Crumar was an Italian manufacturer of
electronic musical instruments
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
. It was established by Mario Crucianelli in the late 1960s,
and manufactured
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s and
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
during the '70s and '80s. Its name is a portmanteau of "Crucianelli" and the name of his business partner, Marchetti.
[ The company appears to have grown out of the Crucianelli accordion company and also continued to manufacture accordions under both names.
]
History and products
Crumar started out manufacturing electronic piano
An electronic piano is a keyboard instrument designed to simulate the timbre of a piano (and sometimes a harpsichord or an organ) using analog circuitry.
"Electronic Piano" was also the trade name used for Wurlitzer's popular line of electric ...
s and string synthesizers, such as the Compac-piano (1972/1973), Compac-string (1973), Pianoman (1974) and Stringman (1974), the functions of which were combined in 1975 with the Multiman (also known as the Orchestrator), and in 1977 with the Multiman-S. The company was also known for "clonewheel" organs made in the 70's and 80's, such as the Organizer (1974), Organizer T1 (1978) and T1/C (1981), T2 (1978), and T3 (1981).
In 1978, Crumar released their first full-fledged synthesizer, the DS-2, which had one of the earliest digitally controlled oscillator
A digitally controlled oscillator or DCO is used in synthesizers, microcontrollers, and software-defined radios. The name is analogous with "voltage-controlled oscillator." DCOs were designed to overcome the tuning stability limitations of early ...
s (DCO).
Crumar synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
s are comparable and contemporaneous to Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
s and other analog synthesizer
An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...
s; in fact, the Crumar Spirit synthesizer (1983) was designed by Bob Moog
Robert Arthur Moog ( ; May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer. He was the founder of the synthesizer manufacturer Moog Music and the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer, the Moog synthesi ...
himself, along with Minimoog
The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...
co-designer Jim Scott and Tom Rhea (who wrote Moog manuals). In 1984, Crumar began producing polyphonic synthesizers utilizing DCOs under the Bit name (Unique in the US)''.'' The Performer is a polyphonic analog Strings and Brass machine produced at the end of the 1970s and is slightly compact with just 49 keys and is fully polyphonic (can play all 49 notes simultaneously). Programming is simple and clearly laid-out with just 15 sliders and a few buttons. A solid black chassis and wood end-cheeks round out this classic and often overlooked string machine. The Performer is best remembered for its Strings more so than its Brass and was used by Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...
.
In the early 1980s, Crumar formed a design/distribution collaborative with New York-based Music Technology (MT) in an effort to commercialize the Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer The Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer, better known as the Alles Machine or Alice, was an experimental additive synthesizer designed by Hal Alles at Bell Labs during the 1970s. The Alles Machine used computer-controlled 16 bit digital synthesizer opera ...
. Crumar and the MT designers worked in conjunction with some respected names in electronic music to produce the Crumar GDS (General Development System) in 1980, and the Digital keyboards Synergy
Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together".
History
In Christia ...
in 1981. These synthesizers, which used additive synthesis
Additive synthesis is a sound synthesis technique that creates timbre by adding sine waves together.
The timbre of musical instruments can be considered in the light of Fourier series, Fourier theory to consist of multiple harmonic or inharmoni ...
technology and frequency modulation synthesis
Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of sound synthesis whereby the frequency of a waveform is changed by modulating its frequency with a modulator. The frequency of an oscillator is altered "in accordance with the amplitude ...
(or phase modulation
Phase modulation (PM) is a modulation pattern for conditioning communication signals for transmission. It encodes a message signal as variations in the instantaneous phase of a carrier wave. Phase modulation is one of the two principal forms ...
), were bulky and cumbersome, but were state-of-the-art at the time. The complexity of this project, along with Japanese competition (notably from the Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units.
In the early 1980 ...
) contributed to the company's eventual downfall.
Crumar ceased trading in 1987, just as they were about to launch a high-quality sampler at the lower end of the market.
In 2008 the Crumar brand was acquired by a new Italian company that soon began producing new keyboards under the Crumar name, including the Baby Grand piano (introduced at the 2008 Musikmesse
Musikmesse Frankfurt was an international fair regarding the music industry that took place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 1980 until 2019.
In 2012, 68,587 visitors and 1,512 exhibitors from 51 countries were counted. Despite an exhibitor drop ...
), Bassman bass synth, and Mojo clonewheel organ.
In 2018 a digital electric piano called Seven was introduced. It featured modern day technology in a wooden vintage 1970s style case.
See also
* List of Italian Companies
Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world. As an advanced economy the country also has the sixth worldwide national wealth and it is ranked third fo ...
* Clonewheel organ
A clonewheel organ is an electronic musical instrument that emulates (or " clones") the sound of the electromechanical tonewheel-based organs formerly manufactured by Hammond from the 1930s to the 1970s. Clonewheel organs generate sounds using so ...
* Elka ELKA, Elka, or Elkas may refer to:
* Aspioti-ELKA, Greek publishing and printing firm, active 1873–1997
* An Italian synthesizer manufacturer, now defunct; brand now owned by Generalmusic, used for their amplifier products
** Elka Synthex, a synt ...
(Italian synthesizer manufacturer, also established by Crucianelli family)
* Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer The Bell Labs Digital Synthesizer, better known as the Alles Machine or Alice, was an experimental additive synthesizer designed by Hal Alles at Bell Labs during the 1970s. The Alles Machine used computer-controlled 16 bit digital synthesizer opera ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Crumar
CRUMAR WEB SITE
Vintage Synth Explorer
- An online vintage synthesizer archive. This site has good images and descriptions of Crumar synthesizers.
*
*
Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Italy
Electronic organ manufacturing companies
Electronics companies of Italy
Synthesizer manufacturing companies of Italy
Companies based in le Marche
Manufacturing companies established in 1971
Italian companies established in 1971
Italian brands