Alesis Bitman
More images:
Bitman Multi Effect Here's an extraordinary effects box comprised of compression, distortion, dual phasing, and a fourth selected effect that can either be a comb, decimator, bit reducer, frequency modulator, ring modulator, or frequency shift. The four effects can be configured multiple ways by adjusting the "Configure" parameter.
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $129.00
User Reviews of the Alesis Bitman
- Submitted by Aphadaphaler from Portland, OR (158 points) on Apr 2, 2007
- Great effect. Versatile. the effects order button is the uber
- Good Points: cheep, ring mod, bit reduction, pitch shifting, and on top of that you get compression(noisy), distortion(ok), and phaser(noisy)
- Bad Points: noisy when using phaser but i kind of like it. wall wort
- Price Paid: US$33.00
- Purchased At: novamusik
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by SPIKE from Houston, TX (116 points) on Nov 3, 2005
- Crunchy crunchy crunchy. I use it for the unique sound of bit reduction on many signal types. As stated in other reviews the distortion and compressor are lackluster. The phaser is cool but of course no control. But i want a phaser then i just attack with the Infinitphase MK II. The signal routing stuff is neat but not all combinations have a strong affect. Their aren't many controls to it but it does what it does well and i like it.
- Good Points: compact and VERY easy to use. quite a few variations in the output noiz.
- Bad Points: power supply connection isn't standard. lacks other manipulation controls. kinda cheaply made knobs.
- Price Paid: US$49.00
- Purchased At: musician's FIEND
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by ck3 from Portland, ME (402 points) on May 1, 2005
- I finally broke down and invested in one of these. The current Musician's F(r)iend clearance price definitely factored into my decision. Overall, I have been pleased with this device. I have used it with guitar pedals and in the effects loop of a mixer. The Bitrman is certainly an all-in-one solution for most industrial-tinged processing needs.
- Good Points: Provides a great combination of noisy effects that can be sequenced differently for a variety of warped, but usable textures. The dual phaser effect can be set to behave as a secondary ring modulator. Can self-oscillate without the aid of a feedback loop or the routing of outputs to inputs. Works equally well with guitars, synths, and drum machines.
- Bad Points: Substantial volume boost. Can overpower other effects. Wallwart power only. Discontinued.
- Price Paid: US$50.00
- Purchased At: Musician's F(r)iend
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by Pulse from Portland, OR (4 points) on Apr 21, 2005
- been wanting a decimator in a hardware version ever since selling my korg electribe. since this was on clearance sale i jumped on it, but am disappointed because you cannot control bit reduction and sample rate independently, only one at a time. i would rather have control over both then all the other lame effects this thing has (distortion is so pathetic, phasor lacks control for auto pan, rate, depth... all in one knob--useless). barely worth the
- Good Points: cheap bit reduction
- Bad Points: no indepentant control of sample rate and bit reduction
- Price Paid: US$49.00
- Purchased At: musiciansfriend.com
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by Brad from Cleveland, OH (28 points) on Apr 4, 2005
- My new favorite pedal. MusiciansFriend is selling these again for 50 bucks, so i had to get one before they sold out on these. I think this pedal was made for noise. The way you can flip around the different effects in the chain is such a great feature. No more moving around patch cables. This is basically the hardware version of all those "Lo-Fi" plugins that are available. I'm sure this blows them all away.
- Good Points: Price Everything else
- Bad Points: Wall wart power supply
- Price Paid: US$50.00
- Purchased At: Musicians Friend
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by sclr from Portland, OR (220 points) on Mar 7, 2005
- ok this proccesor rules! i cannot stop messing with it. and i keep coming up with new stuff with it in my chain. just when i think i am onto something i twist and press and i have forgotten the last sound i was on. its great for those who get bored easy. and all the different ways you can order the effects in is the best. i cannot describe some of the sounds i can coax out of this thing. an instant classic. i have no idea why they stopped making this thing.
- Good Points: ability to select the order of the effects. lots of effects to mess with at the same time. can get lots of results out of this one unit.
- Bad Points: cheap plastic case. the distortion is kind of weak, it doesn't have the ability to go over the top but in a chain with other pedals or fx it doesn't really matter.
- Price Paid: US$0.00
- Purchased At:
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by Ben from United States (250 points) on Oct 13, 2004
- You can re-order the effects, which is a major plus to me. The lack of that in other multi-effects is one of the reasons I generally avoid them. Of the so-called "bitr" effects, the Decimator and Ring Mod are my favorites. The Phaser is very cool and can get very very fast and sounds lush when it's slower. The compression is not very good, but the distortion can add some nice grit without being overbearing.
- Good Points: Another great ModFX product.
- Bad Points: Questionable construction - will it stand the test of time?
