Bitwig's description of Bitwig Studio 5 music production and performance environment/DAW (download)

 

THE MIDIUM® CURATOR'S NOTE: Software Download.

Since this is a downloadable item, please note that your activation code(s) and download link will be available within 24-48 business hours after your payment has cleared.  At that point, you will receive an email from us telling you that your order is "on its way," which allows you to view your order, codes, and download link when you click the "View My Order" button.  You may also reference your order confirmation email and click the "View My Order" button to see if the codes and link are available yet.  If you have any questions, please call us during normal business hours (10 AM and 4 PM Pacific from Monday through Saturday, excluding days that we are closed).

 

CUSTOMIZED SPACE AND WORKFLOW TO MATCH YOUR STYLE.

Bitwig Studio is the single solution for realizing any musical idea across every stage of production.

RECORD, ARRANGE, IMPROVISE, PERFORM AND DESIGN SOUNDS.

Streamline your creative process and quickly evolve your ideas into complete songs, tracks, and compositions.  

10 NEW CHARACTERS.

That's 10 new modules — four filters and six waveshapers — with 10 new sonic personalities. Some emulate classic structures, but most achieve their own, unique sonic qualities. And thanks to our new semi-modular, Grid-powered audio FX containers Filter+ and Sweep, you can load these onto any device or track to immediately add flavor or movement without touching a patch cable.

The filters — plus a brand-new oscillator — are also part of Polymer, which means they're all accessible in every edition of Bitwig Studio. Additional voice stacking modulators have established their own category, and important workflow improvements make audio editing faster and our mixer smarter.

 

POWERFUL EDITING TOOLS.

We want to help you make your musical ideas happen, in as few steps as possible. Focus on the music, not the tool.  

AUDIO THAT WORKS FOR YOU.

Audio clips are your musical blocks, and edits can be made within them. Split at onsets, repitch with curves, or scale and stretch in various ways.

And when the tempo changes, your audio will match it, courtesy of time-stretching options from us and Zplane.

 

NOTES THAT DO MORE.

Our notes are dynamic, allowing micro-pitch, pressure, panning, and more for each individual note.

So get true polyphony from Bitwig's instruments, or send these notes as MPE or CV signals. Or even add some musical logic with Operators, modulating when and how notes play.

 

AUDIO COMPING, ANYWHERE.

Comping is a clean workflow for recording and then combining the best parts of many takes.

This works on any audio clip in Bitwig, so move freely between the Arranger and Launcher. Even drag in long audio to “fold” a new comp, exploring old tapes in a new way.

 

INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS.

Here’s a taste of the vast and ever-growing device library that comes with Bitwig Studio. With over 90 different instruments, audio and note FX, container devices, and signal routers you can translate any idea into music.

POLYMER.

Polymer starts simple: pick an oscillator, a filter, and an envelope generator.

Swapping out Grid modules within a dedicated synthesizer is both fast and quick, helping you craft production-worthy sounds from minimal controls immediately.

 

SAMPLER.

The Bitwig Studio Sampler is a powerful tool for playing and manipulating audio.

It boasts several playback modes, advanced looping features with crossfades, endless modulation possibilities, a massive multisample editor, and more.

 

PHASE-4.

Meet Phase-4, a four-oscillator synthesizer powered by phase modulation and phase distortion.

This unique synth can do classic, modern, and beyond.

 

EQ+.

EQ+ is a feature-packed graphical equalizer with up to 8 bands, mouse gestures, and excellent visualization and algorithms.

Graphics and visuals form part of what makes EQ+ easy to use and understand.

 

DRUM MACHINE.

The Drum Machine is a container device that you can fill with sonic goodness.

It's never been easier to create unique and great-sounding kits.

 

ARPEGGIATOR.

Individual controls for step velocity, note length, and pitch. 17 note patterns, and three modes for handling octaves.

Full MPE support. Even modulate the timing for shifting patterns. Holding chords has never been so musical and dynamic.

 

MICRO PITCH.

Micro-pitch is a Note FX device that allows you to re-tune your note streams in new ways.

Transform scales, fine-tune individual notes, shrink or expand octaves, or even slice the octave into a different number of pieces. Play something unimaginable, today.

 

AMP.

Inject a bit of virtual analog grit into your sounds!

Do it with the Ampdevice, a remarkable piece of amplifier-simulation technology.

 

CONVOLUTION.

