CHAPTER 21. LIVE AUDIO EFFECT REFERENCE
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21.23
Redux
The Redux Effect.
Nostalgic for the famed low-resolution sound quality of the Ensoniq Mirage, Fairlight CMI
or Commodore-64 computer? Redux returns us to the Dark Ages of digital by reducing a
signal's sample rate and bit resolution.
The Downsample section has two parameters:
Downsample and a downsample Mode
switch.
If the downsample dial is set to 1 , every input sample passes to the output and the signal
does not change. If set to 2 , only every second sample will be processed, so the result
sounds a bit more digital.
The higher the number, the lower the resulting sample rate,
and the more deconstructed the sound. Downsampling is like applying a mosaic effect
to an image: There's a loss of information and sharp edges occur between the blocks.
The Downsample Mode switch de nes if the downsampling either interpolates over a smaller
range ( soft, down to 20.0 samples) or does not interpolate over a larger range ( hard,
down to 200 samples).
Bit Reduction is similar, but while downsampling superimposes a grid in time, bit reduction
does the same for amplitude.
If the Bit Reduction amplitude dial is set to 8, amplitude levels are quantized to 256 steps
(8 bit resolution). If set to 1, the result is pretty brutal: Each sample contains either a full
positive or full negative signal, with nothing in between.
Bit Reduction de nes an input signal of 0dB as 16 bit. Signals above 0dB are clipped, and
the red overload LED will light up.
