Red Panda releases Bitmap 2.1 firmware with new drive and filter options

December 1, 2024 · 2 sources

Red Panda released Bitmap 2.1 firmware for its Bitmap 2 pedal in December 2024, according to the release notes¹. The update expands the pedal's distortion and filter options and adds preset transfer between the pedal and a computer¹².

Input drive now has 60 dB of gain, up from 40 dB in version 2.0.x, and offers three saturation types: hard clipping, which the maker says is the same as version 2.0.x and similar to overdriving a mixer channel; Distortion 1, a full-frequency distortion; and Distortion 2, a midrange-focused distortion². The filter has three ranges: 330 Hz to 20 kHz (normal), 20 Hz to 20 kHz (extended), and plus or minus 2 octaves relative to the sampling rate (relative)¹. Filter resonance is adjusted by holding the WAVE button and turning the FILTER knob¹.

An anti-aliasing filter, described as having a response similar to classic 12-bit samplers, can be set to on (default), off (matching v2.0.x), or adjustable, which tracks filter frequency¹. Output level is adjustable from -30 to +6 dB by holding the WAVE button and turning the MIX knob; at the minimum setting the pedal uses automatic gain control to match output volume to input¹. The envelope follower is now pre-drive and has a wider range, and its destination can be set to the filter or mix (inverted) with the ENV:DEST switch¹.

Other changes include mono in/mono out and stereo in/stereo out configurations, holding the tap tempo switch to cancel tap tempo, improved out-of-band noise rejection, and USB and 1/4-inch MIDI improvements¹. The web editor can upload, download, copy and paste presets, has been updated for the new features, and is now supported on Linux¹. A TouchOSC template optimized for iPad is also listed².

Red Panda recommends a factory reset after updating. Without one, the release notes state, output gain is set to 0 dBu, and the DRIVE control has more gain, so it will need to be turned down after updating¹.

The Bitmap 2, which the manual describes as combining the features of both earlier Red Panda bitcrushers along with an unreleased foldover distortion pedal, offers fractional bit reduction from 1 to 24 bits, sampling rate reduction from 48 kHz to 110 Hz, a 4-pole lowpass filter, presets (4 on the front panel, 127 via MIDI), MIDI over USB and TRS, and stereo input and output².