Bitwig Studio 4.0 is out now, with audio comping, Operators, Anti-Loops, and more. Give her a go.

System Requirements

Windows - Windows 7, 8, or 10 (all in 64-bit)
Mac - macOS 10.14 ("Mojave") or above
Linux - Ubuntu 18.04 or later
a CPU capable of SSE 4.1

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.8 [released 23 November 2021]

Fixes

FX Layer device did not update latency when deleting layer [26877]
Popup browser was not showing correct filter when browsing presets for loaded device on Windows [26982]
Crashes sometimes on Windows when searching for missing files [26875]
Slow application performance when using certain controllers due to memory leaks
macOS 12: Pasting text wasn't working [26996]
Internal FX sends/returns of drum machine were not latency compensated [26851]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.7 [released 29 October 2021]

Fixes

Nested plug-in active states may sometimes be wrong after loading a project (since v4.0.5) [26876]
Fixed possible error when loading ALS project created by Akai hardware [26797]
From browsers, the right-click Add To menu was not sorted alphabetically anymore [26891]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.6 [21 October 2021]

Fixes

Fixed crashes due to out of memory errors
Plug-ins would sometimes be scanned again when this was not necessary
macOS: Searching in browser on ARM machines could result in corrupt index notifications
macOS: ARM machines may not have correctly identified redundant plug-ins

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.5 [released 08 October 2021]

Fixes

Drum Machine device: PDC issue with internal returns [26806]
Note editor GUI could be out of sync with audio playback [26823]
Note playback visualization in note editor was not correctly delay-compensated
Selecting all tracks inside a group track would also select the group's output track [26781]
Turning off automation write did not return parameters to current value (until a new automation point was reached) [26754]
Deactivating a device by [SHIFT] clicking its power button would lose the current state of any contained plug-ins [26690]
Rare crash when opening and quickly closing a project [25980]
Crash when loading Drumfunk 170bpm clip from the Anti-Loops pack [26663]
Controller API: A track bank created with a flattened track list could return the effect tracks and master tracks multiple times [26808]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.4 [released 01 October 2021]

Fixes

ALS Import: Now treats send levels below -70 dB as -∞ dB [26777]
ALS Import: Tracks routing to the parent track weren't imported correctly [26777]
Some WAV samples couldn't be imported [26676]
Hardware CV Instrument device: Axes were getting painted over [23870]
Oscilloscope Grid module (Display): Would paint outside the bounds when reopening Grid editor [26782]
Crash when using arrow keys after switching to Project Panel via keyboard shortcut [25355]
Undoing deletion of a plug-in that had a modulated parameter could recall the wrong parameter value [26621]
Monitoring via track input routing from a multi-out VST chain created one buffer latency in the monitoring track [26677]
In some situations, the application could crash when activating from demo mode, etc. [3483, 26742]
Crash when loading some beta projects [26696]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.3 [released 24 September 2021]

Fixes

Wasn't possible to move automation points with the arrow keys anymore (for certain parameters) [26562]
Relative hardware knobs could return to an absolute value, instead of the last value set by the user [26638]
Bad initial automation was written to the arranger when adjusting a parameter that was previously manually overridden [26759]
Moving an automated knob while stopped didn't update the value when playback started again if automation was a flat line
Polymer device: Available in Bitwig Studio 16-Track again [26668]
Crash when having more than 128 effective audio events in a clip [26666]
Deleting a named collection in the browser that was created in an older version of Bitwig Studio would cause the collection to reappear when the application is restarted

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.2 [released 06 September 2021]

New Features

Controller scripts added for Nektar GX Mini and SE61 controllers

Improvements

Repeats Operator: audio events now have a Repeat Crossfade Time parameter (in the Inspector) [26524]
Wavetable WAV files that use the u-he wavetable metadata chunk (uhWT) are imported [26470]
When exporting audio, the progress bar now uses the first 90 % for the rendering process and the last 10 % for the encoding [26370]
SFZ import: The seq_length opcode is now imported as Round-robin [26609]
Bitwig Studio 8-Track and Bitwig Studio 16-Track can export at any sample rate and bit depth [26563]

