Camel Audio

Camel Crusher VST by Camel Audio: Free Download Guide & Alternatives

A Complete Guide to Camel Crusher, One of the Most Popular Free VSTs, and Modern Alternatives.

Camel Crusher was originally released as a free version of Camel Audio’s CamelPhat. While the exact release date can’t be found on the internet, the earliest discussions around this free plugin can be dated back to 2005. Twenty years later, it’s still one of the most popular free VSTs out there. Camel Audio discontinued all its plugins in 2015 after being acquired by Apple. Rumors suggest that Camel Crusher was reborn as PhatFX in Logic Pro. While the new-age version of this plugin hasn’t achieved popularity close to its predecessor, it’s still one of the great distortion plugins available in Logic.

Camel Crusher is a distortion and saturation plugin that includes filter and compressor sections as well. What clicked with users was its ease of use and amazing results. While there are plenty of distortion plugins (free and paid) in the market, hardly any have been able to replicate the tonality of the original. Fortunately, the Camel Crusher plugin is available again on the official website as a free download. Camel Audio was one of the most successful plugin developers from the early 2000s to mid-2010s and was even placed in Plugin Boutique’s hall of fame. Let’s take an in-depth look at what makes this plugin so special.

Understanding Camel Crusher

The user interface is straightforward. While less experienced music producers used it for its quick results, professionals understood more about its tonality and the parameters it provides. There are 20 built-in presets that cater to a wide range of styles and genres. You can also find multiple CamelCrusher racks for various DAWs online that are quite interesting.

Right next to the presets section is the randomize button, which randomizes the parameters of the knobs. This button only affects the sections that are turned on. For example, if you have turned off the filter section, the randomize function won’t affect it – a quite useful feature that is lacking in many plugins with randomize features.

Moving down to the distortion section you have 2 parameters that control the amount of distortion being applied. Perfect for adding grit and crunch to the input signal. While the Tube knob adds harmonics, the Mech knob can distort the signal pretty hard.

Filter Section has 2 parameters cutoff and resonance. In case you are wondering what is the filter type, its a low pass filter. The resonance also has a slightly analog characteristic. Overall a great sounding filter.

The compressor is pretty much the basic version of any modern-day compressor. In terms of parameters, there’s only an amount knob. The phat mode adds a bit of texture to the compressed sound. Sounds quite amazing in some use cases but may not be desirable everytime.

Master Controls: This section is pretty much a standard volume and mix knob to control the dry/wet signal.

The big brother of the Camel Crusher is the Camel Phat VST which includes so many parameters for in-depth sound shaping. Unfortunately, the Camel Phat plugin is no longer available online.

Which artists use the Camel Crusher VST?

Camel Crusher was probably the most popular VST around 2010 and a staple for every EDM artist especially. The list of users included Martin Garrix, Tiesto, Laidback Luke, Virtual Riot, Slushii, and more. While some of these artists use this plugin to date, many have moved on to new-age alternatives.

Camel Crusher Alternatives

Camel Crusher was considered primarily as a heavy distortion plugin back in the day. While these alternatives won’t have all the features included in the Camel Crusher, they are still great options. We’ve collected a list of modern-day alternatives both free and paid down below:

Free alternatives:

1. Boogex by Voxengo

2. LiveCrusher – For Ableton Users only

3. TAL-Tube

4. FerricTDS

5. kHs Distortion

Paid Alternatives:

1. Soundtoys Decapitator

2. iZotope Trash 3

3. Arturia Dist COLDFIRE

4. XLN Audio RC-20

5. kHs Faturator

6. Sausage Fattener

How to Install

Download the Camel Crusher plugin using the links down below to download the appropriate version for your OS. Please not that the files are taken from Camelcrusher.com and is not authorized by Camel Audio.

Windows 64 Bit

macOS

Guide for Windows Users:

Double-click on the downloaded file to start the installation process. A setup wizard or installer will open.
Follow the on-screen instructions provided by the installer to proceed with the installation. You may need to agree to the terms and conditions and select the installation directory.
After completing the installation, you can launch your audio software or digital audio workstation (DAW) on your Windows system.
Open a project or create a new one within your audio software or DAW.
Look for the plugin manager or plugin section within your software. It may have different names depending on the software you are using.

Guide for macOS users:

Once the download is complete, open the installer file.
Follow the on-screen instructions to install CamelCrusher on your macOS system.

Distortion plugins have massively evolved since Camel Crusher was released. However, there was something unique about this easy-to-use freeware that made it so great and usable to this particular day.