Installation and getting started
Download Feel free to download the new version of crusher-X from www.crusher-x.de, where you will find a setup file containing all the files you'll need to begin crushing sounds! Check here to see if a newer version is available
Requirements Based on the ASIO or DirectX interface, crusher-X comes with a 32-bit real-time DSP engine that runs on Win9x  platforms with standard soundcards. For satisfying results you'll need:
 
  • Celeron/Pentium 300MHz or higher
  • 32 MB RAM or higher
  • 5MB hard disk and additional space for sounds
  • Win 9x/2000  (NT is not supported because of DirectX problems, try to use it with ASIO!)
  • DirectX installed on Win95 (Win98 already has DirectX installed)
  • 2-10 Channel ASIO Soundcard or 16-bit stereo (duplex) soundcard, which supports DirectX
  • crusher-X is best viewed on a 800x600 or larger display
  • Optional joystick to control sound flow.
  • Optional force feedback device (e.g. joystick). Tested with Logitech Wingman FORCE.
  • Optional MIDI In- and Output device (like on soundcards)


For information about ASIO, please visit: http://www.steinberg.de
For information about DirectX, please visit: http://microsoft.com/directx/

Installation Just start the setup file and follow the instructions. On Win95 systems, make sure that you have DirectX 6.0 or higher installed.

Start the file crusherxlive.exe and press the Start button. After confirming the ASIO or DirectX Setup you'll hear your first crusher-X sound! 

Choose Crusher | Joystick Setup to enable the joystick and force feedback functions. Please be sure that you have a proper installation of the (force feedback) joystick on ID 1. Attach the device before starting the application.

If you like to uninstall crusher-X please choose HELP | Uninstall or start Uninstall.exe.

Language You can use different Interface Languages. You can edit the user.lng file to implement other interface languages than English or German. Please ask us for special offers if you plan to translate the user.lng file in your own language. 

Sie können unter HELP | Interface Language auch ein Deutsches Interface wählen! Die Hilfe-Seiten sind leider noch nicht übersetzt, wir suchen jedoch noch jemanden, der dieses gegen eine freie crusher-Lizenz und einen credit-Eintrag in der About-Box macht! Bitte treten Sie ggf. in Kontakt!

Audio Setup You can use either the ASIO Engine or the DirectX Engine. It is recommended that you use the ASIO Engine if you have ASIO drivers installed on your system! 

By selecting the desired Setup Dialog the corresponding Engine is enabled. The selected Engine is shown in the CPU Window.

Please choose the desired Setup from the Crusher | Audio Setup menu. If you have sound hardware installed that supports ASIO you should use the ASIO Engine because of better performance and latency. 

If you have a soundcard that neither supports DirectX nor ASIO you should install the MME-ASIO Driver from Steinberg. To do this you can install a Demo-Version (e.g. Cubase) from http://www.steinberg.de

ASIO Setup It is recommended that you use the ASIO Engine if you have ASIO drivers installed on your system! 

If you have an ASIO driver for you soundcard the crusher can talk directly to the soundcard via the ASIO driver like other professional programs (e.g. Cubase) does. This bypasses the slow Windows DirectX and MME-Functions!

Choose the desired ASIO Driver. You will see some Information about the driver in the info box. If there is an unsupported format shown, please report this to us. We will solve the problem!

If your system has enough power, choose the 44100Hz Sampling Rate option. 

PC 400MHz and above: 44100Hz
PC 300MHz and below: 22050Hz

If your ASIO Driver supports an Option Dialog you can open it by pressing the Option Button. Note: If the ASIO Driver doesn't support this Dialog nothing will happen if you press this button.

All settings in this dialog will be saved after closing and will reload next time you start crusher-X.

DirectX Setup It is recommended that you use the ASIO Engine if you have ASIO drivers installed on your system! 

If your system allows full duplex input and output, please choose an input device from the Devices tab so you can use crusher-X as a real-time effects unit. You can select more than one Stereo Output Device to use the additional multichannel outputs from the crusher.

If your system has enough power, choose the 44100Hz Sampling Rate option. 

PC 400MHz and above: 44100Hz
PC 300MHz and below: 22050Hz

Windows Mixer

Use the Mixer buttons on the right of the dialog to set up the Windows mixer. If you use more than one sound device, you will have to assign the desired mixer to the specified device (see Options in the Windows mixer menu). 

If you use an input device, you should pull up the record master volume and one or more sources (e.g. Mic) in the Windows mixer.  For the output device, pull up the master volume and the Wave Volume. In some cases you may have to unmute the desired channels in the Windows mixer. 

If the Windows mixer doesn't appear when you press Mixer, you will have to open the Windows mixer manually. Make sure that you have opened the Wave line out in the Volume Control of your specified sound device. Open one Source (e.g. Mic) in the Recording Control for the real-time input. If you have more than one soundcard installed, you'll need to assign the mixer to the corresponding device.

