorithm enables you to synthesize very complex and cool waves. crusher-X does distill and transform sounds quite radically. Based on traditional granular synthesis, crusher-X can be used as a synthesizer or as a versatile effects unit. You can create sounds with the internal oscillators or samplers as well as real-time stereo input sound (e.g. a microphone). Internal feedback loops allows self-oscillation within crusher-X! Multichannel ASIO Outputs allows extreme impressive sound installations and multichannel compositions up to 10 independent channels. 

An overall multidimensional morphing system morphs the sound between each parameter changing (e.g. on Loading, on Undo/Redo, on MIDI-Event, on turning a pocket dial knob etc.). This creates clouds of sweeping, shifting and graining sounds. The morph time can be ranged from 1ms up to 1 hour! 

Try it … and hear the result! It’s more than sound, it’s more than music, it’s really fun!

Beside the interface you can optional control the crusher by using MIDI (unlimited amount of Key-Groups and Controllers with Map-functions) or/and a joystick. If you have a force feedback device you can feel the parameters changing. The ASIO Interface allows using of professional low latency multichannel soundcards and hardware.
What's New?
  • Add Morphing System. This allows morphing between the loadlist entries and all other parameter changings.
  • Add Doepfer Pocket Dial Support
  • Add "Save Checks with sheet" option
  • Add more MIDI Destinations like Booster Delay, Morph Time, Undo History ect.
  • Remove some DirectX Engine Bugs
  • Remove Mixer Fades Option. This is now done by the morphing system.
  • Remove some minor bugs.
Algorithm The crusher-X algorithm (we call it vapor synthesis) is based on the traditional granular synthesis algorithm invented in the early 1950s. In granular synthesis, short (e.g. 50 milliseconds) sound fragments, "the grains," come from a fixed file buffer. The starting time, length and silence between the grains can be modulated. More than one grain at a time is possible, so you can create complex sounds "clouds" from a single sound file.

Special is the floating sound buffer which allows real-time input and output. In this floating buffer the grains are created. You can apply many unusual parameters to the grains such as pitch, filter, pan, reverse, and limit - all with a simple, flexible interface.

All parameters can be modulated by internal oscillator sources, whose configuration can be saved as crusher-sheets. A feedback loop inside the algorithm enables very complex and non-linear sound processing. Also, a multiple Undo/Redo function permits nondestructive work and encourages experimentation with crusher-X.
How it works? On the left side of the interface you see the input sections: Samplers and DCOs. The output of this sections is mixed together with the live-input of your soundcard in the mixer ( on the right side). The sum of these signals is now routed to the vapor effect engine (middle). This effect produces the grains. Each generator  generate serials of grains. The parameters of the grains are controled by the vapor modulations. 

The output of the generators are added together and feeded via the limiter, the stereo booster and the feedback fader to the stereo outputs. Each generator itself is also feeded to the direct outputs of your multichannel sound hardware. If you are using more than 8 generators the 1th and 9th generator is added together, the 2th and 10th and so on. By pressing the Record Button you can record all outputs to a single multichannel wav file. You can export the multichannel wav file to single mono files.

Nearly each Fader and Knob can be controled via MIDI or Joystick. 
Interface The interface is divided between a main panel which gives you direct access to the most parameters (with a mouse or hot keys) and floating windows that show the status of the crusher. A special 3D cloud visualization offers a quick overview of all significant parameters. 

A Loadlist lets you switch between crusher-sheets by pressing a single key. A real-time mixer allows smooth fades and morphing between the different crusher-sheets.
Newbie Mode May be you'll find the crusher a kind of confusing because of all the faders and knobs. But now there is an special Newbie Mode Knob. Pressing it reduces the crusher to its basically functions! 
DSP System The native DSP backbone of crusher-X is a special Delphi component system, bsDXStuff, which builds the audio structure and algorithm of this and some other applications. The DSP system meshes with the ASIO, VST or Direct-X interface which connects the crusher-X algorithm to the soundcard buffers.

The DSP component system has a streaming and a messaging layer. The streaming layer permits multiple Undo/Redo and regulates the Save/Load functionality. The messaging layer enables easy connections between the components (e.g. between the fader and volume components or the midi and joystick components). If you are interested in licensing this system please contact us.
History 08.2001 crusherX-Live! 2.33

see actual Features.
 

