Bitwig Studio 2 €379

Web www.bitwig.com Format Mac/PC The second full version of the spiritual rival to Ableton Live is an absolute belter, adding a wealth of enhancements and tweaks, and introducing a new modulation architecture that’s sure to be copied by other DAW developers in the future. In a nutshell, the Unified Modulation System appends every Bitwig device and VST plugin with a limitless number of modulation slots, each of which hosts one of 25 modulators, including envelopes, LFOs, a step sequencer, a keytracker, envelope followers and so on. A modulator can be assigned to any number of parameters within the instrument or effect, and either monophonic or polyphonic. The modulators themselves are quite amazing, boasting deep functionality and excellent visual feedback, and the whole setup turns Bitwig into a monstrous modular environment that you could get lost in forever.

That alone would probably have netted Bigwig Studio 2 the title, but there’s much more to the update than that. The GUI is reworked to be more logical and intuitive, and now features a customisable toolbar, a contextual function menu, and separate Arranger and Details view tools. Then there are new Pitchshifter, Dual Pan, Phaser, DC Offset and ring modulator audio effects, six MIDI effects, a Spectrum Analyzer, and six nifty MIDI/CV output devices; not to mention audio clip fades and crossfades, and the Macro-replacing Remote Controls System for effortless MIDI controller assignment.

It all comes together beautifully in a hugely creative virtual studio that does things no other can, albeit through an interface and workflow that still takes some getting used to.

Bitwig’s latest is the biggest and best DAW of 2017. With Ableton Live 10 just announced at the time of writing, though, next year is wide open…