Fixes

High-pass and Low-pass Grid modules (Filter): used a wrong cutoff frequency [26441]
Now uses a more sensible threshold for hiding the Clip Launcher Panel [26425]
Pre-routing into audio track would produce crackles [26508]
Recording (or monitoring) notes between two tracks resulted in recorded notes being late [26559]
Arranger song position line did not disappear immediately after stopping [26560]
Follow Playback was not working while recording audio and note clips [16558]
Inverting the snapping setting (via the SHIFT key) would not work on automation timelines [26447]
Grouping instrument tracks changed their input routing to "all ins" [26263]
Ableton Live (ALS file) import: Devices on group tracks weren't being imported [26549]
When duplicating a track, the MIDI channel settings were not preserved [25461]
Gain automation could start at the wrong level for clips where the play start position is in the middle of an event (4.0 regression) [26466]
Adding a modulator to a named collection (e.g. Favorites) would only work when installing the application in the same location as a previous installation otherwise they were forgotten [26468]
Undo stopped working when changing velocity via touch in the note editor [26561]
Crash using touch and comping [25985]
When using generic MIDI controller scripts, Bitwig now also uses the user defined name to resolve mappings in a project [26636]
For a few users, the Package Manager could use a directory on removable media on startup instead of the online package repository
Controllers could crash the whole application if they started their own threads that also crashed, or had errors sending MIDI data [25663]
Rare crash when editing text input fields [26373]
Selecting "Reindex" for a location that contains VST2 or VST3 plug-ins or when selecting "Reindex All" from "All Device Locations" forces a rescan of the plug-ins
Windows: Taskbar icon was not shown correctly on some systems. [26325]
Linux: Not possible to save projects on some Linux distributions (app crashes) due to gtk writing some debug info that gets interpretted as the file path from our file dialog process [25072]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0.1 [released 16 July 2021]

Fixes

Some projects with missing files would crash when managing them
With a demo song or template, selecting the master track as a track input would show an incorrect error message

What's New in Bitwig Studio 4.0 [released 13 July 2021]

Audio Comping, Anywhere

Audio comping is available, for traditional uses and more.

Recording to the Arranger or Launcher

To record on the Arranger timeline: new audio recordings are automatically added as comping take lanes when passing non-looping audio clips
- For "cycle recording," just enable the Arranger loop
To record into the Clip Launcher: from the Play menu, enable Record as Comping Takes, and set an appropriate Take Length
Clips containing take lanes show the comping icon on their top right edge
Since comping lives within the clip, comping clips can be freely dragged between the Launcher and Arranger
Since comping lives within the clip, comping clips can be saved to your library, with take lanes intact and editable

Effortless Editing

When a clip containing takes is selected, the Detail Editor Panel displays the Comping expression view for editing
Each take lane is given its own color for visualizing the sources used, and each take can be renamed
Take lanes can be reordered by dragging their headers
Dragging over a portion of any take lane to create a comping region
Clicking on any take lane uses that take for the nearest comping region and selects the region
- Pressing [UP] or [DOWN] moves the comp region to the take above or below
- Pressing [LEFT] or [RIGHT] selects the previous or next comp region
Double-clicking a take lane selects it in its entirety as the current comp
From the composite lane, dragging the top of any comping region up and down adjusts its gain
From the composite lane, sliding the bottom of any comping region left and right adjusts its timing
Sliding a boundary where two comping regions meet moves their fade point
- Sliding a take boundary in the take lanes area also moves the transition point between comp regions
Dragging near a boundary in the composite lane allows shortening a comp region to remove audio (including breaths, etc.)
- Deleting a time selection within a comp similarly replaces the selection with silence
[ALT]-dragging a take lane slides the time of that entire lane (and any comp regions pointing to it)
- [SHIFT]-[ALT]-dragging a take lane slides the time of that all take lanes (and all comp regions referencing them)
Comping expression editing keeps track of its own snapping setting, defaulting off
- [SHIFT]-dragging temporarily inverts the snapping setting

Layered Comp Editing

With multiple comping clips selected, layered editing mode of the Detail Editor Panel allows comp editing of multiple clips at once
In the Comping expression view, the target layer shows all of its take lanes, and additional clips show only their composite lanes
All comp editing gestures work as they do in regular (single) comp editing mode
Using any of the comp editing gestures while holding [CTL] ([CMD] on Mac) applies that edit to only the single comp you are interacting with

Fold to Takes for Comping Any Source

Wrap any audio clip into takes by right-clicking on it and choosing Fold to Takes
Select either how many takes to create, or the length for each take
Drag any audio file from the Browser Panel to the take lane area to add a new take lane
- Right-click on any take lane header for Fold to Takes of that individual lane (in case a file is longer than the current comp, etc.)

