#1

I’m contemplating making the jump from Ableton to Bitwig primarily for workflow reasons.
While I do use a few M4L devices, I guess on that front I could just work on porting them over to standalone in Max.
Anyone using Bitwig for a while that has some general feedback and might also be able to comment on monome integration?

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#2

Bitwig has JavaScript based controller scripting support, I wonder if something for monome could be developed there. Also has extensive support for MIDI and OSC. New modulation capabilities and new support for CV/Gate make 2.0 very interesting. I’m also fond of Bitwig’s support for touch displays.

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#3

Can anyone comment on the quality of Bitwig’s effects and plug-ins? I’m a fan of Ableton’s built-in devices and generally just use them (with a handful of M4L devices), but the comprehensive modulation capabilities of Bitwig intrigue me.

#4

There aren’t as many of them and they aren’t as robust. But that’s set to change in 2.0. I’m not in the 2.0 beta program yet, so I can’t comment on how drastic the improvement will be. But compared to Bitwig 1.3, Live has much much more capable built-in devices.

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#5

i’ve used bitwig since its pre-release, although not heavily. it is nicely unified and i’ve never had problems. i’d highly recommend checking it out.

i don’t use ableton, and haven’t really ever used it in depth, so i can’t comment on deep feature differences. bitwig is clean and well thought out. it feels good to use and look at. though i use it mostly like a normal DAW/tapedeck. it does everything you want in that capacity.

i was looking to make some JS grid support, but i couldn’t wrap my head around how it would/should integrate since the grid is open-ended, and most of the scripts were simple midi translators.

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#6

Bitwig allows for TCP connections.

Here’s an example:

But it looks like they’re just using MIDI in that example.

I thought I had remembered that Bitwig had native OSC support, but apparently it’s coming from another control script:
https://github.com/git-moss/OSC4Bitwig/wiki

Bitwig API docs are pretty good (available from the Help menu) and then there’s also this:
https://www.keithmcmillen.com/category/blog/tutorials/bitwig-studio/

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#7

We’ve also had it since pre-release for beta testing plug-ins and whatnot.

One of the largest advantages over Ableton is full native MPE support. I also really like that I can have multiple projects open in tabs (like REAPER).

The Bitwig team has been very good with communication, which is another plus.

I still use Ableton as my primary, mainly because I’ve been using it since high school and am fluent with it (one of my colleagues pointed out the uncomfortable fact that at this point I’ve been using Ableton for almost half of my life).

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#8

I just got a 128 for the purpose of clip launching and sequencing on Bitwig. I have some learning to do as far as Java scripting, but I have some background in Objective C and Python, so I am hoping it is not going to take me 2 years of faking ‘til I make it like I did with Obj C. It seems to me that this would be an ultimate performance tool in Bitwig, if done properly, and paired with knob encoders on a MF Twister. Super compact, and extremely powerful given the style of music that I make. If it works out the way I envision, it could be the last controller I ever buy, although I have to say that the Arc is about as sexy a piece of gear as I have ever seen. A much smaller 4x4 version of those optical encoders would certainly empty my future wallet in a heartbeat. Just sayin’.

Tehn’s like, “That will be $4000”
Me: “My newborn son is healthy and seems good at math.”

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#10

Hi i just shifted back to Linux64 after several years of Mac world and i have to say i LOVE the feel and sound of bitwig. It took me a little bit to get used to the workflow but i love it. Sure if you want a zillion LV2 plugins and dssi’s use Ardour but it’s relatively close to the same workflow i had in the past with ABleton as my creative space and Pro-tools as my finishing tool.

I find that i have a very creative workspace now

Bitwig for ABleton duties
Ardour for ProTools

Cabbage for insane effects and GUIs for Csound
FoxDOt&Tidal&Sonic Pi for Supercollider3.9
Pure Data with freshly compiled externals [replacing extended 10 time over]
fftease, lyonpotpourri, Soundhack, modalsynthesis and Graphic GUIs

I was up super late last night working with bitwig and it didnt crash once --something i cannot say with Abeton [where a crash or two per session is NORMAL]

All @ 96k 6 in 10 out with SPDIF next on my list :slight_smile: with my remaining 6U

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#11

those of you who are using BitWig, how well is it for editing/arranging audio?

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#12

it’s fun, smooth and full of options
the cabbage extras on linux are like the best of Csound in plugins
it supports the 9GB of soundfonts that i have and it bridges old 32 VST plugins so i am finding it very satisfying

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#13

i’m trying the figure the best way to use the mutliclock plugin (sends the out to one of my outputs to keep gear in time with daw) and the best thing i’ve decided on was to use an effect track since mute/solo won’t affect this.

i was thinking there must be something that could do this more easily within bitwig.

#14

I admit I’m not so well-versed in editing/arranging audio (such as WAV files) in other DAWs to compare it to, but for me Bitwig instantly clicked in this department. It’s so easy - take any midi arrangement with automation from a channel, “bounce in place”, and you have audio to work with. auto-slice into the drum machine with a single menu click, and then arrange to your heart’s content and modulate in dozens of ways with the modulators. it’s so easy and so damn fun. DAWs are supposed to be fun! who would’ve thought.

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#15

I haven’t dug too much into it, but functionality wise it’s more powerful than Ableton Live. You can chop up and rearrange bits of audio, and the loop that

#16

It has quirks, and if you’re a hardcore Live user, they will trip you up at first; it looks enough like Live so that you’ll wonder why you can’t just make it work, you know, like Live.

That having been said, I’m really liking it now; I find the device nesting and modulations super cool-- AND the “plugin sandboxing” has saved my bacon a few times. I’ve found it very stable as well. If you have specific questions, ask 'em!

1 Like
#17

question…

what’s the difference between clip and track mode when you’re doing layered editing via the arranger?

track seems to be a representation of the arranger view but i can’t seem to wrap my head around clip view when doing layered editing via the arranger.

#18

what are the best settings for the HW Clock Out device when using it with e-rm’s multiclock?

i also found this article/interview and explains more.

https://www.bitwig.com/en/home/news-archive/E-RM-Bitwig-Integration.html

i’ve set tick rate to 1/96, but wasn’t sure if there was anything else i could do to make it work best.

#19

Given that that recommendation comes directly from the maker of the hardware, I would think it’s that’s the best setting!

#20

it also mentions activating the Gate button button which is what’s in red…not sure if i’m supposed to set the RESET to anything either. 30%20PM

#22

as per that article, i’m going to assume you just need to set the tick rate to 1/96 and activate the gate button.