“CRUMAR BIT ONE SYNTHESIZER
HAVING A SORT OUT IN MY STUDIO AND I HAVEN’T USED THIS FOR SOME TIME, SO DECIDED TO LET HER GO..
ALL SEEM TO BE WORKING AS SHE SHOULD BE, AFTER HAVING TO RESET SOME CONNECTOR, BUT STILL PRODUCES SOME GREAT SOUNDS FROM YEARS PAST.
CONDITION FOR HER AGE ISN’T TO BAD, FRONT PANEL HAS SOME BLISTERING AND THE SCREEN PRINT IS WORN IN PLACES, SHE COULD DO WITH A SERVICE AS I HAVE A FEELING SHE HAS A FEW DRY JOINT OR JUST DIRTY CONNECTOR, BUT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR A VINTAGE MACHINE??” Link
“Crumar Bit One Analog Synthesizer. This keyboard is being sold as is for parts or repair. the keyboard does power up but has some issues: there are four keys that are not working, there is a dent on the top left corner, noisy headphone jack, all buttons are working but some need to but pressed a few times. Some of the lines in the upper voice Display are out. i changed the battery and loaded the factory patches and had it playing for a couple days then all of a sudden started having hanging notes, sounds would play but is like it has the release all the way up and wont stop.” Link
“Bit One Vintage Synth
80′s Analog Digital Hybrid
There is plenty of information on this synth online so I do not intend to go into a technical description here
vintagesynth and synthmuseum are good websites to visit
As potential bidders/buyers will see this is a low start no reserve auction so the synth will sell
I will tell you what I know (1), what I do not know (2) and what I can guess (3) about this synth so please read carefully
(1) This synth was made in the mid 80′s by Crumar (an Italian company) it retailed then at £800
The original owner decided to emigrate to the States and wanting to travel light sold all his gear before going
The synth has since been stored protected in a dry cosy loft for some 20 plus years and was rather “out of sight out of mind”
The cosmetic condition of the synth is Very Good, certainly Excellent for age with very few marks indeed
The synth is a UK voltage model taking a kettle type lead and powered up first time without issue
(2) I have listened to the synth through headphones and although I do not have the instructions, have achieved various “synth type” sounds
I would describe them as very 80′s and Human League’s “Love Action” immediately came to mind!
The digital numbers illuminated, the keys all seemed to function and different settings achieved different sounds
Having said that I have no real idea of how this should sound or what is expected of various settings and there are functions I do not know how to access
(3) I understand the synth has a settings back up battery, this is bound to need replacing
The bend and mod wheels and the volume, detune & noise sliders will likely need cleaning with a deoxit/faderlube type product
I understand the IC’s are socketed and would probably benefit from a remove clean and re-seat
Capacitors will fail over time but given the ultra low use of this synth they are likely ok here
It is highly likely the synth will not be in tune after so many years so adjustment will probably be required
In summary this is a Vintage Synth of the Mid 80′s costing rather alot for back then but starting at .99p now
With known history of little use and lots of storage.
Presented in very good indeed cosmetic condition but likely to require a service/tune-up
which the new owner will have to decide themselves whether they can d.i.y or refer to a synth engineer” Link
”
Das Gerät funktioniert, hab ihn eben noch angeschlossen und programmiert.
Soweit ich das überprüfen konnte, lassen sich alle Parameter einstellen.
Midi hab ich auch gecheckt, aber nur kurz Note on/off.
Leider hat das Gerät jedoch Tastenkaries.
Die Tasten funktionieren, sind aber abgebrochen.
Da ich nicht bis ins letzte Detail alle Funktionen getestet habe und die Tasten kaputt sind,
hab ich das Gerät hier als defekt eingestellt.
Das was es machen soll, tut es jedoch.
Knarzen, dröhnen, blubbern etc..
Für Soundtüftler also nach wie vor ein schönes Gerät.” Link
“Crumar Bit One synth in very good cosmetic condition. It has a fault on it, some of the keys sound intermittantly and not all of the voices work correctly, needs a service to get it back to full working order and I just don’t have the time to have it repaired. It is all complete and unmolested, it is the later model with CEM voice chips, these alone are probably worth £80 or more.
So, in view of the above it is been sold as non working for spares or repair only and no returns.” Link
“This is a very early unit. Great for collectors and players alike. I have one of the later ones in my studio and love it. These are really a great sounding synth. They just sound warmer than other DCO synths to me. save the earlier DK600 which has it’s own warm sound I guess you’d say. The brass and pad and keyboard sounds are really great. Bell piano kinds of sounds are interesting. This has the SSM2044 filters. I’ve tuned it to sound like my other one pretty much. THere are schematics but no tuning instructions that I’ve seen on these. Fortunately pretty stable I think. There’s a tuning pot on back for any drift that happens in the tuning and trimmers inside I had to tweak with and just get a feel for what they do. Kinda fun actually in a way 
Cosmetically these always attract scratches on top..probably because people set things on them. But I was able to touch up to make it look really good in typical lighting at any normal viewing distance as you can see in the photos hopefully. Close up you can see there were some pretty good scratches though. At least no rust and it’s all decent enough now. SERIAL NUMBER 27! Very early one and I think they only produced a few hundred maybe with these filters.. ” Link
“CRUMAR
BIT 01
RACK EXPANDER / SYNTHESIZER
inkl. MANUAL
Serial: EX / 00554
Verkaufe im Auftrag meines Vaters diesen tollen Synthesizer. Er hat den Crumar Synthesizer damals neu gekauft und kaum genutzt.
