Bitwig Studio 4
The modular-inspired DAW hits version 4, but is it still at the cutting-edge of music software? Si Truss finds out
rriving seven years ago, Bitwig Studio was initially burdened with its reputation as ‘alt-Ableton Live’. The two brands are both Berlin-based, share several original developers and, with its Clip Launcher and Live-like devices, version 1 was obviously influenced by Ableton’s DAW.
Four versions later, that comparison is less apt; while similarities remain, Bitwig has developed its own identity, with a workflow that’s arguably deeper, making use of a hugely flexible modulation system, fully-modular synth and effect devices, and numerous other tools that are influenced as much by the Eurorack realm as any rival DAW. Bitwig Studio has embraced flexibility too, in its ability to run on Linux as well as PC and Mac, use of touchscreens and open MIDI controller system.
Despite these differences, the update to version 4 once again invites fresh Ableton comparisons. The main factor this time is that, as with Live 11, one of the headline additions for Bitwig Studio 4 is the arrival of audio comping. As with Live, you could argue that this is slightly underwhelming as major feature updates go; comping has, after all, been present in numerous DAWs for years now, and while it’s well implemented here [see boxout], it’s still hardly ground-breaking. Particularly compared to that aforementioned modulation system (launched with Bitwig 2) or the modular Grid devices (Bitwig 3) it feels more like a catch-up feature rather than something radically new.
In Bitwig’s defence, the DAW now operates on an ‘update plan’ model that puts less emphasis on headline-grabbing new versions. Rather than buying each new iteration outright, users now buy into 12 months of updates, meaning that any major or minor updates are included in an active plan no matter what numbered iteration the user originally paid for. In practice, this has meant that Bitwig tend to roll out major new devices as ‘point’ releases between full versions. Since we reviewed
Bitwig 3, for example, the DAW has been bolstered by the arrival of a new customisable wavetable synth plugin, Polymer, revamped EQ and saturation effects, and a raft of new pitch tools. As a result, even a straight update from the Bitwig Studio 3 of 2019 to Bitwig Studio 3 as of early 2021 would feel like a significant upgrade.
Comping isn’t the full story here. More fitting to Bitwig’s general MO are the new Operators – a quartet of tools designed to speed up the process of adding variety to MIDI or audio events. The Operators live in the Inspector Panel to the left of the interface, and can be applied to any individual note event. The four Operators are labelled Chance, Repeats, Occurrence and Recurrence. Chance is fairly self explanatory; it allows users to apply a percentage value to a note dictating the likelihood of it sounding each time the sequence cycles. Repeats is essentially a beat repeat tool, which can apply retriggers spaced at different note divisions across the duration of an event. What’s neat here is the control you get over timings and – for MIDI notes – velocity of repeats, making it simple to create ramps or slightly off-grid rolls.
The Occurrence and Recurrence tools will feel familiar to anyone who has used the conditional triggers included on Elektron gear. These make it possible to set rules dictating when an individual event will sound,
and on which cycles of a loop it will repeat. Occurrence includes options to trigger an event only on the first loop, or depending on whether a previous trigger has sounded, or whether the new ‘Fill’ mode is engaged – a handy tool for live performers. Recurrence is actually considerably more flexible than Elektron’s take on these ideas; here you get a mini step-sequencer that lets the user set an amount of loop cycles and then dictate precisely which of these a given event will trigger on.
In a similar realm to these Operators is the Expression Spread function. This lets users define a range for event parameters, such as velocity, pan position, pitch, or the assignable pressure or timbre settings. Each time a loop cycles, Bitwig will select a random value within this range, allowing for plenty of variation within a pattern.
There are nice touches that help you monitor and control this randomisation too. Each time a new loop starts, Bitwig will present a visual representation of all randomised spread parameters, so it’s possible to see how events are going to fall before time. There’s a Seed function too, which is essentially an offline randomisation that will lock the resulting values into the clip. You can Expand clips too, which will sequence out any Occurrence/ Recurrence values into an expanded version of the current loop.
These features aside, Bitwig 4’s other big update is native compatibility with Apple’s new M1 silicon chips. This means that owners of a new generation Mac Mini or MacBook Pro can take full advantage of the machine’s processing power without needing to run the DAW via Rosetta. What’s best here is that Bitwig’s system of partitioning plugins away from the DAW itself – designed to limit crashes – means users can run Bitwig in A1 mode while still using Intel-based plugins via Rosetta. This is great, and results in noticeably improved performance.
Unlike the modulation system or Grid, there’s little here that I would say should make anyone who doesn’t have an active plan already desperately rush to upgrade (aside from silicon Mac users, for whom it’s definitely worth it). That being said, what features are included here all hit their mark. Given prior form too, you can probably expect some nice new tools to drop via point updates in the coming months.
FM VERDICT 8.5
Bitwig Studio remains one of our favourite pieces of music software, but this is its least essential update so far