Convolution is an effect that can take any sound anywhere — even places that don't exist.  All convolutions imprint your sound with an “impulse,” and ours comes ready-made with 270 of them, ranging from 12th-century cathedrals and legendary studio effects to more abstract “environments.”

 

DELAY+.

Delay+ is Bitwig's latest boutique audio effect. By balancing familiar controls along with a few thoughtful new ones, Delay+ can either add a little character or fully transform your sound as it ping-pongs along.

 

MODULATION HEAVEN.

The modulation system in Bitwig Studio allows you to use Macro controls, Note Expressions, LFOs, and Envelopes to modulate any device, VST plug-in, or hardware parameter.

With 30+ modulators (and counting) the potential for creative expression is endless.

 

HARDWARE INTEGRATION.

Hardware integration is a large part of what makes Bitwig Studio unique. MIDI handling, note timing, and latency compensation are aspects of this.

Other prominent features include MIDI Clock Sync and Ableton LINK.  But where Bitwig Studio really stands out is our collection of hardware integration devices.

 

USING EXTERNAL MIDI GEAR.

Watch and learn how to connect your hardware synthesizers to Bitwig Studio, sync drum machines and groove boxes, or control external gear with MIDI CC with step-by step instructions.

We'll also show you how to use Bitwig's Note FX and modulators to add powerful new features to external instruments, letting you create unique and custom devices that take your hardware to the next level.

0:00	Introduction
0:57	Connecting external synths
3:10	Latency compensation
3:44	Basic MIDI features
4:32	MIDI CC
6:07	Modulators
7:13	Note FX
8:10	Sync hardware to Bitwig
9:18	Sync Bitwig to hardware
9:53	External MIDI controllers
11:36	External MIDI sequencers
12:50	Conclusion

 

MEET OUR MIDI DEVICES.

The HW Instrument device passes notes on to your connected gear via MIDI. Select your external gear via the output chooser, pick a MIDI channel, and enable MPE if you so desire.

You also have the option to send out MIDI Clock signals. The Return section allows you to route audio from your external hardware straight into the device, and it has built-in tools for latency correction.

 

Use the MIDI CC device in conjunction with HW Instrument to send CC (continuous controller) messages to your external gear.

This is typically used to change hardware parameters in real time, directly from MIDI CC's eight knobs. Apply automation and modulation to taste. 

 

USING EXTERNAL AUDIO FX.

It's just as easy to integrate hardware FX to Bitwig Studio as it is to use our stock audio FX.

We'll walk you through how to connect your pedals and other external FX to Bitwig Studio so that you can use them as an insert FX on an audio track or as a send effect.

0:33	Connect your hardware
1:16	HW FX Device
2:52	Insert FX
3:21	Send FX

 

The humble HW FX device is a simple audio router:

It allows you to send and receive audio to and from external sources, right in your device chain.

 

INTEGRATING YOUR MODULAR SETUP.

Learn to use Bitwig's dedicated devices to expand the functionality of your CV-enabled hardware, such as Eurorack modular synths.

0:00	The possibilities of Bitwig and CV
0:37	Connect your hardware
1:20	HW CV instrument
3:58	HW Clock Out
5:53	HW CV Out
7:27	HW CV In

 

Use the HW CV Instrument device to send any notes in Bitwig Studio as Pitch (CV) and Gate signals to your analog gear. The audio-in routing allows you to receive your audio back into the device, with built-in latency compensation.

Tame hard-to-tune analog oscillators with the Tuning feature, which creates a pitch offset curve.

 

With a single knob, HW CV Out generates a DC signal you can use to control anything in the analog world.

Automate and/or modulate the knob to get software control and precision of analog hardware.

 

This device sends out a clock pulse via a hardware output for syncing things like analog sequencers and LFOs. With the additional reset pulse, you can make sure all your gear is running on time and in sync.

HW Clock Out also features extensive options for pulse speed and width, built-in latency compensation, and shuffle.

 

IT GOES BOTH WAYS.

Sending signals out of Bitwig Studio is just one-half of the equation. There are also ways for the program to receive signals from your hardware, including notes, CC, and MPE messages from a keyboard or controller. On top of that, there are two types of modulation: MIDI and CV.

The MIDI modulator can be used to assign CCs, pressure or bend data to any device parameter in Bitwig Studio.

With the HW CV In modulator you can capture CV from external sources like LFOs, sequencers, and beyond to control any device parameter in Bitwig Studio.

