Bit 100 Version [2] 1.
1 Contents Contents Getting Started Introduction.................................................................3 Installation...................................................................4 Adjusting Parameters...................................................4 Programming the Bit-100 v2 Oscillators.....................................................................8 PWM.............................................................................9 Filter............................................
3 Getting Started 2 Please note that if you are new to synthesis, parts of this user guide may appear to be ‘a bit heavy’. Don’t worry, once you start adjusting parameters on the Bit-100 v2, it will all start to make sense. Introduction Congratulations on acquiring the Manx Bit 100 poly-synth. Despite several short comings, the Crumar ‘Bit’ range of analog synthesizers are becoming increasingly sought after and thus, fetching higher & higher prices.
4 Getting Started Installation Please extract the contents of your downloaded RAR file to your VST plugins folder. If you are installing the demo version of the Bit-100 v2, please copy both the dll file and the folder into your VSTplugins folder: If this folder is absent when the Bit-100 v2 is launched, the instrument will attempt to create one automatically, but this may be undermined by Windows security systems.
5 Getting Started Parameter Map: The Parameter map is the chart style diagram in the lower portion of the Bit 100 interface. This is fully interactive – click on the map right at the parameter you wish to edit. In the case of switches, click once for on & once for off. For switches with more than two settings, click repeatedly to flick through the settings. For continuous parameters, click and hold at the relevant parameter; then drag the mouse left or right to change the setting.
Audio Path Key Track Pitch Bend Pitch Filter Envelope Noise Mixer DCO1 LFO1 DCO2 LFO2 PWM Filter (VCF) Amp Envelope Amp (VCA)
7 Programming -Oscillators Meet the Bit-100 v2’s Oscillators 2 1 2 1 3 OVERVIEW The original Crumar Bit One’s oscillators used a proprietary mixture of digital and analog circuitry to produce waveforms with both stable pitch and ‘grunt’. From a user’s perspective, there is nothing unusual about the parameters which control the oscillators - most controls are simply there to set the oscillators’ pitch; the rest are concerned with waveform selection, pulse width and volume.
8 Programming -Oscillators WAVEFORMS Each of the Bit 100’s oscillators can mix together 3 different waveforms; Triangle, Sawtooth & Pulse. The latter’s symmetry can be adjusted - please see the section below on ‘Pulse Width Modulation’. From the diagram below, use switches (1-3) to turn on and off the Triangle, Sawtooth & Pulse waveforms respectively. Parameter (4) controls the pulse width (symmetry) of the pulse wave.
9 Programming -PWM Pulse Width Modulation Both of the Bit-100 v2’s oscillators have the option of selecting a pulse wave, which looks like this: The pulse waves have a feature which none of the other waveforms have; The peak to trough ratio can be adjusted. We do this using a parameter known as ‘pulse width’.
10 Programming -Filter Meet the Bit-100 v2’s Filter 6 11 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 5 Whilst the Bit 100’s filter may appear mundane to those familiar with synthesis, it can really deliver, especially when controlled by the Bit 100’s snappy envelopes. It’s a crucial contributor to the distinctive character of the Bit100, being loosely based SEM 3388 filter chips. If you are not already familiar with synthesis, I have provided a brief introduction to the subject of filters in Appendix #2.
11 Programming -Filter Bit-100 v2’s Filter continued.. 6 11 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 5 ENV (Enelope Amount) (3) This controls how much filter cut off is influenced by the filter’s personal envelope generator. ENV (Velocity to Envelope Amount) (4) The envelope intensity can be factored by velocity data, such that harder velocity will open the filter up more than gentle velocity data. Use this parameter to control the effect.
12 Programming -Filter Meet the Bit-100 v2’s Amplifier 5 1 6 2 7 3 4 Audio Path Key Track Pitch Bend Pitch Filter Envelope Noise Mixer T LFO1 DCO1 Filter (VCF) Amp Envelope Amp (VCA) DCO2 LFO2 As can be seen from the flow diagram above, the last stage of the Bit 100’s audio path is an amplifier, which has its own dedicated envelope generator (discussed in the next section).
13 Programming -Envelopes Meetthe theBit-100 Bit-100 v2’s Meet v2’senvelopes Envelopes 2 1 2 As has been described already, the Bit-100 v2 has two ADSR type envelopes, one exclusively for use with the filter and the other, for the exclusive use of the amp. Envelopes are triggered when a key is depressed; from this point the output of the envelope (used for modulation) will develop over time in a predictable profile, defined by the user, using controls in the envelope section.
