Bitwig Studio 4

It’s seven years since Bitwig Studio irst
appeared, bringing with it a fresh approach
to audio and clip arrangement that made many
of the established DAWs feel sluggish and, quite
frankly, a bit old-fashioned by comparison. In the
intervening years a program of regular updates
and full version upgrades have enhanced its
features, expanded the bundled content and
generally inessed its ofering. Nevertheless, the
underlying concept, which combines linear clip
arrangement and performance style clip
launching has remained the same.
Same difference
Where Bitwig Studio difers from many of its
competitors is by providing its two key concepts
(Launcher and Arrange Timeline) side by side in
the same tracks. This is not only easy to
understand but also aids with drag-and-drop
functionality, better integrating the creative,
performance and arrangement aspects of
music production. In fact, drag-and-drop is
featured throughout Bitwig, as is a deeply
integrated modulation system with 36
Modulators. This is further developed via The
Grid and its ‘any signal connected anywhere’
methodology. Here either synthesis (Poly Grid)
or efects (FX Grid) are patched together from
the 175 available modules.
B i t w i g
Bitwig Studio 4 €379
Bitwig Studio has always been an innovative and impressive DAW, but
will version 4 bring it the audience it richly deserves?
“The headline addition
in version 4 is Comping
and, in typical Bitwig
fashion, this feature is
part of a clip”
ARRANGE TIMELINE AND LAUNCHER
Bitwig’s unique system allows tracks to
operate either as clip launchers or as
arrangement timelines
PANELS
To keep things tidy Bitwig
Studio incorporates
foldaway panels
OPERATORS
Four new logical
functions can
now influence
playback of
audio and MIDI
events, providing
new note-
specific avenues
LAYOU T
Switch between the main
Arrange, Mix and Edit
panel layouts
EXPRESSION
SPREAD
Real-time visual
feedback shows
the randomisation
introduced by the
new Expression
Spread parameter
INSPECTOR
Head to the
inspector to view
and edit the
parameters of
the selected clip
or event
THE GRID
Bitwig’s modular
construction
system lets you
build both effects
and sound
generators from
175 special
device modules
CLIPS
Whether you’re
handling audio or
MIDI, clips are
the key to
constructing,
recording, editing
and automating
sounds in Bitwig
FILL
Linked to a specific option in the
Occurrence Operator, this button helps
you create note-specific fills and drops
KEYBOARDS
Use the screen keyboard or
select Caps Lock to play from
your computer keyboard
Of course, no DAW is complete without a
selection of instruments and audio efects
(Bitwig has 90 in total). You’re also furnished
with a decent Library of sounds, patterns and
presets. Further features include integrated
timestretching (Scale) powered by zPlane’s
excellent Elastique. There’s also support for MIDI
polyphonic expression (MPE).
What’s new?
Bitwig Studio 4 brings with it some key updates,
enhancing both traditional DAW features and
also pushing the creative boundaries. The
headline addition is Comping. In typical Bitwig
fashion this feature is part of a clip, and is
achieved by cycle recording in either the
Launcher or Arranger. The resultant Takes are
edited in the Detail Editor Panel at the bottom
and automatic colour coding keeps things clear.
Take regions can be selected, trimmed and
renamed, and diferent takes easily swapped in
68 / COMPUTER MUSIC / September 2021
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