Bitwig has released Bitwig Studio 1.3 – the latest version of its music production software for Windows, Mac and Linux – as a beta ‘release candidate’.
The latest version of Bitwig Studio features multi-touch, tablet display profile, gestures, pen control, and more cowbell.
Here are the official intro videos:
Features:
- Multi-Touch – Control multiple faders, knobs, and device displays at the same time. Multi-touch is limited only by the capabilities of the hardware on which Bitwig Studio is installed.
- Radial Menu – Press and hold anywhere on the screen for a quick access menu for multiple actions.
- Touch Keyboard – An integrated keyboard that includes X/Y axis controls independent for each finger. An additional dimension, “Pressure” is available when using the Touch Keyboard with Pen and Microsoft Surface Pro.
- Track Header – One single button has effectively replaced four. Simply tap and swipe in a direction to activate
- New E-Cowbell Device – You’ve got a fever, and the only prescription …is more cowbell.
Bitwig Studio 1.3 is a free update for existing users. A demo version is also available. See the Bitwig site for details.
I have never been so impressed by a software purchase.
Bitwig Studio is the gift that keeps on giving.
It’s been months since I’ve touched Live, and with the feeling I get from opening Bitwig Studio, I don’t want to look back.
This is the release where Ableton Live users start thinking that the train has left the station and they’re not on it.
Bitwig is on its third release in the last year and has added some major features in that time. The multi-touch support under Windows 10 looks pretty killer.
Meanwhile, Live has improved their latency compensation, something I never want to think about.
Here we go again, Bitwig users obsessed with justifying their purchase over Ableton Live…
So true! They sound like sale pitches from Bitwig employees.
Here we go again, Ableton Live users obsessed with justifying their kneejerk reactions to Bitwig…..
Looks a lot like the discussions between Appel and Microsoft fanboys.
You can really see they did this in a rush. The layout doesn’t seem very well thought.
Bitwig keeps adding superflous stuff and little features while their current program is still a bag of bugs and completely unreliable for professional use.
To be fair, none of the other major DAWs on the market could be considered “reliable for professional use” until several major release versions were made.
With that said, Bitwig is easily the most feature-packed and reliable DAW I’ve used that is still in a 1.x release cycle.
this is def cool.
Bitwig marketing is quite retarded. Instead of trying to differentiate from Ableton (tey have a big problam because it’s a ripoff), they base their campaing on the concept of “Room for change”. It’s like a hint that says “Ableton is old and fat and can’t add things easily but we do”. This highlights the comparison, and in that comparison, Bitwig clearly looses. Ableton is 1000 times more successful, famous and powerful and the creator of the concept. On the other hand, Ableton doesn’t give a shit about Bitwig, it’s like a mosquito trying to get some attention and if they want, they would crash Bitwig in a second, with all the resources they have.
Using ‘retarded’ as an insult isn’t cool.
Also – it’s bizarre that your biggest criticism of the underdog Bitwig is the fact that they are the underdog and Ableton Live is established.
It seems like a lot of people defend their DAW choice like they would their favorite football team, instead of making rational choices about what is best.
Bitwig has very rapidly established itself as a capable alternative to Ableton Live. Live obviously has some features that Bitwig doesn’t have and Bitwig obviously has some features that Live doesn’t have. They’re different products, so this is to be expected.
The rational view is that:
On Mac, Live is still a better solution than Bitwig for most people;
On Linux, Bitwig is the winner, Live isn’t there; and
On Windows, Bitwig is pulling ahead of Live in some interesting ways, especially with their multi-touch support.
It’s good to see Bitwig being successful and also to see them offering come competition to Live.
I think you are wrong. Bitwig is no competition to Ableton, not at all. All the pros go for Ableton. The amateurs, go for Bitwig because it’s “new” and they don’t know how badly implemented it is until they buy it. That’s what’s Bitwig is doing: waving the marketing flag to get some money so the users can support their development and work as beta testers. Bitwig has some good ideas but not enough to tempt serious users to switch. It doesn’t really offer anything new yet. If Bitwig would be “a better Ableton” then maybe it would have a chance. But the software is still in its infancy, it full of weirdness, buggy in key areas and isn’t reliable at all. Also, if you are a professional, would you buy a software called Bitwig? I don’t.
Excuse moi!
I make a living producing and mixing music, which should make me a “professional” by definition.
Was using Ableton on and off since version 4, fully switched with version 6.
