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1010music Bitbox 3.0 User Manual
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1010music Bitbox 3.0 User Manual

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Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual
Bitbox 3.0 User Manual
Welcome to bitbox. Bitbox is a very useful tool for capturing and playing back samples.
This manual will walk you through all of the features of bitbox. If you want to start
playing right away, please consult the Quick Start Guide found in the box. The Quick
Start Guide and this manual are also available at 1010music.com/bitbox-documentation.
Copyright 1010music LLC 2020
Page 1 of 72

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  • Page 1 This manual will walk you through all of the features of bitbox. If you want to start playing right away, please consult the Quick Start Guide found in the box. The Quick Start Guide and this manual are also available at 1010music.com/bitbox-documentation. Copyright 1010music LLC 2020...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Table of Contents WELCOME OVERVIEW FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW Main Screen Overview SETUP BITBOX Choose an Orientation Rack Installation Connect an Output Connect an Input Tools Working in Flipped Mode Test Your Setup Use the Touchscreen to Trigger a Cell...
  • Page 3 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Work with Slicer Cells To Use Auto Scan to Create Slices: To Use Slice to Grid: To Manually Create or Remove Slices: To Use Slices to Synchronize Playback of Clip Pads: Work with Granular Pads Record a New WAV File...
  • Page 4 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual MANAGE PRESETS To Save Changes to a Preset: To Load a Preset: To Pack a Preset: To Delete a Preset: To Rename a Preset: To Save Current Changes as a New Preset: Work with Preset Files on the MicroSD Card...
  • Page 5 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual To Use a CV Signal to Select Specific Slices: To Control the Slice Sequence with a CV Signal: Synchronize with an External Clock Reset the Clock Use a MIDI Program Change to Load Presets To Enable or Disable MIDI Program Changes:...
  • Page 6 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual STAY UP TO DATE Demonstration Videos and Latest Docs Connect with Other Bitbox Users Contact Us Page 6 of 72 Copyright 1010music LLC 2020...

  • Page 7: Welcome

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual WELCOME Bitbox is a digital sampler designed for Eurorack. It allows you to record your own WAV files or bring them over from your computer, trigger them via CV and MIDI, and manipulate them using slices and modulators. It provides the ability to perform tasks on your Eurorack that previously required a computer.

  • Page 8: Overview

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual OVERVIEW The bitbox module allows you to record and playback samples in creative ways. When working with bitbox, you create presets that store the selection of samples and parameters that you want to use together. You can create any number of presets, limited only by the space available on your microSD card (up to 32 GB cards).

  • Page 9: Front Panel Overview

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW The front panel of bitbox contains a touch screen, control knobs, HOME and INFO buttons, a MIDI input jack, and CV input and output jacks as shown in Front Panel Overview. This manual will refer to the controls, inputs and outputs of the module using the labels shown in this figure.

  • Page 10: Main Screen Overview

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual signals. You can also use the MIDI clock to synchronize playback. The CLOCK input is used to sync with a CV clock signal. The two audio inputs (IN1 and IN2) are used to record WAV files.

  • Page 11: Setup Bitbox

    If the touch screen doesn’t respond right away, turn off the Ribbon Cable Orientation rack and confirm the cable orientation. 1010music on Module Copyright 1010music LLC 2020 Page 11 of 72...

  • Page 12: Connect An Output

    ► Not all mini TRS MIDI jacks work the same way. You can use mini TRS cables to connect the bitbox MIDI input to the MIDI output of another 1010music product, or other compatible products. For other products you may need to use a MIDI adapter.

  • Page 13: Tools

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual You can also use control voltage (CV) signals with bitbox. If you prefer this method, connect some CV signals from other modules or devices to one or two CV Trigger jacks in the array of jacks below the touch screen. Connect one input in the right column of CV Trigger jacks, and another input in one of the first four columns.
  • Page 14 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Page Parameter Description RecToPlay If you have RecToPlay set to ON, bitbox will automatically start to play the new sample when recording ends if the Length parameter was set to a value other than Custom for recording.

