CrumarSpirit Analog Keyboard Synthesizer (2023 Reissue)

Crumar Spirit

The Crumar Spirit, originally introduced in 1983, is a fully-analog, monophonic keyboard synthesizer. Designed by none other than Robert Moog and his colleagues Jim Scott and Tom Rhea, this legendary and rare synthesizer has been faithfully reproduced for a limited production run. Offering powerful modulation potential, two flexible filters, and enough old-school charm to keep you coming back to discover its many musical possibilities.

At the center of Spirit's sound is a two-oscillator monophonic design, with a few particularly useful tools taking it beyond the typical capabilities of similar synths. The oscillator section features settings for master tuning, waveshapes, and octaves, with oscillator B featuring two drone modes that create a fixed pitch alongside the primary frequency. Two Moog-designed filters offer flexible control over timbre, with the upper filter offering a resonant lowpass with 12dB and 24dB modes, and the lower filter giving you high pass, band pass, and overdriven bandpass modes. There is keyboard tracking for both filters, and a fixed formant option for the lower filter.

Modulation options on the Spirit are perhaps its most exciting feature, offering two independent modulation wheels for performatively routing control voltage. The multimode arpeggiator, LFO, oscillator B, noise, and sample and hold are available on the "Mod X" wheel, while the loopable AR envelope on "Shaper Y" offers further modulatory potential. There are also dedicated ADSR envelopes for both the amplifier and filter cutoffs, letting you implement typical monophonic patches while getting creative with additional modulation. These ADSR envelopes can also be gated by the modulators in addition to keyboard operation, with interesting possibilities awaiting the trigger-happy.

At the end of all this signal chain, Spirit gives you two separate signal paths with independent output jacks and mixers, offering expanded timbral range and multichannel recording options. The Filter/ADSR path works like a typical synth mixer section, with an option for noise amount in addition to the two oscillators. The shaper Y path also offers a ring modulator to bring some difference to your tone, and a subtle brightness filter.

As a synth with a storied past, both in its early 80s conception as well as its recent revival by Crumar, the Spirit offers a captivating piece of synth history. In addition, it rivals legendary monosynths like the Minimoog, with many capabilities that offer much more than its contemporaries to the creative synthesist. The Spirit is only available for a limited production run of 100 units worldwide - making now the best time to get familiar with Crumar's friendly ghost.

Spirit Features

• 2023 production run of the rare 1983 Crumar monophonic keyboard synthesizer
• Originally designed by Robert Moog, Jim Scott, and Tom Rhea for Crumar
• Two oscillators with master tune, octave, and waveshape controls
• Oscillator B features drone modes to create a fixed frequency in two ranges, Bass and Wide
• Dedicated upper low pass filter and multimode lower filter
• Flexible filter section with keyboard tracking, fixed formant, and low pass slope options
• 2x ADSR envelopes for filter and amplifier
• Many modulation options in both Mod X and Shaper Y sections, with each routable to performative mod wheels
• Mod X offers multimode arpeggiator, oscillator B, noise, LFO, and sample and hold
• Shaper Y offers a loopable two-stage envelope
• Multiple gate options for ADSRs allow for complex triggering
• Two independent mixers and signal paths for Shaper Y and Filter/ADSR with independent outputs
• Glide and pitch bend controls
• 5-pin MIDI input adds convenience for modern studios
• Pedal inputs for Oscillator B and Filter control
• External audio input
• Keyboard CV/Gate output and Shaper CV/Gate input