This year i made the switch to Bitwig, because as a “pro” i don’t give a shit about a tools name. I could not justify Ableton anymore exactly because it brings so much new stuff, it currently just blows Ableton out of the water:
– multiple projects open at the same time and drag and drop between them
– better vst support (vst sandboxing and 32/64bit bridging built-in)
– better pdc
– better multi screen support
– better metering
– better tweakability (modulation devices, note and audio receiver devices, fx slots IN devices)
– better audio editing (bounce in place, several audio parts per clip)
– layered editing
– finally FULL custom shortcuts assignments
the list just goes on and on plus it is just a lot more stable for me than Ableton. To me these are all features that are absolutely essential for professional usage and i can’t understand anymore why i made it so hard for myself for years in Ableton after switching from Logic. I tried to “live” with those shortcomings just because of the quicker workflow and for me there’s just no reason anymore to do so. Esp, seeing how Bitwig introduces feature after feature in no time and actually communicating with their user base, while Ableton seems to be the one only doing marketing and brand hyping but not taking care of the product itself anymore since version 7 or 8.
So, i’m curious, what’s your real workd experience can you bring any facts to the table or are you just a “pro” troll?
Admin: Personal attack deleted. Keep comments on topic and constructive.
Sorry, you sound like a Bitwig employee screaming your sales pitch.
“Bitwig introduces feature after feature in no time”. That’s exaclty the problem, they don’t test the features conceptually and from the quality point of view. They just do amateur marketing and their product is an accumulation of half-backed stuff crammed all together. If you really are a heavy user, you will know that it’s full of bugs, incomplete and basically a software that can’t be trusted.
“they don’t test the features conceptually and from the quality point of view.”
You’re not paying attention enough to justify your arguments. Bitwig has a very open and interactive beta program… in case you didn’t notice. Which of course, you wouldn’t, since it is clear you don’t use the software that you are complaining about. 🙂
Well, personal attacks deleted by admin and then still no facts.
Sorry, i don’t like your aggressive and insulting style, you sound like an angry man looking for a fight instead of a fruitful conversation.
Thanks, little interest in such discussions.
Nobody insulted you and you reported my coment as a personal attack because I told you you sound like a Bitwig employee, which might be well true. You have your facts, I have mine. And if you don’t like my opinion, well, it’s just my opinion. I think Bitwig is 6+ years in the making and still has unacceptable bugs, very deep ones connected to the sound. It’s not version 1, it has been in the making since long time ago. Do your research, my friend. I know how it feels buying a very promising piece of software that is basically a marketing scam coded by a group of mediocre developers who can’t get their act together since 6 years ago. Good luck and don’t be such a fanboy.
The rational view is that:
On Mac, Live is the king and Bitwig doesn’t even exist.
On Linux, nobody gives a damn about Linux. How many users Bitwig would have, 5? Very bad decision alocating time to Linux instead of Mac and Win.
On Win, Live is the king and Bitwig doesn’t even exists.
Proof? How many real people do you know using Bitwig?
I’m not sure if I’m missing a joke here, but Bitwig very much exists on Windows.
I use Bitwig on Linux where Bitwig is definitely king. I also use it on Windows, and the possiblity to hop between my linux laptop and my windows desktop is a really great feature for me.
I have Live 9 suite and have been with Live since V6, not only has BWS stopped me using Live (I still own it) it has stopped me bothering with Cubase 8.5 unless I am working with other live musicians.
If you are a DJ performing live, ‘Live’ (clues in the name) probably still has the edge, if you are a home musician/producer using mainly VST’s and a limited amount of hardware, BWS has it in my opinion (over all other DAWS) as it has taken the best parts of Live and Logic and made something quick and fun to use with amazing death (particular in modulation) without complexity.
I’ve always wondered how I’d like to go… Bitwig’s ‘amazing death’ sounds ideal!
Contrary to what you see at first glance, modulations in Bitwig suck. Start creating modulations everywhere and you will feel lost about what is what. It does not give you propper visual feedback about what is going on. Good idea, poorly implemented.
That was bothering me BIG TIME, too before 1.2 ’cause I’m modulating the shit out of my stuff!
MMMM…
Bitwig looks cool but it becomes a little bit too gimmicky to me, it is like one of those Leatherman multitools with pliers, they are really useful, antil the plier, wich is really important for the tool, fails and suddenly the tool doesnt work properly anymore.