Da auch ich kaum Zeit hatte, mich mit dem Synth zu beschäftigen, stand er nur noch gut verpackt in der Ecke.
Nun soll das gute Stück verkauft werden.
Das Rack (3 HE) sieht dementsprechend noch 1A aus. Der Bit 01 und seinen Tastaturversion, der Bit 99, dürften nicht zuletzt wegen seiner guten Sounds sehr beliebt sein.
Warme Streicher-, Pads-, Brass- und Basssounds sind für den Bit kein Problem. Klanglich geht der Bit 01/99 weit über die Möglichkeiten eines Roland Juno 106 hinaus. Seinen 2 LFO´s ist es zu verdanken, dass Modulationen möglich sind, die mit ähnlich gelagerten Synthesizern nicht so einfach erstellt werden können.
Der Synth macht richtig Druck, was sich nicht zuletzt durch die eingesetzten Bauteile, wie z.B. Curti-Chips, begründet.
Sounds können auch als Double und Split abgespeichert werden. Auch dieses Feature bietet nicht jeder Synth aus dieser Zeit.
Seine nahe Verwandschaft zum Elka Synthex macht sich z.B. bemerkbar, wenn man den Synthesizer im Stereo-Modus betreibt. Hier werden die einzelnen Stimmen auf den linken und rechten Kanal unterschiedlich verteilt. Das Stereobild ist dann natürlich satt. Der Sound klingt mehr als breit.” Link
“A VERY rare opportunity to grab one of the 80′s best kept secrets!!
A six voice programmable analogue poly synth in a rack! Dual oscillators, dual LFOs and superb CURTIS resonant analogue filters! Sounds as good (if not better) than ANY of the old school synths we have come across. Fully programmable from the front panel – a doddle when you get used to it, plus we have included a VST editor for it. MIDI controlled, it actually has a lower program and upper program which can play as double or a split. Some of the combinations of true analogue sounds in double mode sound AMAZING. This beast really has a sound of its own!! Moe info on the net if you want it…..
This one is in great condition, fully tested and comes with a mains lead and the VST editor CD. Surely collectable…..” Link
” The Bit-01 is a rackmount 6-voice programmable polyphonic analog synthesizer with digital control similar to the Bit One and Bit-99 keyboard synthesizers. The 2 computer controlled oscillators, 6 VCF resonant filters, 6 VCAs and 2 LFOs each per voice, easy hands-on editing and a layer/split function make this one phatt analog poly-synth! The MIDI implementation is useable but poor and there are 99 memory patches. The Bit-01 is well suited for studio use and in all forms of electronic music.
Each voice on the Bit 01 featured two DCOs (Digital Oscillators, switchable between triangle, sawtooth, and pulse waveforms, as well as noise on DCO1), a resonant VCF, two LFO’s (switchable between triangle, ramp-up and square waveforms) and a VCA. The VCA and the VCF had their own ADSR envelope generators. The Bit 01 featured a split and layer functions that allowed two of its patches (the “upper” and the “lower) to be played at the same time or together, limiting each patch to three voices. The “upper” and “lower” voices each had their own output.
The Bit 01 was marketed in the USA by a company called Unique. Their version of the Bit 01 was called the “DBE” it was introduced with a matching MIDI controller called the “DBM”.” Link
“This listing is for a Crumar Bit 01 rackmount vintage synthesizer. The unit powers up as it should but we can’t get it to load the factory presets.” Link
“Crumar Bit-01 synth module -white model. It’s in good condition and works. Has some scratches etc on top (near the vent area there is some paint that has chipped away-not terribly noticeable as the layer beneath is an ivory color), bottom, and sides, but the faceplate and backplate look very clean with minimal scratches. There is a program called BitControl that allows you to program the synth on your PC. It has worked great for me and will probably for you too! Power cord is included. Due to the unit’s age (nearly 25 years old) it is being sold AS-IS. Though I’ve tested some of the buttons who’s functions appear to have worked, I can’t guarantee anything except that it produces sound when played using a keyboard controller. I rarely used the front panel as I mainly controlled the Bit01 using the software. By the way, the sounds produced by this box are amazing! ” Link
“Here’s a Unique DBE rack mount synthesizer control, just purchased by us from an estate. According to our research, this Made In Italy piece was named the Crumar Bit 1 overseas. It’s in good overall cosmetic condition- there are some scratches on the top, bottom, and sides of the case, and the front is in very good shape, with no major scratching or dings we could see. It plugs in and powers up as shown, and that is really all we can mention. It has two MIDI connections on back (input / output) as well. We do not have a keyboard, instructions, pedals, etc… just the unit and power cable as pictured. It is offered this “AS-IS”, with no refunds or exchanges- first for parts only, as of course we couldn’t test it.” Link
“CRUMAR BIT ONE SYNTHESIZER
