The Harley Benton MiniStomp Alien Signal is a compact bitcrusher pedal: a digital effect that degrades your guitar signal on purpose, the way old low-bitrate samplers and video game sound chips did. Harley Benton describes what it does plainly: "Mangle your guitar sound and reconfigure it into thick, buzzy, digital weirdness, or blend a bit of subtle noise to add interesting textures to your guitar parts"1. It is part of Harley Benton's MiniStomp family of small-format pedals1.
What it does to your sound
A bitcrusher works by reducing the resolution of your signal, which produces the gritty, buzzing, lo-fi character players use for industrial textures, synth-like parts and outright destruction. Harley Benton positions the Alien Signal at both ends of that range: full mangling into "thick, buzzy, digital weirdness", or a small blend of noise layered under an otherwise clean part for texture1. The Mix control is what makes the second approach possible, since it lets you set how much of the crushed signal sits alongside your dry guitar1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mix | Blends the crushed signal with your dry guitar1 |
| Bit | Bit depth control for the crusher1 |
| Crush | Crushing or sample-rate style control for the amount of degradation1 |
| Bright / Normal switch | Two-position voicing switch1 |
| On/Off footswitch | Engages the effect, with a status LED1 |
The exact behavior of the Bit and Crush controls is not described in detail by the maker beyond their names; the Mix control and the Bright/Normal switch are the ones Harley Benton's own material gives you the most to work with1.
Power, bypass and practicalities
The Alien Signal runs on a 9 V center negative mains adapter, which is not included in the box, and draws 20 mA1. There is no battery option mentioned by the maker, so plan on a supply. True bypass means the pedal stays out of your signal path when off, which Harley Benton says applies to every pedal in the MiniStomp family1.
The 9 V adapter is not included in the scope of delivery, so you will need your own supply to use the pedal1.
Connections are a single 6.3 mm jack input and a single 6.3 mm jack output1. At 92 x 38 x 32 mm and 133 g, the enclosure is a solid metal housing in a slim format that fits narrow gaps on a crowded board1.
Where it sits in Harley Benton's range
The MiniStomp line is Harley Benton's compact single-effect family, and the Alien Signal is its bitcrusher entry1. Harley Benton also builds larger digital gear, including the DNAfx GiT multi-effects units, which cover many effect types in one floor pedal rather than one effect per box; the Alien Signal sits at the opposite end of that range as a dedicated single-purpose pedal1. If you are comparing single-effect pedals across makers, the site's multi-effects pedals page and type pages such as distortion and fuzz cover the neighboring ground.
Videos
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Questions
Is the MiniStomp Alien Signal true bypass?
Yes. Harley Benton says that like all pedals in the MiniStomp family, the Alien Signal is true bypass, so it will not mess with your signal when it is not engaged. The maker describes this as eliminating signal interference when the pedal is switched off, which matters if you run it on a board alongside always-on pedals such as overdrives or delays.
What power supply does the Alien Signal use?
Harley Benton specifies power via a 9 V mains adapter with a centre negative plug, and the adapter is not included in the scope of delivery. The pedal draws 20 mA, so a standard 9 V centre negative supply or an output on a multi-output pedalboard power supply will run it.
How big is the MiniStomp Alien Signal?
The maker lists the enclosure at 92 x 38 x 32 mm and a weight of 133 g. That is a slim, compact box, so it takes up little room on a pedalboard and sits easily between standard-sized pedals.
Sources (2)
- MiniStomp Alien Signal, Harley Benton
- MiniStomp Alien Signal by Harley Benton, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
