Crumar BIT 01

It was not easy to edit. Bit now it is. When I found this little program, a VST controller for the Bit01, and the Bit99 (http://bitcontrol.berlios.de), I hooked up mine again. I'm having lots of fun with it now.

See the review below for a list of its features.

I like the sound. I opened mine up and it has CEM3328 filters, which are said to be the low pass only variation of the 3320 which the Pro One and some of the famous Oberheims use. In any case, it does sound good (reportedly, early Bit01s have SSM filters).

Some say the sound is comparable to the Matrix 1000, but I don't think so. I had one, but I didn't like the Matrix at all, whereas I do like the Bit01. I think it sounds more "real", or perhaps more "analogue", and certainly more powerful.

It can do good punchy kraftwerk-like sequences. Put an LFO over the VCF and do some lovely early house like organ or other ritmic chords from that period. The basses are good too and can sound mean. The resonance selfoscilates in a nice way. Burbly basslines are also possible. The brass sounds are famous.

The many ways is which sounds can be modulated by velocity (env depth of VCA and VCF, attack of VCA and VCF, and pulse width, which, remarkably, cannot be modulated by an LFO or an envelope, but only by velocity) allow for some very expressive playing and sounds.

Mine still works... knock on wood...

The company went bankrupt long ago. If you need support, go to the "Crumar" yahoo group where some very helpful and handy people hand around.

It is not irreplacible, allthough no other synth sounds alike. But for the price they go for they are great deal. I used to dislike the tedious editing, but the VST editor has solved that.

As a reviewer sais below, it certainly is a good looking rack synth. But, what else would you expect from an Italian synth, aren't the Italians famous for their desings?

Hey come on I say to my fellow below... how can this one be that hard to use and edit? All parameters are printed on the front and the buttons to edit with are "arrowed" from the parameter text/numbers.

It's a rackmount 6-voice programmable polyphonic analog synth module,
3 units high, with digital control of 2 DCO, 6 VCF resonant filters, 6 VCAs and 2 LFOs, each per voice. The DCOs have got tri, square, sawtooth and PW-ability of the square waves either modulated from the velocity value or by setting a value. Each LFO also has tri, sawtooth and square waveforms. Both LFOs can respectively, weith separate settings, modulate the VCF, the VCA, the DCO 1 and the DCO 2. A layer/split function too. Two audio outputs. The MIDI implementation is ok for being 1985. Midi in and through. No midi out.
Worth to say, compared to other synthesizers from the same time like
the Kawai K3(m), Korg DW6000/8000 and Roland JX-3/8P, the Bit 01 does not have an analogue BBD ("bucket brigade device"-circuit) chorus built in. On the other hand, the chorus effect in some of these other models was fairly noisy so whatever effect you want to use (or not) for the Bit 01 is up to you. There are forty eight hundred devices available nowadays that may do the chorus without noise.

Quite clean sounds with a neutral transparence. It may be suitable
for more gentle music. For me but maybe not for you.

No errors so far.

I like the look of it. There are two versions in appearance. Made in white and black colors.
And so, it has some kind of character as I said, of a more gentle kind in the sound. The 2 LFOs and the PW controls among the parameters makes this a nice synth module.

Well, sound is nice, so sweet, so 80's... But quite difficult to programm.

As lot of old synths, polyphony is just sufficent for playing sth easy (it has 6 voices of polyphony). Midi implementation is poor, no continuous controllers! In fact, there are two great things with the Crumar BIT 01: 1) it's a rack expander, 2) The Sound, so analogical, so sweet!

For 80's music, this one is cool, considering it's not an expensive analog rack MIDI expander. Sound are hard to programm, but if you are patient, you'll get tremendous results!

Pitch is not reliable. But, otherwise, my Crumar BIT 01 did never abandon me.

I Love the 80's sound, I hate this f... programmer. I wish there existed a kind-of PG 1000, as it existed for D50. If you find one, buy it!