Meris Ottobit Jr
The Meris Ottobit Jr has become one of the most fun and expressive pieces of gear in my setup. Interestingly, I didn’t plan on getting one at all. I had posted my EHX Oceans 12 Reverb pedal on Reddit looking for a trade, and the Ottobit Jr came up as an option. On a whim, I went for it — and it turned out to be one of the better gear decisions I’ve made.
While it’s often described as a bitcrusher, that label barely scratches the surface of what it can do. In practice, it’s more like a creative texture machine that can transform even the simplest patterns into something alive and evolving.
More Than a Bitcrusher
At first glance, the Ottobit Jr looks like a straightforward lo‑fi destruction box. But if you leave the Bit Depth and Sample Rate controls wide open, the pedal behaves very differently. Instead of crushing your signal, it becomes an incredibly smooth tone-shaping tool.
The filter in particular is fantastic. It’s buttery, musical, and surprisingly expressive for a pedal primarily marketed as a digital degradation unit. With clean settings, it almost feels like running your synths through a characterful outboard filter rather than an effect pedal.
This flexibility means the Ottobit Jr can move easily between subtle tone shaping and total sonic annihilation.
Stutter and Sequencing Magic
Where the pedal really starts to shine is in its stutter and sequencing features.
The onboard sequencer can rhythmically slice and rearrange incoming audio, creating glitchy, rhythmic patterns out of otherwise static material. Even the most basic drum beat suddenly gains movement and attitude once the sequencer starts working.
It’s the kind of effect that encourages experimentation. Small tweaks can dramatically change the groove, turning simple loops into something that feels programmed rather than processed.
The stutter effect is especially fun in a performance context. You can trigger and hold the stutter using MIDI, effectively turning it into a rhythmic performance tool.
How I Use It
In my setup, the Ottobit Jr sits directly in the signal path for my synths and drum machines.
I run stereo in and out, which helps preserve the width of my instruments while still letting the pedal do its thing. The stereo processing adds some depth, especially when using the sequencer or filter.
For control, I trigger presets using a Novation Launchpad Pro Mk3. That makes it easy to jump between different effect configurations instantly, which is great when jamming or performing.
MIDI is routed through a Disaster Area Designs MIDI Box 4.2, which handles communication between the controller and the pedal.
This setup makes the Ottobit Jr feel less like a static pedal and more like a playable instrument in the rig.
Good Enough to Buy Twice?
I’m seriously considering picking up a second one.
Right now both my synths and drum machines run through the same unit, which already sounds great. But having a dedicated Ottobit Jr for each source would allow me to keep the synths dry while crushing the drums, and vice-versa.