Operators for any Note or Audio Event

Operators change when and how events are triggered. Devices have modulators; now notes and audio events have Operators. One or more modes can be used on each event.

Mode: Chance

Sets the likelihood that any event will occur, adding probability to make any loop dynamic
Is visualized on events like the face of dice
- A higher die value represents a higher probability
For notes, a Chance expression editor is available beside velocity

Mode: Repeats

Causes retriggers within the original event, turning a single event into a ratchet, or polyrhythm, or…
Repeat Value can be set two ways:
- Values below 1 set the note rate for repeats (e.g., 1/2, 1/3, 1/12…)
- Values above 1 set the number of slices the event is cut into
- Right-clicking on this value provides a menu of common note rates
Repeat Curve bends the repeats to either start closer together, or to speed up at the end
For notes, Repeats End Velocity sets a relative target velocity for the end of the note repeat
- This is also editable from the velocity expression lane
- [ALT]-dragging on the end velocity point adjusts the velocity curve of the repeats
Is visualized on events as slices where the repeats happen, just like the event restarts at each of those points
Right-click on any event to Slice At Repeats, turning each repeat into an independent note or audio event

Mode: Occurrence

Sets conditions for each event
One Condition can be selected:
- Always → Plays unconditionally
- on First → Plays on first cycle
- never First → Skips the first cycle
- with Previous → Plays when last event did
- without Previous → Plays when last event didn't
- with Prev Key [note events only] → Plays when this key's last event did
- without Prev Key [note events only] → Plays when this key's last event didn't
- with Prev Chan. [note events only] - Plays when this channel's last note did
- without Prev Chan. [note events only] - Plays when this channel's last note didn't
- Fill on → Plays when Fill mode is on
- Fill off → Plays when Fill mode is off
The Fill button is a global performance control
- It is available from the Play menu, and can be pinned beside the menus
- It can be mapped to MIDI controller, or automated from the Master track under Transport > Fill
Is visualized by displaying the condition icon on the event

Mode: Recurrence

Gives each event its own looping timeline
Recurrence Length sets the number of loops per cycle, from 2 to 8
Toggles are then available for each loop
So if the length is set to 4, four toggles are provided. And if only the first and last toggles are enabled, then this event will trigger on the first and fourth loops of this clip. (And then the fifth and eighth loops, etc. etc.)
Is visualized on the event by a series of shaded (on) and empty (off) rectangles

General Workflow

A new inspector section for Operators is available when note or audio events are selected
All Operator settings are neutral by default, creating events that always sound
When an Operator mode has active values, the mode is visualized on the note/audio event as described above
Each mode icon represents a toggle that can be turned off and back on at any time

Take a chance on predictability with Expand

Right-click on any Launcher clip and choose Expand to print any number of loops into a new clip
Unlike Bounce options, Expand generates the type of clip you started with (so an audio clip will create audio clips, and a note clip will create note clips)
Expand removes any Operator that can be calculated ahead of time (particularly good for "cycle-aware" options, like Recurrence, or the First conditions of Occurrence)
Options are available to:
- Preserve Chance values, instead of printing their result
- Preserve expression Spread values, instead of printing their result
This provides clips with predictable notes, and a visualization of how Operators are actually creating larger patterns within patterns
When Chance settings are used, Expand a clip several times to glimpse into different possible timelines

