Hollance releases Krunch, a FREE filter and saturation effect for macOS and Windows.
Krunch is a combination of a low-pass filter and saturation effect. Hollance based the plugin on the One Euro Filter, an algorithm used to filter noisy signals.
The One Euro Filter utilizes a first-order low-pass filter that stabilizes signals by reducing jitter and lag.
It does so via an adaptive cutoff frequency: at low speeds, the low cutoff reduces jitter, and at higher speeds, the cutoff is increased to reduce lag.
The One Euro Filter is popular because it’s relatively easy to implement and effective without draining resources.
Making use of the above concept, Krunch dynamically adds harmonics and character with very little effort.
A glance at the interface tells you that Krunch is easy to use, with only a few controls to navigate. The main dial, Krunch, is front and centre, and the higher you crank it, the more the sound is filtered.
You don’t need to push it too far to hear its effect; crunch will start to creep in even at lower levels.
Above Kruch, you’ve got Mix and Out sliders.
The Mix slider controls the blend of wet and dry signals. Bringing in more of the dry signal might allow you to crank the Krunch effect more in many cases while maintaining a nice balance. The Out slider compensates for any reduction in output level after filtering.
Oversampling (OVS) is available to reduce aliasing, and a bypass button (BYP) allows A/B testing.
We see some expansive plugins that you can get lost in for hours, and that’s great, but there’s always something nice about a plugin that does what the name suggests without fuss.
A plugin that doesn’t conform to the uber-descriptive name rule is Oi, Grandad; now in version 2.
Although Krunch is easy to use, Hollance added his suggested workflow to the GitHub page. It advises starting with the Mix at 100%, cranking the Krunch until it sounds nasty, and then pulling back the Mix.
Krunch is available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows.
Download: Krunch (FREE)
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