Crumar Bit 99

When Crumar released the Bit 99 in 1985, they took everything that made the original Bit One special and added the one thing it desperately needed: a proper keyboard and significantly improved MIDI implementation. For a synth that cost just £699 at launch, it punched well above its weight in the crowded mid-80s analog market.

The Bit 99 is a 6-voice analog polysynth built around two digitally controlled oscillators per voice, each capable of producing triangle, sawtooth, and pulse waves simultaneously, plus noise. Each voice runs through a single CEM3328 low-pass filter with self-resonance and four-pole character, paired with dedicated ADSR envelopes for both the filter and amplifier. Two global LFOs with triangle, sawtooth, and square waveforms handle modulation duties. The 61-key velocity-sensitive keyboard lets you control pulse width, filter cutoff, volume, envelope attack times, and LFO rate in real time. You get 99 patch memories split between 75 single sounds and 24 split or layer combinations, plus the ability to chain three banks of 33 patches each for seamless live performance switching via footswitch. Stereo outputs and full 16-channel MIDI with programmable mod wheel and pedal response round out the feature set.

The Bit 99 earned respect from players and reviewers for its warm, characterful analog sound and surprisingly deep programmability for the price. The program chaining feature was genuinely ahead of its time, giving live performers a workflow that rivaled much more expensive instruments. Some found the editing interface a bit fiddly compared to more modern designs, but that's a small trade-off for the sonic depth and flexibility on offer. It's the kind of synth that rewards exploration and has aged gracefully in studios and on stages where warm, fat analog tones never go out of style.