Bitwig 4.1

Bitwig 4.0 brought with it a raft of new
features including comping, event Operators,
and improved import and export options. The
latest 4.1 update is free for all eligible owners
(see below) and comes with a number of new
key features.
First up, Note FX. There are eight new ones
(making 21 in total), and on the face of it there
would appear to be nothing particularly novel
about these efects. However, dive in and you’ll
ind creativity and ease of use in abundance.
Note FX sit ahead of your instruments and
typically work for the duration of the MIDI notes,
so a sustained MIDI note is a great way to
explore how they work. You can have multiple
chained Note FX and their order can inluence
the outcome. They can also be connected to
Bitwig Modulators. Let’s explore the new ones.
Humanize applies changes to timing, chance
and velocity. It’s suited to beats and we
particularly like the option that allows notes to
be played early. Quantize meanwhile uses the
selectable time base setting to hold notes until
the next beat. The Amount and Forgiveness
parameters inluence how regimented this is,
and by combining these parameters we found it
quite easy to generate completely new rhythms.
Note Repeats supersizes the note retrigger
concept with user-deined timebase and rate
settings coupled with some randomness. You
then have two pattern options to deine accents
within the repeats. Randomize, meanwhile,
inluences six parameters – pitch, velocity,
timbre, pressure, pan and gain.
Real world
As their names imply, Dribble and Ricochet both
owe something to the natural world. Dribble is a
timebase and velocity sensitive repeat.
However, it also has a Damping amount, and this
helps create an efect like a naturally bouncing
ball as it gradually loses height and speeds up.
Ricochet meanwhile is a repeat that’s modelled
on a ball bouncing of room walls. You can adjust
the number of walls, overall panning width as
well as the ball’s behaviour (Radius, Speed and
Damping). Strum applies a time-based spread to
the notes in a chord with up or down direction.
Bend applies a pitch envelope to the note attack.
To showcase the extended Note FX, the
Factory Extended Package has a new bundle
(Note In Bloom) with 40 library clips. What’s
more, in addition to the new processors, the
naming of existing Note FX has been simpliied
and a few (Note Length, Note Filter, Arpeggiator
and Multi-note) have been updated. Version 4.1
has also extended the colour palettes. You now
have ive onboard colour palettes, and you can
also create custom palettes by importing any
jpeg or png ile, although we found this last
option required a colour rich photo to yield a
useful palette. Further 4.1 additions include
direct MIDI output from any track chooser and
improvements to the Sampler device.
This Bitwig update is all about the Note FX,
and this could have been a letdown. But these
processors are excellent, providing new creative
opportunities and a way to transform very
simple MIDI to create complex, unpredictable,
and individual sounds. We know these features
won’t appeal to everyone, but you can’t deny
that Bitwig are committed to adding extra
features, and continue to plot their own creative
course, all of which is a good thing.
Web bitwig.com
Info Upgrade plan €169
B i t w i g
Bitwig 4.1 €399
With some interesting new features can this modern DAW continue
its innovative path? Let’s ind out
Verdict
For Vast real-time MIDI processing in
the expanded Note FX palette
Creative real-world-inluenced Ricochet
and Dribble Note FX
New Factory Extended Package bundle
Wider choice of onboard colour palettes
Various bug ixes and tweaks
A reasonably lexible upgrade path
Against Won’t appeal to everyone
For the creatively inclined, this update
adds great new features and continues to
forge Bitwig’s innovative pathway
9 / 1 0
Alternatively
Ableton Live 11
294 » 9/10 » from £69
Combining performance and
creative features, Live 11 is a
supremely attractive package
PreSonus Studio One
286 » 10/10 » from £85
Packed with production and
performance features and now
available via monthly subscription
It’s worth mentioning how Bitwig’s
ownership works. If you’ve bought Bitwig
in the last 12 months, you’re entitled to any
updates within that period, including this
version. If you’re no longer covered by that
period and want to get 4.1, the best way is to
purchase the Upgrade Plan. This will give you
12 months further coverage, including any
additional point updates or even full version
updates that fall within the period.
The plan is not a rolling subscription, so if
your coverage has run out you can simply
wait until a new point update or version
drops before you buy. What’s more with
regular discount deals, you can often time
this to your advantage. The only thing we
would say is that coverage gives you access
to the beta process, and the beta of 4.1 was
made available a number of weeks ahead of
the oicial release version.
Ownership
74 / COMPUTER MUSIC / April 2022
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