I feel that it there is too much things happening on that screen and one of the main reasons i like ableton is the minimalism in it, so simple and straight forward.
To be fair, you can select a screen (clip launcher) that looks just as simple as Lives (although you can still edit in clip audio etc) but you can also have the linear DAW and the clip launcher on the same screen…its about choice, but if all you want is minimalism then Live is a good pick, especially for late night DJ sets in a dark club!
Maybe im gonna give it a try… who knows
ITT: a bunch of people who have never used Bitwig complaining that people who have used it like it.
I’ve been using a keyboard & mouse over twenty years and using touch screens for the past 4 years and touch screens are simply not as efficient, I work in IT and all my colleagues feel the shame as me, if you know your keyboard short cuts having to use a touch screen is a step backwards, great for on the move but not for sat down at a desk. Also try working too fast with touch screen and that lack of a button sensation pressing down soon ends up been a missed press.
Being in IT and a keyboard shortcut guy myself I disagree. It is not an either / or decision, use both for their strengths. Touch is much better in zooming and scrolling (aka navigating the timeline), which is what you do 80% in your DAW (and is horrible with keyboard and mouse).
get dual screens, i don’t find it a problem! in fact the converse using an apple mouse for scrolling is far more efficient. and as for pinching for zooming that is a total fallacy, its the worst part of touch screens especially on cheap touch screens. the GUI for apps as with bitwig is a compromise even with the pen which if a joke. lenovo tried that technology and it was a regression to a palm pilot with a big screen. the technology is still developing and the software is still behind the hardware, their needs to be a reality check on its capabilities rather than assumptions and manufactures claims
This reminds me on the day where FL Studio launchs there multi touch support… But now the people love it Oo very strange
i purchased bitwig near the beginning of the year, and as a professional producer making a living from my work, i would say that it has been one big pile of regret. this comment from Justin above pretty much sums everything up –
“Bitwig keeps adding superflous stuff and little features while their current program is still a bag of bugs and completely unreliable for professional use.”
I’ve found consistent bugs on both windows and mac, and very questionable design decisions that make bitwig seem like a hamstrung bastardized version of other DAWs like cubase or reaper (my daily driver). It’s like they only tested the damn thing on test projects created with only the internal plugins and with minimal tracks. On any real world project I’ve had the misfortune of creating using bitwig (on a powerful i7 that has no trouble with massive sessions in reaper), it has consistent CPU spikes for no reason (even when idle), and consistent audio clicks and dropouts, UI slowdowns, crappy implementation of automation point snapping, the list goes on.
Bitwig really needs to fix this pile of mess before introducing crap like a fancy file browser or nice-but-not-necessary touch interactions that only a fraction of their userbase will be able to use.
end /rant
Tried this app. Problem is it stops sometimes. Which is stupid in clip mode. Live stops only when you consolidate audio fragment. Layered editing is a big plus. Live users have no clue about harmony) i accept that. The design is not really cutting it. It wouldn’t cut it as live sequencer/sampler (as live), it wouldn’t cut it kn detail editing (live my lovely reaper). Its not as configurable as reaper. Only control support is nice, ALMOST as Reaper’s. The only thing that reaper cannot do is live
Judging by some (a lot) of the responses, it looks like Yamaha Reface revisited…
Lots of Bitwig personnel here getting lots of thumbs up… LoL
It is interesting that the people who say they actually own and use LIve and BitWig seem to prefer BitWig. Also interesting seeing people criticise FREE updates! No good deed goes unpunished!
I have both, stopped using Live due to PDC issues (more professional? Basic fixes before frills- Ableton added audio to midi before they fixed basic time keeping!)
BitWig certainly has it’s issues and is missing some important features (browser tweaks before adding comping?) but it is the most promising DAW at V1 I have come across in 20 years doing this stuff.
Still no AU support?
Bitwig is nicer than Ableton in some ways, but seriously if you are interested in getting something done quickly it could be a problem, due to lack of very standard tools and functions here and there.. usually odd ommissions that make you ask “what were they thinking?”
Also yes Bitwig has a predominance of bugs, its software that wont give you the impression of being “stable” in any sense of the word. Its not like it crashes every time, but it happens enough to be a real problem, especially when using VSTs – which established artists have tons of, and which is an expectation i feel every other DAW recognizes easily
Now, it may be super awesome in a few years, but who knows, right now its still not cooked IMHO