  • Page 15: Working In Flipped Mode

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Page Parameter Description MIDI In MIDI Keys Specifies which MIDI channel is used to play notes for the currently selected pad. If a channel selected here is also chosen as the MIDI IN channel for a pad, that pad will also play notes in response to signals received on this MIDI channel.

  • Page 16: Test Your Setup

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Inverted Face Plate Test Your Setup Before we start creating our own presets, let’s make sure the module is setup properly by playing back some content from a preset that comes with the module and triggering playback through external inputs.

  • Page 17: Trigger A Cell Via Control Voltage Signal

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Trigger a Cell via Control Voltage Signal You can use an external signal to trigger the playback of a pad. Plug a trigger source into one of the CV Trigger jacks. The CV Trigger jacks are mapped to the pads on the touchscreen.

  • Page 18: Create And Configure A New Preset

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual CREATE AND CONFIGURE A NEW PRESET In order to demonstrate the features of bitbox, we will walk through the process of creating a new preset and configuring several different pads. Create and Name a Preset First, you will create a new preset that will be used to store the configuration parameters you select.
  • Page 19 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Reverse Beat Loop Play Poly- Icon Pad Mode Description Playback Sync Points Slices phony Sample Use to play single notes or 8 notes drum hits. You can control start and end points for playback and looping.
  • Page 20 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Load and Record Screen Waveform Screen WAV File Selection Screen Press the INFO button. If the pad was empty, the Load and Record screen will be displayed. If the pad already had a WAV file assigned, the Waveform screen will be displayed.

  • Page 21: To Configure Basic Cell Parameters

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual To Configure Basic Cell Parameters: Now that you’ve chosen a WAV file to play, let’s tell bitbox how you want to play it. Touch the icon immediately to the left of the WAV file name at the top of the waveform screen to display the Pad Mode menu.
  • Page 22 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual On the Main, ADSR and MIDI Cell Parameters pages you can configure some general pad options that are the same for all pad modes. Touch the control knob closest to each parameter to set its value. Make sure you pay attention to the LaunchMode parameter because this impacts how the pad responds to triggers.

  • Page 23: To Assign A Cell To An Exclusive Playback Group

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Parameter Description Range of Values Target? MIDI In Specifies a MIDI channel to be used None, Ch1 through Ch16. to play this pad chromatically or sliced across keys. and for some MIDI parameters. More than one pad can be assigned to the same MIDI channel.

  • Page 24: Set Up A Sample Cell

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Set up a Sample Cell Use a sample pad when you only want to play or loop through a single note or drum hit within a WAV file. This pad mode supports reverse playback, along with forward and bidirectional looping.
  • Page 25 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Parameter Description Range of Values Target? When Reverse is ON, the WAV file will play in reverse. ON, OFF Loop Fade The amount of overlap used in the cross fade at the 0 to 100% loop points. The cross fade is accomplished by overlapping part of the WAV file from before the loop start point.

  • Page 26: Multi-Sample Cells

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual You can also set the values for Start, Len, LpStr and LpEnd from the Waveform screen. When viewing the waveform, the pink frame on the large waveform represents the Start and Len parameters. You can move these end points by turning the top two control knobs.
  • Page 27 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Bitbox will now load all of the files in the current directory into this pad and map the files to notes across the keyboard based on the root notes defined in the WAV files. Now, use the KEYS screen or an external MIDI controller to play notes for that pad, and bitbox will play the sample with the root note that is closest to the note played, and pitch shift as needed to achieve the necessary tone.

  • Page 28: Work With A Clip Cell

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Work with a Clip Cell Use Clip Mode for WAV files where you want to use synchronized loops and quantized playback for the entire WAV file. Clip Mode works well with drum loops between one and eight measures long, but there is no hard limit to the length.

  • Page 29: Tips For Synchronizing Clips

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Let’s talk some more about Quant Size and Sync. When a Quant Size other than None is selected, the playback of the wave file will be delayed until the next selected unit of music as specified in Quant Size. This will ensure that your playback “snaps to the grid”...

