Crystallizer by Soundtoys: what it does + free alternatives
Granular echo and pitch effect for shimmering textures.
Opens Soundtoys's own site.
Put SCRAMBLE. on your drums, 808s and vocals
One button rolls a new FX chain: glitch, stutter, tape stop, chops, reverb, delay and vocal tune. There are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible chains, the same count as the positions of a 3x3 cube. Save 10,000 presets a day and 1% of them would take 118 billion years, over 8x the age of the universe.
Not just loops: drum buses, 808s and bass, hats, vocals and the master bus. 3,000+ downloads so far.
Free alternatives to Crystallizer
All free creative fx →
FreeIVGI
Analog-style saturation and distortion.
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Physically modelled reel-to-reel tape, open source.
FreeChow Centaur
Model of a famous transparent overdrive pedal, open source.
FreeVinyl
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FreeTAL-Chorus-LX
Juno-60 style chorus. A producer favourite on keys and pads.
FreeTAL-Filter-2
Filter with LFO and step modulation.
FreeBlue Cat's Freeware Pack
Chorus, flanger, phaser, EQ, gain and more in one free pack.
FreePancake 2
Free auto-pan with drawable curves.
FreeWider
Mono-compatible stereo widener.
FreeOzone Imager
Free stereo imaging and width from iZotope.
More paid creative FX plugins
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Decapitator
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EchoBoy
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RC-20 Retro Color
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ShaperBox 3
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HalfTime
Instant half-time beats and slowed effects.
Crystallizer FAQ
Is Crystallizer free?
No. Crystallizer is a paid creative FX plugin from Soundtoys. Free alternatives in the same lane include IVGI, CHOW Tape Model and Chow Centaur.
What is Crystallizer used for?
Granular echo and pitch effect for shimmering textures.
When does Crystallizer go on sale?
Many plugin makers run their biggest discounts around Black Friday (November 27, 2026) and Cyber Monday. Check Soundtoys's own page for the current price; we list confirmed sales on our Black Friday page.