05.2001 crusherX-Live 2.00,  2.01, 2.02, 2.04, 2.05

  • new multichannel ASIO-Engine, faster, less latency, add ASIO-Setup
  • new multichannel DirectX-Engine, faster, less latency, change DirectX-Setup Dialog
  • add Append Record Mode
  • add Multi Channel Record Mode
  • add Multi Channel Output-Faders including MIDI-Commands
  • add Newbie Mode for very easy use
  • add Vapor Reset Functions, Buttons, Menu-Entries including MIDI-Commands
  • add Default Button in Interface-Option-Dialog
  • add Path Remember on all File Dialogs
  • add Interface and Dialog Map in the Help Files
  • change Where is File Dialog, it can now be aborted
  • change Samplers to relative speed mode (they are now independent from DSP-Samplerate)
  • change Delay-, Length- and Pause-Mode to msec (they are now independent from DSP-Samplerate). Now the crusher-sheets sounds the same independent from the DSP-Samplerate
  • change to new Interface Style, bigger, faster and smoother, better scaling, may be cooler ...
  • loads sample Loadlist on startup if no crusherXLive.cxl file is found
  • remove Multi-Monitor Bugs, including Maximize and Minimize Button on main Form
  • new in 2.05: remove Bluescreen Bug on Offlinerecording in ASIO Mode, remove some minor bugs under Win2000
  • new in 2.04: remove Record Clip bug + grannerX runs now under Fruity Loops too.
  • new in 2.02: add ASIO 32 bit support

    • new in 2.01: remove some minor Bugs from version 2.00


    10.2000 crusherX-Live 1.53

    • add Installer
    • add Uninstaller
    09.2000 crusherX-Live 1.52
    • add 20Hz highpass filter in DSP-Stream to remove subsonic frequencies
    • remove font bug that causes display problems on some systems
    • remove DirectX bug that increases CPU-Load on some systems
    09.2000 crusherX-Live 1.51
    • add five more special Window Types: Hanning2, Hanning3, Phase, Phase2, Phase3
    • add a very special Window Type: You can load it from File now! Strange, strange Sounds ...
    • add more crusher-X sample sheets
    • add hint if help files not found
    • add VST PlugIn grannerX as a gift! You can register it with the same code you got for crusherX-Live
    • optimize DSP Structure
    • change register dialog (registered users can ask for a free new serial number)
    • remove some minor bugs
    06.2000 crusherX-Live 1.50
    • add Start- and Stop-Faders in Sampler 
    • add logarithm and exponent modulation processing, this allows more "human" modulations
    • add Rec-Button in Sampler which allows fast choosing of the recorded file
    • add Auto-Start option to start crusher on booting (very useful for installations)
    • add additional Vol-Control for Sampler and DCOs
    • add Windows Access Panel
    • add Solo-Button for Recorded files playback
    • add more crusher-X sample sheets
    • change interface layout, now crusher-X needs less windows-resources, divided more logical
    • change registration dialog, more options
    • remove three more DSP-thread bugs that had causes some great crashes in special cases. I love my job !
    •  join also to regnet registration service


    03.2000 crusherX-Live 1.40

    • add full Midi In- and Output control. New Midi Dialog. Key-Group and Controller Lists
    • add individual interface scaling option
    • add hint disable/enable option
    • add Open function, you can pass a crusher-sheet, Filelist as a parameter on starting
    • add Crusher-Sheet and Filelist ICONs, file registering
    • add DSP-Thread Priority Checkboxes
    • add Uninstall Menu Item and Option
    • change open wav-file procedure, files still running during the open dialog
    • change windows update routines, much faster interface
    • change option window, direct access to all setups
    • change some streaming routines to allow stream updates
    • change to faster DCOs, remove vols in DSP-Structure for that
    •  change the DSP-Structure, so that the Oscilloscope is running also in Offline-Rendering
    • remove bug on loading limiter settings (load limiter option had not worked)
    • remove bug on fast Volume changes
    • remove 2 memory lacks


    02.2000 crusherX-Live 1.32

    • remove the joystick limitation on the demo version
    • remove ugly demo sound, enjoy now the demo version without stress ;-) 
    • add 64 more Undo Levels (128 now)
    • fixed left channel windows mixer bug
    • fixed interface scale scrollbar bug


    02.2000 crusherX-Live 1.31

    • add interface scale support (use the windows monitor control panel to adjust the desired scale)
    • remove errors if dinput.dll not found
    01.2000 crusherX-Live 1.30
    • add joy stick support 
    • add force feedback of all crusher parameters 
    • add joystick and force feedback dialog
    • add Stereo Booster
    • add record check function 
    • add "Where is file" Dialog in Load-List
    • add new Menu Item New 1 (Reset)
    • add background window and background window options 
    • add more hints to the controls and windows
    • add more samples
    • move menu item Options to menu Edit
    • changed the term "fog" to "vapor" to prevent misunderstandings 
    • with an other synthesis algorithm
    • the windows update is separated to an other Thread: much smoother windows update now
    • put the Feedback L and Feedback R together to a common Feedback Fader (easy handling)
    • remove internal Messager Loop bug
    • remove IIR Filter bug, no more spikes on short grains with IIR
    • remove Feedback R bug
    • remove the internal overdrive (32->64 bit) bug on the limiter/compressor/expander: now +20dB Crusher Input allowed
    • remove the +3dB bug on the right output adder
    • remove the up/dn bug on Loadlist
    11.99 crusherX-Live 1.22
    • add complete Help-Files 
    • add the small lobster 
    • DSP-Setup can now separate inputs and outputs
    • join to share-it registration service


    10.99 crusherX-Live 1.2KF 

    • crusherX-Live was born and ready to download. It was presented on the symposium for electronic music in Munich http://www.stelkens.de/bs/klforsch99/