Crumar Bit 01

Back in 1984, this rackmount gem brought 6-voice polyphony to studios with its clever hybrid design—digitally controlled oscillators paired with warm analog filters—making it a smart alternative to pricier Japanese polysynths from the era.

The 3U-deep chassis, available in black or ivory, houses 12 DCOs total (2 per voice) offering triangle, sawtooth, pulse (all mixable), and noise, feeding into a resonant CEM3328 4-pole lowpass filter. Dual ADSR envelopes shape the filter and stereo VCAs independently, while two global LFOs (triangle, saw, square) add movement; velocity dynamically tweaks pulse width, filter amount, volume, attack times, and LFO rates. It stores 99 patches—75 singles plus 24 splits/doubles—with improved MIDI across 16 channels (in/out/thru), cassette backup, and separate upper/lower stereo outs for easy mixing.

Players have long praised its expressive, Juno-like warmth and fat detuned pads, though some note the programming takes patience and early MIDI was basic before revisions. A true collector's piece for anyone chasing vintage hybrid tones.