- Price Paid: US$39.00
- Purchased At: MF
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by Benjamin from Phoenixville, PA (2 points) on Sep 11, 2004
- I believe that a cat may have pooped in my room again today. I barely care though, cuz I just got my Bitrman. It's beautiful. As individual effects they are not bad. The compressor provides some sustain and a little extra volume, the distortion, although very weak, provides me with just enough gain to give the speaker a nice push. The dual phaser is a phaser, I don't know that there is anything very special about it except that it is very wet and the range is nice and big. The Bitrness control is great when using the bit reducer (is so very nice and crunchy) or one of the pitch related effects (freq shift, freq mod, ring mod) although just feeding back into itself or with my bass, I haven't found the decimator to be particularly useful yet. The comb filter is nice for changing the tone of your input, but thats about it and it disappears in feedback. Another sweet feature is the ability to rearrange the effects in the chain. It's pretty cool, but it isn't the most radical thing you can do with this and it seems like a hassle to try to find the right order to use. It isn't the easiest unit ever to play, but it has quite a bit to offer for the patient experimentalist. I would recommend this beauty to anyone who wants angry digital sounds (Atari Teenage Riot would go bananas for this!) or any other crazy sounds they can think of. Too bad Alesis just ran out of them.
- Good Points: Beautiful noise and so much more! The sounds are sometimes crappy, sometimes pretty, bassy, trebly, heavenly. Solid enclosure, multiple inputs and outputs for great family fun!
- Bad Points: It's just a tad daunting at first, but now we're good friends. Too bad that Alesis sold their last one to me, so now it's only gonna be pretty hard to find.
- Price Paid: US$117.00
- Purchased At: George's Music SPECIAL ORDER!!!
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by K. from Sealy, TX (532 points) on Nov 29, 2003
- Been considering this box for awhile and based my decision to go for it on the previous reviews, which are pretty dead-on for what this unit is capable of doing. Combines compressor, distortion, dual phaser, and a 4th effect (comb filt, decimator, bit reduction, fm, ring mod, or freq. shift). Each effect only has a single control which increases/decreases the amount of that particular effect (bitr control affects pitch/frequency of the fm, ring mod, and freq shift effects), so not alot of fine-tuning, but for the cost I can't complain. Additionally there's a button which allows chaining the effects in different order, which does change the output sound depending upon the input signal, sometimes to a great degree, at others barely noticeable. FAirly easy to get crunchy, distorted noise, which can be modulated w/ the phaser into a stuttering mess, although obviously very digital-sounding,. Only the comb filt. seems fairly weak, and the distortion, otherwise I see lots of potential in this processor. Best results I've had are with an intermittent input signal, specifically a certain unmentionable stringed instrument.
- Good Points: Inexpensive, small size, stereo ins & outs, easy to get all manner of cruchy, distorted noise.
- Bad Points: comb filter and distortion kind of weak
- Price Paid: US$80.00
- Purchased At: e-bay
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by nkondi from Portland, OR (610 points) on Nov 18, 2003
- great little unit, that holds its own in a loop...i found the distortion on this only adds a little chaos to the mix of the dual phasor and bitr...and there where in lies its strong point. with these two knobs you can get anything from metallic distortions to great blip noises...somethings ive heard before using way too many pedals...but alot of new and fresh sounds come out of this beast giving it a character unto itself. if you were looking for a good decimator look no further. the fm setting is great for low fi sounds, ala im playing some noise through a telephone but without the volume dropping too much because i have the compressor. the bit reducer is also fury of chaos unto itself. no useless sounds...and far too many configurations for this to get too old to quick. probably the best bang for the buck...
- Good Points: great size and meant for a table top so the bypass (which of course is truely bypass) and other buttons and knobs are easy to tweak and push. great price...
- Bad Points: a bit on the plastic side of things though it doesnt seem like anything would break off easily, i would want to drop it...
- Price Paid: US$85.00
- Purchased At: ebay
-
Was this review helpful to you?
- Submitted by Lich from West Kingston, RI (22 points) on Nov 4, 2003
- the effects are decent. i bought it for the decimator but fell in love with the bit reducer. combinations of the phaser and bit reducer can make some really cool rhythmic noise loops. the distortion's pretty weak, but if you're into noise you probably have a couple of distortion pedals already. i really wish i could use the decimator and bit reducer at the same time. i've had it for a week and it's already starting to look really worn.
- Good Points: bit reducer's awesome. the decimator's good for walls of noise when you turn it all the way up.
- Bad Points: the distortion's pretty weak. you can't use the fun effects as the same time.
- Price Paid: US$100.00
- Purchased At: musician's friend
-
Was this review helpful to you?