Crumar Bit One / Bit 99 looks like a big bar of chocolate: angular and very flat. If you don’t prefer dark chocolate (suppost to be healthiest), you can have white chocolate, too: Bit 99 and its keyboardless rack-version Bit 01 in a very smart white. You might occasionally see the Bitt 99 as “Unique DBK” (Keyboard) and the Bit 01 as “Unique DBE” (Expander): after Crumar’s liquidation, the instruments were reproduced under LEM (part of GEM). Welcome to another great example of Italian creative product labeling (similar to Siel Opera 6 / Kiwi / DK-600)!

What the hell is BIT?

Crumar’s is a tremendously interesting company story. First, they offered a wide range of products (organs, multi-keyboards, e-pianos, synthesizers, drum-machines...). Second, their output was enormous – especially between 1975 and 1983. While other companies released some 10-15 instruments in that period, Crumar released some dozens! After MIDI became standard, Crumar decided to release all new ( MIDI ) instruments under the name BIT (perhaps to get rid of the organs/multi-keyboard manufacturer image). There were a total of four instruments under the BIT name: Bit One / 99 / 01 and the masterkeyboard model MMKB.  

MP3 - Bit 99
	Perfect Strings	Double sound and stereo output, plus velocity control on VCF frequency and envelope attack time.	Theo Bloderer

Bit One
This thunderbolt from Italy caused a big fuss in 1984! The Bit One was a surprisingly strong sounding instrument with loads of features at a reasonably low price. It was released as the first Crumar/Bit Midi instrument with – sadly – limited MIDI specifications. No wonder production ended soon, but the brand new Bit 99 already came up. However, it looks as if there was a great name behind it: Mario Maggi (father of the Elka Synthex) designed the Bit One (although other sources say it was Crumar’s chief designer Luciano Jura). In any case: there are some nice features that definitely remind us of the Elka Synthex - e.g. the great stereo-out function that allows wonderful musical results. Looking very similar to the newer Bit 99, there are two differences in design. First, the Bit One offers an extra slider for oscillator detuning (a very neat and useful function, especially in live performance), while the Bit 99 has a bigger knob (now located at the front panel) for adjusting keyboard sensitivity. Secondly, the Bit One has an analog trigger-out jack that is missing on the Bit 99. But all in all, MIDI functions were too skimpy on the Bit One (with just the Omni On Mode) and the overall instrument seemed to be rather unreliable. As mentioned above, Crumar didn’t hesitate to release an upgraded version in 1985 under the name...

Bit 99
Only very small changes seem to have occured in the layout, but internally there was considerable redesign. Unreliable electronic parts were replaced, and the velocity-sensitive keyboard now offered a whole package on new functions. The physical keyboard feel is good, too, an improvement over the wobbly Bit One keyboard. Produced from 1985 on for not more than one or two years, the Bit 99 had the expander version called ...

Bit 01
in tow. It’s worth being mentioned, as this expander was among the first MIDI expander instruments ever to hit the market. Today the chubby 2U 19” rackmount Bit 01 might be the most sought after Crumar Bit instrument: it’s handsome, rack-mountable (deep, but not such much so as Korg’s over-dimensioned EX-8000!), offers high quality analogue sounds and full MIDI specifications. Like with its keyboard version Bit 99, the Bit 01 was sold either in standard black, or in white. The white rack version definitely looks exceptionally handsome! Ah yes, another small bonus of the rackversion: the smaller push buttons are definetly much (!) easier to use than the bigger (hard-to-press) ones of the keyboard version.

North America
was among the most important of the Crumar markets. No wonder they opened another headquarters (besides Castelfidardo, Italy) in New York. And just to give their products that little extra, they renamed Bit 99 to “Unique DBK”(eyboard) and Bit 01 to “Unique DBE”(xpander). Some minor internal changes might have occured as well, and the (rather chaotic) flow chart diagram on the original Bit One / 99 / 01 was redesigned...

Crumar was bought by LEM in 1985, and the production of the BIT family was continued for a very short time. Hence there are Bit synthesizers labeled LEM out there as well...

Touch sensitivity and modulation routings were the Bit's highlight. On the Bit 99 paper (sound) card is says ...

It is recommended that each voice be played in a manner characteristic to that particular voice. Be sure, also, to experiment with touch sensitivity and modulation for each individual voice, as this will “highlight" the true dynamic and timbric (or sonic) qualities of the BIT 99.

Features
Bit ONE / 99 / 01 are 6-voice polyphonic analogue synthesizers with...

• 2 DCOs (triangle, saw, pulse) from 32’ to 4’, PWM
• (White) noise
• VCF with its own ADSR
• VCA with its own ADSR
• 2 LFOs (triangle, saw, pulse) routed to DCO1/2, VCF, VCA

That’s very basic sound architecture. I’d compare it to the Roland Juno-106 or – even better –  the Siel Opera 6 (thus having two DCOs). Korg’s DW-/EX-8000 is very similar, too, as well as Oberheim’s Matrix-6/6R. As with all these other instruments, you’ve got decent and warm sounding analogue synthesizers with nice, lush sounds. They won’t be the experimental musician’s first choice, but are worth looking out for for anyone who needs strong, warm pads and deep, round grumbling basses.

