Crumar Bit 99 FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Last updated April 29, 2003 by Pierre Gander
(pierregander@hotmail.com)
Contents
About this FAQ
This FAQ was written by Pierre Gander
(pierregander@hotmail.com).
I have received inspiration and
bits of information from the people on the Bit mailing list
(http://www.topica.com/lists/bit/).
Thanks everyone!
Note that this FAQ mainly covers the Bit 99, not its rack-mount version, Bit 01.
However, much of the information is applicable to the Bit 01 as well.
The latest version of this FAQ can be found at
http://www.pierregander.com/bit/bit99_faq.html.
Copyright 2003 by Pierre Gander. This document may be redistributed only in its
entirety with version date, authorship notice, and acknowledgements intact.
No part of it may be sold for profit or incorporated in a commercial document
without the permission of the copyright holder. Permission will be granted for
complete electronic copies to be made available as an archive or mirror service
on the condition that the author be notified and that the copy be kept up to date.
This document is provided as is without any express or implied warranty.
The Bit 99 is a musical polyphonic digital synthesizer (with an 'analogue' sound).
- Physical specifications
- Rear
- Connections
- Audio out: Lower, upper
- MIDI: In, out, thru
- Tape interface in/out
- Release pedal insert
- Program advance pedal insert
- Phone jack
- Power jack
- Knobs
- Continuous pitch knob
- Memory protect switch
- Power switch
- Front
- 5 octave velocity sensitive keyboard, Modulation wheel, Pitch bend wheel
- 4 two-digit LED numeric displays
- 2 continuous volume faders
- Kbd sens (continuous pot)
- Buttons: Off, On, 0-9, Address, Lower, Upper, Park/Write, Compare,
Prg chain, Stereo out, Tape, Split/save, Double/load
- Neat and useful diagram of the sound architecture!
- Functional specifications
- Synthesis
- Subtractive
- 2 DCOs (Triangle, sawtooth, variable pulse, noise), 2 LFOs, VCA, VCF
- Normal mode: 6 voice polyphony
- Double/split mode: 3 voice polyphony for each sound
- 75 memory locations for sound patches
- 24 memory locations for double/split settings
(Source: The Bit 99 owner's manual)
For further specifications, see the on-line Bit 99 owner's manual, available
at
http://www.pierregander.com/bit/manual.html.
Yes, but then it is called Bit 01. The main differences are that the Bit 01
lacks a keyboard (of course) and a MIDI out port.
Around 1985.
It is available with a cover in black or white.
There is also a difference between Crumar and LEM versions of Bit 99.
Most probably, this difference concerns only the front cover.
In the US, The LEM version was sold under the DKB-Label.
- Crumar Bit 99, white cover
- Crumar Bit 99, black cover
- LEM Bit 99, black cover (images from Gerard Meerstadt, gmeerstadt@zonnet.nl)
Since Crumar (the company that manufactured the Bit 99) is out of business
since long, it is not possible to get them from there.
Probably not (yet). A project was started in 2001 to make a software plugin version on the Bit 99, but so far, nothing has been released. Contact the author of this FAQ to get further information on how to contact the developer.
It is beyond the scope of this FAQ to answer that. Try a beginner's book
on MIDI (should be available in any music store), or look at the
article "How much for just the MIDI?" by Eric Lipscomb (available, e.g., at
ftp://ftp.cs.ruu.nl/pub/MIDI/DOC/midi-intro.html).
The Bit 99 has a rather full MIDI implementation.
- MIDI receive
- Receive MIDI channel (1-16)
- Omni mode on/off
- On/off for: Pitchbend, modulation, release pedal, program change
- MIDI transmit
- Transmit MIDI channel (1-16)
- Keyboard mode on/off (the lower and upper parts of the keyboard - the
split is selectable - can transmit on two different MIDI channels)
- Program change on/off
The full MIDI implementation details can be found in the on-line
owner's manual at
http://www.pierregander.com/bit/manual.html.
It has a fat, 'analogue'-style sound.
Here are some audio samples available:
Yes. The largest archive is at
http://www.pierregander.com/bit/sounds/.
You can find links to other sites at
http://www.pierregander.com/bit/resources.html.
No, the Bit 99 has no patches stored in ROM chips, so it is not
possible to reset the factory presets.
Yes. Find them at
http://www.pierregander.com/bit/sounds/.
Yes, there are some editors available:
- BitEdit. Christian Haupt's
free program editor (for Win95/98 and Amiga). Note that this editor cannot receive patches
from the Bit 01/99, only send them.
As Haupt's page is down, here is another copy of BitEdit for Win95/98:
BitEdit1_2.zip (3258 KB)
And a patch for using Bit 99: BitEditPatch1_2_1.zip (74 KB)
- Universal MIDI librarians sometimes include support for the Bit synthesizers. Here are
some known ones:
- SoundDiver, a commercial MIDI librarian which supports Crumar Bit 01 and Bit 99. There is a demo available.
Yes, it is available either as a full document in PDF or as scanned GIF images of each page at
http://www.pierregander.com/bit/manual.html.
You can order a circuit diagram for the rack-mount version, Bit 01, at
http://www.mikesmusic.co.uk/CIRCDIAG.HTM.
Magazine Sound on Sound had an article in August 1998
called
"Bit One/Bit 01/Bit 99 Synths (Retro)" (available on-line).
And, of course, you can find more info on the
Unofficial Bit One/Bit 01/Bit 99 Synthesizer Page
(http://www.pierregander.com/bit/).
On the Bit mailing list
(http://www.topica.com/lists/bit/),
you can get in contact with other Bit users and browse old messages.
Pierre Gander
(pierregander@hotmail.com)