  • Page 30: Work With Slicer Cells

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Work with Slicer Cells Slicer Mode is useful when a single WAV file has multiple sections that you want to trigger independently. For example, if you have a drum riff you may want to trigger different drum hits within the drum riff independently. Or if...
  • Page 31 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Parameter Description Range of Values Target? Sync The Sync feature prevents timing drift that OFF – playback will occur at the can occur when the length and BPM of a clip original rate. Looping will happen does not align exactly with the tempo of as soon as the sample ends.

  • Page 32: To Use Auto Scan To Create Slices

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual scan or slice to grid. When you use auto scan, bitbox uses an internal algorithm to decide where to place the splits. You can control the sensitivity of the algorithm. When you use slice to grid, you define a fixed number of slices and bitbox will create splits that evenly divide the WAV file into the specified number of slices.

  • Page 33: To Use Slices To Synchronize Playback Of Clip Pads

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual To Use Slices to Synchronize Playback of Clip Pads: You can use slices in a clip pad to synchronize playback of the beats in the clip. When the value of the Sync parameter for a clip pad is set to Slice, bitbox will use the location of the slices in the WAV file as the location of the “beats”...

  • Page 34: Record A New Wav File

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual If you want to get use granular mode to generate tonal content, use a very low speed, a high grain count, small grain size, and small spread. To start with something that is close to the original wav file, set the spread to 0, speed to 100%, Grain size to 1024 and grain count to 2.
  • Page 35 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Parameter Description Range of Values Length This parameter allows you to specify a Custom, 1/4, 1/2, 1 bar, 2 bars, 4 bars, 8 bars, length of time that you want to record, in 16 bars, 32 bars, 64 bars, 128 bars terms of notes and bars.

  • Page 36: If You Are Recording Wavs For The Current Preset

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Touch the Rec button in the lower right of the screen. Bitbox will start recording. If you are using threshold recording, the recording will start once the input level meets the threshold level specified. If you selected a time value for Length, recording will stop after the selected length of time.

  • Page 37: To Record A Multi-Sample Pack Onto Bitbox

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Note: ► If you record into a loaded pad, the original WAV file remains intact on the microSD card and a new WAV file is created. ► Bitbox streams the recording directly to your microSD. The length of your recording is limited to the space available on the microSD card.

  • Page 38: Save And Load Parameters In Wav Files

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Pack up the target preset (MySong in our example) to copy the multi-sample files into a sub-folder under the target preset’s folder. In this case, you would end up with the following folder: \Presets\MySong\MyBank Now you are free to delete or move the original MyBank preset if desired, or leave it there for future re-use.

  • Page 39: To Save The Values You Have Configured For A Pad Back To The Wav File

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual These parameters are saved in a format that is commonly used by other music products. This means you can set these values in the other product and then use them in bitbox, and the reverse. When bitbox first loads a WAV file that has parameters stored in it, it will load the values of the parameters that are in the WAV and use default values for the other parameters.

  • Page 40: Trim Wav Files

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Trim WAV Files When recording new samples, you sometimes get some unwanted material at the start or the end of the WAV file. Here’s how to trim the file: Open a pad with a WAV file you want to trim.

  • Page 41: Manage Wav Files

    Bitbox supports organizing WAV files into folders and sub-folders. You can create your own folder structure on the microSD card. Bitbox 3.0 changes where new recordings are stored. When you create a new recording, it will be stored in the folder for that preset. For example, the first new recording for the My Kickin Grooves preset will be saved as \Presets\My Kickin Grooves\RC000001.wav.

  • Page 42: To Delete, Save As Or Rename A Wav File

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual To Delete, Save As or Rename a WAV File: When you use bitbox to delete a WAV file, that file is removed from the microSD card. This file will no longer be available for use by presets. This means that any presets that previously used this WAV file will no longer include this WAV file.

  • Page 43: Save Wav Files With A Preset

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Note: ► If you delete, move or rename a WAV file, it will no longer be available for use by presets that were previously using it. The name of the original WAV file will still appear in the Preset, but the Waveform screen will be blank until you load a new WAV file into the pad.

