In the music production world, there are certain tools that become staples in the industry. The VST plugin CamelCrusher is one of them: with its distinctively unique twisting sounds, the plugin has features such as a tube saturator and filter section that can distort and warm your sound in a positive manner. And the best part: it’s free for download.
For those not familiarized with the term, an audio plugin is a tool made to be used as an addition to your main software. There are tons of plugins available on the internet such as virtual instruments and effect units, and they can be opened right into your digital audio workstation (DAW), such as Logic Pro and Ableton.
Today, we are going through some of the Camel Crusher features, its functionalities, and some useful preset patches that can give you instant inspiration when producing and mixing your music.
Related: Best VST Plugins
Content Table
- What is Camel Crusher – VST Plugin
- Camel Audio Camel Crusher – Features and User Interface
- Examples of Use for the Camel Crusher
- How do I Install Camel Crusher?
- Why is Camel Crusher an Amazing Freeware Plugin?
- Conclusion
What is Camel Crusher – VST Plugin
Camel Crusher is a free VST plugin that can be used to add warmth, distortion, and compression to audio tracks. It features two different distortion types and a control for adjusting the tone of the effect.
Camel Audio Camel Crusher – Features and User Interface
Distortion
The Camel Crusher’s distortion module features tube saturation and can be used to achieve two distortion types: subtle saturation and heavy distortion.
There are two knobs: tube and mech. The tube knob will give you light saturation, useful to make an element cut through the mix; While the mech knob is designed to give you a heavier kind of distortion.
Filter
The filter module, as the name implies, is a simple low-pass filter with only two knobs: cutoff and res. The cutoff knob determines your cutting frequency while the res will give you a resonance boost. A great tool to reach for when you need to create filtering effects and transitions.
Compressor
The easy-to-use compressor module is very simple: you only get an amount knob and a phat mode button, no attack or release controls. This module can be useful on a drum bus, for example, to beef up your sound, or as a parallel compressor on vocals to help the element cut through the mix.
Master
The master section module is often overlooked but just as important as the other ones. With it, you can control the overall volume (volume knob) of the plugin: it is useful when, for example, you apply the compressor and need to compensate for the gain reduction.
With the mix knob, you can select between your dry and wet signal or a mix of the two. Useful for controlling the amount of distortion and compression in your sound.
Presets
The preset patches can be useful to quickly set up Camel Crusher. You can use the built-in ones or save your own presets so as to improve your music production workflow.
Randomize Button
The Randomize button, as the name says, will randomize all of the parameters of the Camel Crusher VST. Useful to experiment with and find instant inspiration.
MIDI Mapping
The MIDI mapping function allows you to hook up a MIDI controller to your DAW and control all of the Camel Crusher VST plugin parameters, as well as create automation.
Tip: If you’re looking for a realistic and great-sounding electric piano plugin, be sure to check out our Best Rhodes VST article.
Examples of Use for the Camel Crusher VST Plugin
On a Bass
When it comes to the bass, it is sometimes hard to make the instrument cut through the mix. This is because a lot of listeners will listen to your music on speakers or earbuds that don’t have a strong bass response.
The solution is to use compression and saturation to create upper harmonics on the bass. Use the Camel Crusher compressor with Phat Mode turned on and dial the tube knob (under the distortion section) to taste. Most of the time you won’t need to use the mech knob since we want only a slight amount of saturation.
Make sure to test your mix on different listening systems and environments. Your laptop or smartphone speakers may come in handy when checking if the bass is cutting through the mix.
On a Drum Bus
Applying compression to a drum bus is easily one of the most popular practices in audio mixing. Send every piece of your drum kit to a bus and apply the Camel Crusher. Then dial the compressor with Phat Mode turned on to taste. This will not only give more punch to your drums but also glue together every piece of your drum kit.
You can also apply a little bit of saturation using the Distortion section. Just like with the bass, a small amount of saturation on the drums will most of the time, improve the sound considerably.
On the Snare
The snare drum is one of the most important elements of a drum kit. Use the Camel Crusher to compress to taste. Don’t be afraid to push the compressor to the limit if you want to give more punch to your snare.
On Vocals (Parallel Processing)
Parallel processing is when you load VST plugins (in this came Camel Crusher) to a bus and route your main element (vocals, drums, etc) to this bus. This allows you to have more control over your processed sound.
A powerful practice using this technique is to apply parallel compression/saturation to your vocals to make it more aggressive and help it cut through the mix. After loading Camel Crusher on a bus and routing your vocals to it, simply compress it very heavily and apply a bit of saturation. Dial the volume of the parallel processing to taste.
You can also insert an EQ after Camel Crusher to further shape the sound. We advise you to use a low and high-pass filter on the Camel Crusher bus to avoid a build-up of frequencies on your mix.
Make sure to double-check that the mix knob is at 100% if you load Camel Crusher into a bus. This is because you want the bus to have only the processed wet sound, not the dry one.
As a Low-Pass Filter
Camel Crusher features a powerful resonant low-pass filter. Even though the section is very simple and only features a cutoff and res knob, it offers lots of creative possibilities for your song’s production and mixing. Try using it on transitions and build-ups, or even for taming elements on your mix.
How Do I Install Camel Crusher?
You can download Camel Crusher for free here. It will work with most DAWs that support VST plugins. If your DAW only supports 64-bit plugins, however, it may not work properly.
Why is Camel Crusher an Amazing Freeware Plugin?
Easiness of Use
The Camel Crusher VST Plugin is extremely easy to use. With only a few knobs but lots of functionalities, even total beginners can easily get a grip on the software.
Versatility
Camel Crusher can act as a distortion/saturation unit, a resonant style low pass filter, and a compressor. It can eliminate the need to use multiple stock plugins for different things and there aren’t many competitors on the market that offer so many functionalities in one unit.
Quality
Camel Audio is known to develop excellent audio plugins with amazing quality. The company was purchased by Apple in 2015, so they are one of the best in their craft.
Free
This is the best part. The Camel Crusher is available for free download, so there is no need not to test the plugin.
Tip: For more great plugins be sure to check out our Best Pad Vsts article.
Conclusion
As you can see in our article, Camel Crusher is an excellent plugin. With its four sections (distortion, filter, compressor, and master), this is one of the best multi-effect units available on the internet.
The Camel Crusher can be used in a handful of situations. For example, when you need an easy-to-use compressor to slap into your drum bus to tighten the dynamic range; Or perhaps when your vocal is lacking a bit of shine on the high frequencies and you need to apply subtle saturation. The Camel Audio Camel Crusher is available for free, so there are no excuses to not download it and start being creative right away. We hope you liked this article. You can download the Camel Audio’s plugin here. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions!
Ian Sniesko is an experienced music producer and musician who loves to share his knowledge about the best audio equipment for making and enjoying great music. For the past 6 years, Ian has written extensively about the audio equipment industry and has contributed to many of the top music magazines.