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8. MBitFun by MeldaProduction

1 Another MeldaProduction plugin? Yes indeed, and this dastardly distortion processor isn’t the last of them, either. (Get it from meldaproduction.com). Start by loading a drum loop into your DAW and cycling playback. We’re using the loop Alex amen-174bpm, but you can use whatever you like. 2 We’ve slowed the tempo down to a laid-back 139bpm and used our host’s timestretching to knock the sample down to speed. This slower tempo may make it easier to discern the effect of the plugin. Play a few times to familiarise yourself with the unprocessed sound, then slot MBitFun into an insert slot. 3 What a hideous display! Luckily, this is a MeldaProduction plugin, so we can give it a new coat of paint at the click of the Settings button. We’ll take the laziest path and simply choose Random Style from the options. Much better! 4 Now for the fun bits (pun very much intended). By default, MBitFun imparts a classic 8-bit character to the loop – kind of like sampling it into an old Ensoniq Mirage. Use the left Bits arrow to reduce the bit rate to a nasty 4-bit. Wow, that’s nothing short of evil! Head down to the XOR section and click the 4 slot. 5 Click the Shift arrows until you get the value 3. MBitFun is clearly performing some jiggery-pokery on the playback of the four bits. Enable the Replace function, click the 3rd bit and set the Shift parameter to -1. MBitFun is replacing the signal’s bits with bits from the control signal – in this case, a shifted copy. 6 Try manipulating the Delay slider in the Globals section. This delays the control signal (an incoming sidechain signal or the main input) and interacts with the XOR and Replace functions. Try disabling and enabling the XOR and Replace functions in turn to hear the effects of different slider values. Finally, give the Low-Pass slider a wiggle. Crazy!