  • Page 44: Play Notes Using The Keys Screen

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual PLAY NOTES USING THE KEYS SCREEN Let’s find some new ways to play with our samples on the Keys screen. Go to the Main screen and select a pad that has a tonal sound. Push INFO twice to display the Pad Parameters screen.

  • Page 45: Adjust The Mix

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual ADJUST THE MIX On the Mix screen you can independently adjust the volume and pan of each pad. The number on the pad represents the dB level of the audio output. The bar at the bottom of the grid pad represents the pan position for the pad.

  • Page 46: Manage Presets

    As of bitbox 3.0, bitbox now stores all of the preset xml files in sub-folders under the \Presets folder. Each preset has its own sub-folder with the name of the preset, and a preset.xml file within that sub-folder.

  • Page 47: To Save Changes To A Preset

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual use the Pack function to consolidate all of the files used by the preset into the preset’s folder. All presets have a file named preset.xml under the folder that has the name of the preset. This file contains all of the settings for this preset.

  • Page 48: To Pack A Preset

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual To Pack a Preset: After you spend time carefully creating a preset, you don’t want to worry about it getting broken if you make changes to that WAV file or re-organize your sample library. You may also want to gather up all of the files used in a preset so you can move it to another microSD card or archive it on your computer.

  • Page 49: To Rename A Preset

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual To Rename a Preset: Press the HOME button repeatedly until you see the Menu screen, then touch Presets to display the Preset Management screen. Use the control knobs to scroll through the list of presets. The blue highlight indicates the currently selected preset.

  • Page 50: Work With Preset Files On The Microsd Card

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Work with Preset Files on the MicroSD Card Preset files can be backed up on your computer or shared with other bitbox users. The presets are saved as XML files on the microSD card. Each preset is saved in a preset.xml file in a folder with the name of the preset under the \Presets folder.

  • Page 51: When Will My Legacy Wav Files Get Cleaned Out Of The Root Folder

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual When will my legacy WAV files get cleaned out of the root folder? We won’t move them automatically. We recommend that you pack up all of your presets one by one, which will copy all of the files used by the presets into their respective folders.

  • Page 52: Use Midi And Cv With Bitbox

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual USE MIDI AND CV WITH BITBOX You can use control voltage (CV) and MIDI signals with bitbox to further control your music. Both MIDI and CV can be used to: ■ Trigger pad hits ■ Playback samples pitched via MIDI notes or CV values ■...

  • Page 53: To Use Midi To Always Play A Specific Pad Chromatically

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Push HOME to go back to the Main screen, and select a loaded pad. This will be easiest to hear if you choose a WAV file that has a tone (not a drum hit). Start playing notes on the MIDI controller and the selected pad will be played pitch shifted.

  • Page 54: To Use Cv To Play Samples Chromatically

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Note: ► If you have the same channel assigned to both a specific pad and to the MIDI Keys setting, the assigned pad and the currently selected will both respond to the MIDI input. ► You can have more than one pad mapped to a specific MIDI channel. In this case, bitbox will play all mapped pads when a note is received on that channel.

  • Page 55: Modulate Pad Parameters

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Modulate Pad Parameters Bitbox allows you to modify the values of pad parameters in real time using external signals. For example, you can use MIDI Velocity to control the Level of a pad, or EXT1 to adjust the filter. You can use a Trigger or CV input to control which slice of a Slicer pad will be played on the next note event.
  • Page 56 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Modulation Description Source none No modulation source will be used. EXT1 to EXT8 External Control Voltage connected to one of the numbered EXT ports as shown in the image on the right. Trig Any input that is used to trigger a pad, such as CV input, touch, or MIDI Note.

  • Page 57: To Use Midi Cc In Learn Mode To Modulate Parameters

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual NOTE: ► EXT1 through EXT8 can be used as modulation sources when these pads are triggered via CV. Modulation will not be applied for these modulation sources when MIDI is used to trigger them. ► The Modulation sources other than MIDI CC only impact the pad if the modulation signal is received on the MIDI In channel for this pad.

  • Page 58: Control Slice Playback

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Control Slice Playback There are few different ways to use CV and MIDI signals to control the playback of slicer pads. You can use MIDI to map each slice to a MIDI Note. You similarly map each slice to a CV voltage range.