Includes gain and smoothing settings.

 

CONNECTING HARDWARE VIA THE GRID.

Our open sound design environment, The Grid, gives you further possibilities to bring the worlds of hardware and software together. 

Audio, MIDI, CC, clock, and CV signals can be sent in and out with ease, crossing and blurring all boundaries.

 

ENTER THE GRID.

Modularity has been at the core of Bitwig Studio from the beginning. Devices can be nested, clips are containers, modulators exist everywhere, and practically anything can be dragged anywhere.

The Grid is the next logical step.   The Grid is a modular sound-design environment that powers a family of devices in Bitwig Studio: Poly Grid, FX Grid and Note Grid. With a vast library of modules and a supersonic workflow, you’ll be creating your own unique sounds immediately, and in high-fidelity. Simply add a Grid device to your project and start patching. It’s fun.

Construct a polyphonic synthesizer from scratch in one session. Create an adaptive audio effect with your signature sound. Build your own quirky note sequencer. Experiment with generative drones until you find a new way to perform. Or simply create the undefinable. Patching is effortless, giving full reign to your creativity.

The Grid includes:

 

SIGNAL ACHIEVEMENTS.

The technology powering The Grid is as it should be: working, felt, and transparent so you can focus on the sound. Here’s a taste of what we’ve done.

All signals are created equal. In The Grid, all signals are interchangeable so any out port can be connected to any in port. While this is rarely the case in other programs, Bitwig Studio has made it so. Try something crazy; you (probably) won’t get electrocuted.

Getting more with less cords. For signals that are needed regularly, we have the option of pre-cords. These clickable icons appear beside in ports, allowing common connections to be made wirelessly. And with The Grid’s quick workflow gestures, new modules can be dropped directly onto ports, automatically wiring them into your patch. Work smart instead of hard.

Every signal is stereo. Yes, every audio cable is stereo, but so are all control signals as well. By altering any of these control signals, their corresponding audio will be affected. And plenty of modules are ready to help you Stereo-ize your signals…

Phase is the place. Along with pitch, timbre, and loudness, phase is another essential element of sound, capable of driving basic time functions, complex modulation synthesis, and so much more.

With a dedicated category of phase modules, these concepts are freshly accessible and newly relevant for modern music production.

 

INTERACTIVE HELP.

Efficient workflow also means finding the information you need, when you need it. So each module in The Grid has an interactive help view that both describes every parameter on the module and allows you to keep tweaking the settings.

And simply selecting a module displays all incoming and outgoing signals in the Inspector Panel. The details are always at your fingertips, right when you need them.

 

AUDIO, NOTES, AND THEN SOME.

Best of all, this new system is a completely native part of Bitwig Studio, giving you so much more to work with than audio.

• Grid devices can be nested or layered along with other devices and your plug-ins, and they are controllable from the same Open Controller API.
• Song position is available as a sample-accurate signal, locking your work in The Grid to your project’s timeline.
• Create a note-generating patch by adding as many Note Out modules as you wish, with all MIDI channels available.
• Draw Arranger or clip-based automation for any parameter in your new grid patches, even in combination with Bitwig Studio’s existing modulators.
• Modules like envelopes, LFOs, and sequencers all have modulator outputs as well. And just as Bitwig Studio’s modulators can control any parameter in The Grid, any grid signal can be used to modulate child devices.
• Your hardware modular rig is completely integrated, with dedicated grid modules for sending any control, trigger, or pitch signal as CV Out and receiving any CV In.

That's just scratching the surface.

 

SHOW ME THE MODULES.

MODERN FOUNDATIONS.

Building a DAW from the ground up allowed us to think differently and solve old problems in new ways.  Bitwig Studio is made for the future...

CRASH PROTECTION.

Bitwig Studio handles VST and CLAP plug-in hosting in a unique way, allowing for different hosting modes and plug-in crash protection.

With plug-ins, the audio engine, and other processes running in separate threads, a technical issue won't bring your whole project down.

 

TOUCH SUPPORT.

With extensive touch-screen support (multi-touch with unlimited touch points, gestures, pen support, and simulated pressure), Bitwig Studio is on the forefront of new ways to create music.

Overall, the user interface of Bitwig Studio is touch-friendly; in addition there is a dedicated tablet display profile, perfect for any touch screen, or devices such as Microsoft Surface computers.