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Updated May 1 2001 by
Sound patches for Bit One/Bit 99/Bit 01
Here you can find sound patches for the Bit synthesizers (at the moment, only for Bit 01 and Bit 99).
Note that the sound patches on this page are ones stored at this site. To access sound patches at other sites, see the links to other resources.
Index
- About sysex and the Bit 01/99
- General tips on sysex handling & editors
- Transferring sound patches to the Bit 01/99
- Transferring sound patches from the Bit 01/99
- Library of sound patches
About sysex and the Bit 01/99
The sound patches are stored as raw system exclusive data. System exclusive data (or just sysex for short) is a way to send arbitrary data through a MIDI connection. In this case, you can send and receive sound patch data between a synthesizer and a computer. A sound on the Bit synthesizers is called a "program" and is made up of the values of 63 parameters. I will interchangably use "sound", "patch", "sound patch", and "program" when I refer to sounds. The Bit 01 and the Bit 99 share the same sound architecture which means you can use sound made for one of them on the other. I use "Bit 01/99" to refer to both synths. The only difference between the sounds for the two synths is in the sysex dump. The third byte in a sysex dump has a value of 20 (hex) for Bit 01 while the same byte is 10 (hex) for Bit 99.I hope to find all the factory presets and put them here. In addition, there are sounds made by users.
You are very welcome to send me sounds you have created yourself (at pierregander@hotmail.com)!
General tips on sysex handling & editors
Sequencer programs usually have a separate part of the program for sysex handling.- In Cakewalk, go to "Sysx View"
- In Cubase, go to "Modules">"SysEx Editor">"MIDI SysEx Editor"
(you may have to enter "Modules">"Setup..." and activate it first).
In order to open the SysEx Editor you need to open
List Edit on a part containing sysex data and select a sysex event
(I have no idea why they decided this was needed). So, if you want to load
a sysex file, you must do something like this:
- Create an empty part in the arrangement
- Enter List Edit
- In the Insert pop-up menu, choose Sys Ex
- Select the pen tool
- Left-click anywhere in the note window
- Left-click on the "F7" in the Comments column. You're in!
Transferring sound patches to the Bit 01/99
To transfer a sound patch (in sysex single program dump format) to the Bit 01/99, simply send it to the Bit 01/99's MIDI in port.Here here are some tips for uploading programs to the Bit 01/99:
- Be sure to have the correct MIDI receive channel set on the Bit 01/99.
- Each program in sysex format have stored in it to which program place it will go in the Bit 01/99. Be sure to look at the right program place on your synth once the program has been sent.
- If you already have selected the program place on the Bit 01/99 front panel, you have to select another program place, and then switch back again in order to hear the new sound. This is because the Bit 01/99 has a buffer which is not updated until you switch programs.
Transferring sound patches from the Bit 01/99
Transferring via MIDI system exclusive
Via MIDI system exclusive, it is possible to transfer Bit 99 programs to a computer, but only one at a time. It is not possible to transfer programs in MIDI system exclusive format from the Bit 01 since it lacks a MIDI out port. To transfer Bit 99 programs from the Bit 99 to a computer, send the following string of bytes to the Bit 99:$F0 $25 $20 $09 $10/$20 $?? $F7, which mean:
| Byte (Hex) | Meaning |
|---|---|
$F0
| Start of MIDI system exclusive transmission |
$25
| Bit manufacturer ID code |
$20
| Bit 99 model code & MIDI channel 1 |
$09
| Request for single program dump |
$10
| Bit 01 model code & MIDI channel 1 to which to send (for Bit 99 the byte is $20) |
$??
| Program number requested 0-98 |
$F7
| End of MIDI system exclusive transmission |
To this request, the Bit 99 will send a 80 byte long answer containing the program requested.
If you use Cakewalk for handling sysex data, insert these lines into your wincake.ini file under the [Dump Request Macros] heading:
;; BIT 99 Dump request. FE means Prompt for patch no. BIT 99 1 Program ...=F0 25 20 09 20 FE F7
With a little workaround, it is possible to transfer all of the Bit 99's programs in one go. This is done by automatically sending 75 individual dump requests to the Bit 99, and then recording the returning transmission from the Bit 99. This could be done with any sequencer that can record sysex data. The following files accomplish this.
| dump_b99.wrk | Bit 99, Cakewalk 4.0 file version |
| dump_b99.mid | Bit 99, Standard MIDI file (type 1) version (This file can be read by virtually any sequencer, including hardware sequencers and old synths with onboard sequencers). |
Be sure to have the correct MIDI channels set on all equipment, and if using a sequencer, ensure that system exclusive messages are not filtered out.
Via the tape interface
The Bit 01/99 are able to save the complete set of sounds in the machine at once by sending them as encoded audio signals. In the manual, pages 27 and 28, the procedure of saving and loading sounds using a tape recorder is described, but if you have a sound card it's better to use your computer as a recording device.
However, the sysex dumps are still preferred when sharing sounds with others, since being digital, it is easier to handle than the analog signals of the tape interface.
Library of sound patches
Get all sound patches available here in one zip-file: allprogs.zip (35 KB)Factory presets
For the Bit 99 at least, there are two versions of the factory presets, called set 1 and set 2. Here is a factory presets listing of the two sets: bitcard.rtf (RTF format) and bitcard.txt (pure text) (reproduced from the card that came with my Bit 99).
Here is a list of available factory preset programs for set 1. When sent to the Bit 99, each program will automatically go into the corresponding program number (for instance, program number 42 in the table below will go to program place 42 in the Bit 99).
Here are, supposedly, both sets 1 and 2 of presets for the Bit 99. I have not tested them yet, since my Bit 99 isn't available. I intend to test the files and make them available as pure sysex as well (if anyone would like to do it I would be very thankful). Only available as Cakewalk sequencer files: b99tape1.wrk (10KB), b99tape2.wrk (10KB).
Users' sound patches
These are sounds (programs) for the Bit 99 synthesizer made by Pierre Gander (in some cases, I was not sure whether I made it or if it was a factory preset sound). A * (star) means I thought it was a good sound.Bit 99 Programs by Pierre Gander
I present the following program patches with thanks to Guenter (HagerPVP@aol.com). All single programs are set to go to program place 1. Besides single programs, there are several programs bundled in one sysex file. In these files, each program go to its corresponding program place in the Bit 99. All data is set to MIDI channel 1.