  • Page 59: To Use A Cv Signal To Select Specific Slices

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual The steps above show a simple example of using MIDI alone to trigger different slices within one pad. You can use this with Loop Mode ON with Launch Modes of Gate or Toggle to achieve different effects.

  • Page 60: To Control The Slice Sequence With A Cv Signal

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Press INFO until you see the Waveform screen. Trigger playback of this pad by pressing the triangular Play button in the top right corner of the screen while varying the voltage sent to the selected EXT port. Each time you press play, the Trig modulation will play the slice mapped to the current CV value.
  • Page 61 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Slice Seq will not work unless we choose a modulation signal to work with it. Touch one of the three black boxes below the Slice Seq parameter to bring up the Modulation Parameters screen. Choose a value for Source. For demonstration purposes we suggest you choose TRIG and touch the pad or push the Play button to trigger playback.

  • Page 62: Synchronize With An External Clock

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Synchronize with an External Clock There are three different musical clocks that you can use with bitbox: Name Description Priority Clock In Bitbox gets the CV Clock signal from an input to the Clock jack on the front panel of the module. Bitbox expects a clock pulse signal with 4 pulses per quarter (PPQs), or a pulse per 16th note.

  • Page 63: Reset The Clock

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Reset the Clock You can use the following methods to reset the clock counter back to 0:0: ■ Stop the CV clock input for a few seconds ■ Send a Clock Start signal over MIDI ■ Power down the module Use a MIDI Program Change to Load Presets Some MIDI controllers support a MIDI command to trigger a program change.

  • Page 64: Sharing Of Midi Input Channels

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Sharing of MIDI Input Channels How do all of these MIDI Input channel assignments work together? Basically, they all work together, with one big exception for Omni settings. Any channel that is assigned to anything else will no longer be included in the list of channels responded to by a parameter with the Omni setting.

  • Page 65: Create Preset Templates For Re-Use

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual CREATE PRESET TEMPLATES FOR RE-USE Preset template support was added to help users who like to set up their presets a certain way each time, and those who want to configure different presets in preparation for a live performance. Preset templates allow you to configure the pad mode, output, MIDI settings, modulation and other settings before you have associated a WAV file with the pad.

  • Page 66: Export A Set To Ableton Live

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual EXPORT A SET TO ABLETON LIVE Bitbox creates files compatible with Ableton Live. Follow these steps to export them: Save the changes to your preset by following the instructions above. Remove the microSD card and connect it to your computer using a microSD to SD card adapter, or a microSD to USB adapter.

  • Page 67: Processor Management Tips

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual PROCESSOR MANAGEMENT TIPS If you have experienced drop outs or crackling sounds with bitbox, you have probably pushed the processor to its limits. Bitbox does not limit what you can do based on anticipated processor load.We have tried to balance the design of the system to optimize what you can do without over-driving the processor while still giving you room to make creative choices.

  • Page 68: Update And Swap Firmware

    You can find the latest firmware images on the forum at https://forum.1010music.com. You must be a registered user of the forum to access the download files. Forum registration is free.
  • Page 69 Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual Turn off power to the Eurorack. Place the microSD card in your module. While powering up the unit, hold the HOME and INFO buttons. When you see the message about upgrading the firmware, you can let go.

  • Page 70: Technical Specs

    MIDI connector and the labels of the connection components of a mini TRS jack. 1010music bitbox is compatible with cables that use the following mapping of MIDI signals between female MIDI connectors and mini TRS...

  • Page 71: On-Board Memory

    Bitbox 3.0.1 User Manual On-Board Memory Bitbox has 64MB of on-board RAM. However, this is a cache--not a hard limit to what can be loaded at once. Maximum Sample Length Bitbox streams the longer samples from the microSD card, so the maximum length is a function of the maximum file size for a sample.
  • Page 72 Connect with Other Bitbox Users There is a very active community of users of 1010music modules at https://forum.1010music.com. If you have a question about the module that isn’t answered in this manual, this is your best source for help. We actively monitor the wish list sub-forums for ideas for future versions of our products.

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