Meris has unveiled the Ottobit X – a dramatic expansion of their beloved Ottobit Jr. concept that offers a boatload of unique effects.
Designed and built in California, the Ottobit X combines bit crushing, filtering, pitch shifting, looping, modulation and ambience effects in a single pedal, while drawing heavy inspiration from the sounds of the 1980s – from worn VHS tapes and vintage video games to cassette decks and early digital processors.
Get the Meris Ottobit X: Sweetwater
According to Meris founder and engineer Terry Burton, the project was driven as much by nostalgia as innovation: “This project was one of our funnest,” Burton said. “It took me back to the days of riding my BMX to pick out a VHS.”
Beyond a Bit Crusher
While the original Ottobit Jr. centered on sample-rate reduction and sequencing, the Ottobit X greatly expands the formula. At its core is an upgraded bit-crushing engine, joined by a collection of six glitch effects that include Grain Freeze, Stutter, Tape Stop and two one-button looping modes. One of those looping modes, dubbed Wikki Wikki, delivers real-time vinyl scratching effects, while Push Loop provides instant loop capture for live performance.
The pedal also introduces a range of new ambience and modulation tools, including dedicated VHS Delay and VHS Reverb algorithms designed to emulate the degraded character of aging tape media. Additional processing options include:
- Five pitch-shifting modes
- Five modulation effects
- Four preamp models
- Three filter types
- Six modifier sources for advanced parameter control
A Modular Approach to Lo-Fi Sound Design
One of the Ottobit X’s biggest upgrades is its modular architecture. Users can build presets from 11 processing categories, including Preamp, Crush, Filter, Glitch, Pitch, Clock, Ambience, Modulation and Expression control. The system allows effects to interact in complex ways, opening the door to everything from subtle tape coloration to complete sonic destruction.
The onboard 16-step sequencer is also significantly more powerful than its predecessor. Whereas the Ottobit Jr.’s sequencer could only control a handful of parameters, the Ottobit X can assign sequencing duties to dozens of effect parameters depending on the chosen configuration.
Borrowing From LVX and MercuryX
Control is handled through the same color-screen interface found on Meris’s flagship LVX and MercuryX pedals. The pedal stores up to 99 presets across 33 banks, with 18 artist presets included from the factory. Players can also create a dedicated favorites bank for instant access to their three most-used sounds.
An onboard tuner, expression pedal support and a programmable modifier section further position the Ottobit X as a serious live-performance tool rather than a niche effects box.
The Connectivity
The Ottobit X offers full stereo processing and supports both instrument- and line-level operation, making it suitable for guitarists, synthesizer players and studio producers alike.
Connectivity includes:
- Stereo inputs and outputs
- MIDI In and Out via 5-pin DIN
- USB-C for MIDI and firmware updates
- Expression pedal input
- MIDI clock synchronization
- Preset send and receive functionality
Internally, the pedal combines a premium analog front end with 24-bit AD/DA conversion and 32-bit floating-point DSP processing, powered by an advanced ARM processor.
How much does the Meris Ottobit X cost?
Get the Meris Ottobit X for $599 here at Sweetwater.
