miniBit

Name: miniBit
Price: 18.82 USD
Author: AudioThing

by AudioThing · Synth · 8-bit chiptune synth

Not rated yet

miniBit is an 8-bit synth for the sound of 80s game consoles and home computers, with 18 waveforms, a custom waveform editor and a sub-oscillator.

An 8-step stepper, bitcrusher and delay are built in, for $20.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Lo-Fi, Hip-Hop & Trap.

Keywords: randomize, retro, arpeggiator, sequencer, 80s, experimental, lo-fi, CPU-light, film & game audio, monophonic, sound design, basses, classic, gritty, leads, preset-driven, textures.

What it does

miniBit is AudioThing's chiptune synth, aimed at "the sound of 80s game consoles and retro computers". It pairs raw, deliberately aliased waveforms with a small 8-step stepper for the fast arpeggios and wave changes typical of game music.

Waveforms: 18 built-in waves, including unusual ones beyond the usual pulse and triangle. They are not band-limited, so they alias on purpose for an authentic 8-bit edge.
Custom waves: a 32-step drawing editor with 8 waveform slots per preset.
Sub-oscillator: a square wave one octave below the main oscillator.
Voice: poly or mono with glide, pitch and volume envelopes, a 2-pole low- or high-pass filter, and an LFO with several destinations and an extended range option.
Stepper: 8 steps that can sequence pitch, volume, cutoff, resonance, waveform and downsampling, with a glide row for pitch and dice buttons for randomizing.
Effects: a bitcrusher for noisy, retro sounds and a delay.
Presets: 128 presets plus a randomizer, and an extra 20-preset bank, The Chiptune Orchestra by Fabri.

Version 1.8 (February 2026). The demo goes silent for 3 seconds every 45 seconds and can't save.

Source: AudioThing product page

When to use it

miniBit is set up for 8-bit from the start, unlike Serum 2 and Vital, which can make chiptune tones with the right wavetables, and Phase Plant, which can build them from scratch, all three general sound-design synths. It has console-style waveforms that alias freely, a wave editor for drawing your own, and a stepper that switches waveform per step for the classic arpeggio and drum tricks. It is cheap, light on CPU and quick to program, but it does little outside that retro palette. For a chiptune part inside a modern track it is the faster pick; for anything broader, Vital is free and does far more.

Best for: chiptune leads and basses, game-style bleeps and effects, retro arpeggios and lo-fi textures.
Genres: chiptune, game music, electronic, lo-fi and hip-hop.
Look elsewhere if: you want a general-purpose synth (Vital is free and far broader) or clean, band-limited tones.
Tip: use the stepper's randomize button for new sequences, and try sending the LFO to downsampling for unusual sounds.

What producers say

Users and reviewers rate it as a charming, very cheap chiptune tool with a handy stepper.

Synth Anatomy (2017) recommended it for chiptune fans, praising the authentic, gritty oscillators, unusual waves, the stepper, randomizing and low CPU use; it found the presets of that time short on classic 8-bit sounds.
KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from 2 reviews, praising the value, the "very convenient step sequencer" and the developer's support; one asked for LFO delay and per-sequence reset switches.

miniBit

What it does

When to use it

What producers say

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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