14 Programming -Envelopes Examples of the kinds of profiles which can be easily dialled up using the ADSR method: Key is released OUTPUT8 OUTPUT Key is released BRASS SUSTAIN SYNTH SUSTAIN OUTPUT OUTPUT Key is released STRING SUSTAIN SWELL SUSTAIN = 0 Key is released Self-Compensating Sustain Level CAUTION: If you reduce the Bit-100 v2 envelope’s SUSTAIN amount, the peak of the envelope’s output can actually rise - the Bit-100 v2 attempts to recover overall volume level .
15 Programming -Envelopes SHORT ATTACK TIMES At extreme settings, the peak of an Bit-100 v2 envelope can be so snappy that it becomes important to co-ordinate the attack times of the two envelopes, in order to prevent the filter from peaking after the volume has decayed to sub-optimal levels. This is really only an issue when you have some moderate attack time on the filter envelope, zero attack on the volume envelope but a swift decay on the latter.
16 Programming -LFO / OSc Mix Meet the Bit-100 v2’s LFOs Low Frequency Oscillators LFO Destinations Just like the Bit-100 v2’s main oscillators, the low frequency oscillators (LFOs) create 2 3 4 15 6 1 2 7 waveforms. You can select from three different wave-shapes; triangle, sawtooth and square. (1) These will not output simultaneously - you may select one at a time.
18 Control Panel The Bit-100 v2 has its own fully integrated patch memory & recall system, a much enhanced version of what is available on the original Bit One. Program menus: Click on the white button labelled ’Program‘ in order to select a program. Note that if you make alterations to a particular program, those alterations will remain in effect if you select a different program, but will not be present if you launch the Bit-100 v2 on another occasion.
19 Control Panel Master Volume, Master Tune Click on the knob and drag to the left before moving up and down to adjust - this will give you the fine adjustment you are looking for. Please note that both of these controls save with the program. Bend Range: This controls pitch bend range, between zero and +- 1 octave. Note that ascending pitch bend causes reduces oscillator detuning, as is the case with the original Bit One. Velocity Sensitivity: Provides a master control for velocity sensitivity.
20 Midi Learn / Zoom Continuous Control & Midi Learn Right click on any switch or knob to bring up a menu which will allow you to either manually assign a continuous controller number or use the Midi Learn facility: Simply click midi learn and then adjust the control on your midi control keyboard which you would like to associate with the Bit-100 v2 parameter. When you save your song the continuous controller assignments will be saved and will be functional when you reopen it later.
22 Appendix One - Crumar Bit One Appendix One: Crumar Bit One Background It is often stated that the Bit One synthesizer was designed by Mario Maggie, the creator of the legendary Elka Synthex. This is in fact a myth; the only connection is that both instruments are Italian.
23 Appendix One - Audio filters Appendix Two: The basics....... You may think of a synthesizer filter as being rather like a single ‘tone’ control that you might find on a home audio system such as a personal CD player.
24 Appendix One - Audio filters Frequency and Waveforms...................a little bit of magic! 8 It just so happens that sound waves don’t like to propagate through air in any form other than a sine wave. It stands to reason; air which is of a higher pressure because of a sound wave will want to expand quickly, but this urgency will dampen off as the pressure returns to normal, and a subsequent rebound in the other direction will complete a sine wave pattern.
25 Appendix One - Audio filters If we add yet another sine wave, higher pitched and quieter than the others, we get this: + = As you can see a regular waveform which is not a sine wave begins to emerge. It turns out that when many different sine waves are added together, the resulting wave-shape can be anything at all. In complex cases such as speech, you are still hearing a ‘chorus’ of sine waves, but in this case, the relative volumes and pitches of those wave would be constantly changing.
26 Appendix Two - Troubleshooting Appendix Three TROUBLESHOOTING & KNOWN ISSUES These issues apply to Bit-100 v2 version 1.1 and may be resolved in subsequent versions. Defaulting to Patch 1, upon start-up: With some VST host programs, when you reopen a song which contains an instance of the Bit-100 v2, for some reason the host software tells the Bit-100 v2 to default to the first patch.
27 Appendix Three - Information for users Appendix Four- Information for users CREDITS CRUMAR BRAND IS COPYRIGHT OF V.M. CONNECTION - we thank them for their assistance. We would like to thank the following contributors: Jeff McClintock. David Haupt, Daz Disley, Rob Herder, Rick Jelliffe, Christian-W. Budde & Chris Kerry, who have provided complex code used in Manx synthesizers.
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