Optimize Performance

To optimize performance, you should set the device buffer size for your soundcard. To reduce the delay between input and output you should optimize the buffer by decreasing it until the overload sign flashes. If this occurs choose a bigger buffer size and press Apply. You can leave the DSP running while adjusting the buffers. Good soundcards under recent versions of Windows allow a minimal delay of about 0.020 sec.

Choose the Crusher DSP | DSP Setup dialog:

Power

Select the Power of the DSP Thread. If it is high it is not interrupted by interface actions. Use this for slower systems if you like to have good sound quality. But the interface reactions becomes a bad performance on slower Systems. "Weak" means  faster Interface reaction, but DSP-Thread may be interrupted on slower Systems. Please use it if you like to use crusher-X together with other applications like sequencers.

All settings in this dialog will be saved after closing and will reload next time you start crusher-X.

Startup Errors

If you get a DirectX error message, you may have to close other applications that are using the soundcard. To remedy startup errors, go to the Crusher DSP | DSP Setup dialog: Try other input or output combinations or other modes. Press Apply and start the DSP again by clicking Start DSP. 

Note: 
Most of the reported startup errors in crusher-X result from an improperly installed Sound System or old drivers that are not supported by DirectX! Please try also the ASIO Setup, even if you have no special ASIO-Soundcard. In this case you can use Steinbergs DirectX- and MME-ASIO Drivers.

crusher-X is a real-time application that takes advantage of the DirectX interface, so please verify that you are using certified DirectX drivers in your Windows system! Check for DirectX drivers by opening the DirectX panel inside the Windows Control Panel. If there is no DirectX panel then you may need to install a new DirectX version from the DirectX page: http://microsoft.com/directx/

Note: Win98 already has DirectX installed, but you cannot view the DirectX panel!

Please contact your hardware distributor for the latest DirectX drivers. 

If there is no DirectX driver available, then try newer versions of regular Windows drivers. DirectX will try to emulate the functions in a special software layer.

Use another sound application (e.g. Cool Edit) to check the input and output functions: in Cool Edit you can check the duplex mode by recording and monitoring a file simultaneously. 

Some applications (such as Cubase) use ASIO drivers. It is not known whether full duplex mode is available under the Windows drivers, so you may need to contact your hardware distributor for adapted Windows drivers.

There's no official DirectX5 for Windows NT4. For that reason crusherX does not support Windows NT. However, you can download and try an unofficial patch for DirectX5 under WinNT at Erik Unger's DirectX (from the JEDI-Project) page: http://www.delphi-jedi.org/DelphiGraphics/DirectX/Download.htm. You could also do a search on the net for the NT4DX5.ZIP file. Crusher-X will probably run fine under Windows NT5 aka Win2K since it will include DirectX 7.

If the error persists, please send us a note with the complete text of the error message and a detailed description of your system. We will do our best to help you!

MIDI Setup Choose Crusher  | MIDI Setup.

Choose the Midi Input and Output devices. If you plan to use crusher-X together with sequencers or other MIDI applications that run together on the same computer you need a Loop back device driver like the freeware "HUBI'S MIDI LOOPBACK DEVICE V2.5" that you might find on the internet (see e.g. http://www.hitsquad.com/)

Check MIDI Thru if you like to mirror the Incoming MIDI-Events at the Output. But be careful using it with Loop back devices, because of undefined midi feedback loops. 

Check Hardware Support | Controller 96+97 receiving and interpretation if you plan to attach a MIDI -Device like Doepfers Pocket Dial. See Pocket Dial Setup for more informations.

Press Apply to make the changes active. Use the CPU Window to check for incoming MIDI events.

About 80 different parameters of crusher-X can be controlled via MIDI Keys or MIDI Controllers. The first Tab let you define the Key-Groups, the second  defines the Controllers.

First Press New to add a new Key-Group or Controller to the list. Then adjust the entry by using the controls. Use Delete button to remove selected entries from the list. 

At the bottom of the dialog you see the last incoming MIDI-Event. Press Learn button if you like to use this for the desired list entry.

Choose the desired Action from the list box. Each Entry can be enabled separately for receiving or sending. E.g. if you enable receiving and choose "Manual X" the desired MIDI value controls the "Manual X" of the crusher and also moves the fader. If you have the sending option enabled and you move the fader "Manual X" then the desired MIDI value will be send. 

The sended MIDI values can be used e.g. for recording the actions to attached sequencers. 

The received MIDI value is mapped thru the table to a 0-100% value that controls the action (e.g. 0-100% of a Volume fader). Sending MIDI values are not mapped. Use the mouse to define the relationship between the incoming MIDI values (0-127) and the control of the actions (0-100%). Press the left mouse button to insert new knees/knobs in the curve. Move the knobs by holding the left mouse button or delete knobs by pressing the right mouse button or drag the desired knob behind the frame. Use Reset or Invert to change the curve.

Note: Some actions are Boolean types (e.g. crusher-start). The action becomes true if the mapped value is other 50%. 

Each MIDI-Setup is stored with the crusher-sheet. If you like to use a global MIDI-Setup disable the MIDI loading option in the option dialog.

Without registering you cannot use more the two entries per list Sorry!