User guide

2
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.
The reason is simple; these vintage analog machines sound superb – rich & full, bright and organic. Some fairly
important functionality is missing (notably PWM & full bend range), but over all, the Bit synths offered a fairly
exotic set of features for the day; comprehensive velocity sensitivity, mixable waveforms and two very flexible
LFOs. However, the key to the ‘Bit’ synthesizer’s wonderful sound is the unique design of its twin DCO’s;
they possess the stability of digital oscillators but the timbre of fine analog oscillators.
With the Bit 100 v2, we’ve modelled the DCOs in the original machines, attempting to capture all of the
quality & uniqueness of their sound. We have also taken the time to ensure that the Bit 100 envelopes are
lively just like those of the original and we have successfully modelled the essence of the cem3328 filter chips
found in later versions of the Bit One.
General features
6 note polyphonic, with unison mode.
Midi Learn for all parameters; Patch memory system with full library.
2 LFOs, velocity sensitivity, PWM, generous modulation routings and much more....
General information
- The Bit-100 v2 has no on - board effects - its output is mono.
It is designed to be used in conjunction with external effect plug-ins though;
the sound can be rather dry without them.
External effects must be used if you need stereo image ry, or layer 2 Bit-100 v2s
together, then pan (requires tasty CPU or multi-track recording).
- The Bit-100 v2 can respond to velocity data but in many factory presets, this is switched off.
- The Bit-100 v2 ͛s CPU consumption is ve ry sensitive to patch complexity, particularly
LFO->pitch modulation.
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.
3 Getting Started