Performance
often is the road to success. It is NOT the Bit’s unique selling point, but it’s not bad, either. Let’s ignore those rather simple wheels (both located on the font panel’s left side) and concentrate on the impressive velocity (MIDI) functions...

The thoughtful keyboard velocity configuration comprises:

• LFO speed control (!) (speed = RATE)
• Attack control (!) (that again reminds of the Siel Opera 6)
• Pulse Width Modulation on both DCOs
• Modulation of VCA
• Modulation of VCF
• Envelope amount control (VCF and VCA)

That’s not bad. While velocity-to-filter and velocity-to-amplifier may seem to be rather ordinary functions, LFO speed control is not to be found too often on early MIDI/velocity sensitive instruments.

MIDI functions
Bit 99 / Bit 01 offer the following MIDI receive functions:

• Pitch Bend
• Mod Wheel
• Rel Pedal (on/off)
• Prg Change (on/off)
• Omni Mode (on/off)
• Receive Channel (1-16)

Besides these very basic features, full System Exclusive Codes are published in the manual! Sure, intricate digital programming is one of the Bit’s biggest handicaps, so – even with very good MIDI specifications - you won’t end up with a competitor to any Roland MKS/MPG-80 combination. But considering the very low prices of the Crumar Bit instruments, this is still a remarkable price-performance relationship

Stereo Out
This is a simple feature you’ll immediately fall in love with. It has two functions, depending on the keyboard mode. In regular mono mode the sound appears randomly either at the left or at the right output (ping-pong effect). In double/layer the lower sound is sent to the left channel, the upper sound to the right one. Especially when doubling the same sound, the musical results are beautiful. This very nice stereo image is something the competitor Siel Opera 6 is sadly missing (mono out, that’s it!).

Sound
The Bit One / 99 / 01s always sound well-behaved. No uncontrolled, aggressive outbursts of rage, no unexpected (and totally new) effect noises, no best-off sync-sound (sync isn’t available at all, what a shame!), no unique whatever-sounds you’ve never heard before. What you get is truely warm and amazingly broad pads (stereo mode) or deep, round (earthy) basses. Some nice, although unspectacular, fx-sounds (e.g. with the two LFOs at differing, velocity-controlled speeds!). Lush strings, good brasses, all the standard analogue sounds you either need – or don’t. I’d say the Bit One / 99 / 01s behave like most instruments of the mid 80ies (Oberheim Matrix-12/Xpander, Elka Synthex, Korg DW-8000, Roland JX-8P/10 etc). Very warm, perfect for certain combinations with digital instruments (to give the digital gear some extra warmth), but at the same time sounding rather ordinary and not at all dominant.

Solo MP3s
	Bass	Warm sounding analogue bass	Theo Bloderer
	DoubleStereo	Doubled sound plus true stereo mode	"
	Dry_Env (1)	Quite serious envelopes, indeed!	"
	Dry_Env (2)	Bass sequence	"
	Pad	Nice LFO-to-filter effect	"
	VC_LFO	LFO speed controlled via keyboard pressure	"

Mix MP3s
	Mix 1	Crumar Bit 99 NOISE effect, PPG Wave 2.3 BELLS	Theo Bloderer
	Mix 2	Crumar Bit 99 ELECTRONIC TOMS, Roland JD-800	"
	Mix 3	Crumar Bit 99 NOISE effect, ARP-2600 LEAD sound	"
	Mix 4	Crumar Bit 99 DOUBLED BASS, ARP-2600 RING MOD, Yamaha CS-60 LEAD sound	"

But, well-behaved is not bad, not at all. Maybe a little boring after a certain time. But well, there are other (mostly monophonic) instruments to fill up your mix with cutting, crazy sound effects. Bit One / 99 / 01 are smart instruments, good in all kinds of strings, brasses, pads, (round) basses and simple (but nice) polyphonic LFO-effects.  

Sometimes there’s a noise in the audio signal path, depending on the instrument. While my Bit 99 sounds absolutely clean, the Unique DBE Expander is (relatively) noisy. I’d say this is one thing you’d better check out when buying a used Crumar/Bit synthesizer...

All in all ...
... I’d personally suggest the rackmount version Crumar Bit 01 to be the most interesting of the bunch. At a very low price (between 200-250 Euros in 2006, maybe 250-400 Euros now in 2010) you get a handsome, quite reliable and surprisingly warm (and broad) sounding analogue instrument. I’d agree with Julian Colbeck’s comment on the Bit 01 rack expander: “Get one!”

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Review, pictures, sounds: Theo Bloderer
Proof reading: Joan-Marie Bloderer