Spread for any Expression Point

Expression automation points each have a Spread value now, defining a range for the point that will be randomly selected each time the clip loops
Notes have these per-note expressions that can use Spread:
- Velocity (only defined at the beginning of each note)
- Pitch
- Timbre
- Pressure
- Gain
- Pan
Audio events have these expressions that can use Spread:
- Gain
- Pan
- Pitch
- Formant (used by some stretch modes)
Random values will glide to and from their neighboring points, just as regular automation would
[ALT]-drag on any expression point to define its Spread
- When the clip is not playing, the Spread range will be visualized with a color gradient showing the bipolar range
- When the clip is playing, the randomly selected values will be shown at the beginning of each loop cycle
Spread values are also accessible in the Inspector by:
- Selecting individual expression point(s), and using the Spread field in the automation Point section
- Selecting a clip (or multiple note/audio events) and using the parameter's histogram, which now has a value for Spread of that parameter
To grab a reproducible random sequence, each clip now has a Seed parameter
- By default, the value is Random, producing different results each time the clip is triggered
- By clicking this field, a particular Seed value is produced and saved (displayed as a shiny bit field)
- To produce a new Seed value, just click the field again. Or click the die icon to return to total Random.
- When recording a performance from the Clip Launcher to the Arranger, the Seed value used during recording will be preserved in the new Arranger clips, preserving the exact sequence playback as what you heard during performance.
- This Seed functionality applies to all expression Spread values within a clip, as well as any Chance Operators used

New modulator: Globals (Interface)

Provides modulator signals for three project-wide controls:
- Fill - A modulator signal reflecting the current Fill mode state
- A◆B - A bipolar modulator signal reflecting the current global crossfade value
- Play - A modulator signal reflecting whether the transport is currently playing (1) or not (0)
The Fill and A◆B sources can be used as global control sources, routing hardware controllers or automation (from Master > Transport) to any and all tracks

macOS: Native Apple Silicon Support

Bitwig Studio now runs natively on Apple Silicon
Thru Bitwig's unique plug-in hosting, Intel VSTs can still be used alongside ARM VSTs

Localization of Bitwig Studio

The Bitwig Studio application is now localized in Chinese, Japanese, and German
The language is set from the Dashboard under Settings > User Interface > Language, at the top of that page
Device and parameter names are the same, but most functions, labels, and in-app documentation (for the 300+ devices and modules) are translated

Improved Export Options

Export Audio function and dialog has been revamped
You can now choose from various audio formats to export:
- WAV
- FLAC
- Opus (information here)
- OGG Vorbis
- MP3
Appropriate profiles are available for each format
Multiple formats can be exported at once (in case you want a lossless version for your listening, and a lossy version to email, etc.)
The Sample Rate for exports can also be set now
If a time selection is made is the Arranger, that is used as the export Time Range

New Features

Import of some data from FL Studio project files (FLP)
Import of some data from Ableton Live project files (ALS)
Auxy can now export a Bitwig Studio project file
A top-level snap toggle is available in all timeline editors, to the right of the snap settings menu
Waveforms are now shown in a Perceptual scale by default, for easier reading (setting is in the Dashboard under Settings > User Interface > View > Waveform display)
Various container devices can now be converted, such as switching Layer devices to Selector devices, etc.
Added track "lane heights" zoom functions for the Arranger and Detail Editor Panel (assignable via Dashboard > Settings > Shortcuts)
Controller scripts added for Native Instruments A and M series
Controller script added for iCON VCast
Anonymized, optional usage data collection is now possible (details here), to help us improve Bitwig Studio

Improvements

Track Monitoring: Sources from other tracks can now be monitored (as long as this would not create a feedback loop)
Track Monitoring: Mode is now a tri-state switch (click to cycle from Auto to On to Off)
- Or right-click the monitoring button for a menu with all modes and their descriptions
The gain handle is now available at the top of any Arranger audio clip, and in the Detail Editor Panel (at the top of the waveform in the Audio Event and Comping expression editors)
The slide gesture is now available at the bottom in the Detail Editor Panel (at the bottom of the the waveform in Audio Event or Comping modes)
Time sliding handles are now available at the bottom of each audio event in the Detail Editor Panel
Preview player (in Browser Panel and Pop-up Browser) provides temporary auditioning when you click on the note/audio visualization, now stopping audition on mouse release
HW CV Instrument device: Now has a latency measurement option[24535]
HW FX device: Better latency measurement algorithm [24032]
Polymer/ Grid modules (Filters): Many filters now handle extreme resonance and modulation cases more smoothly
Find All when looking for missing files is now faster when searching for multiple files
Controller API: Added NoteStep.isMuted() and NoteStep.setIsMuted()

Fixes

Sustain pedal problems with certain MIDI CC64 automation [26157]
Meter of device chain was painted grey after unmuting [26149]
Reordering automation lanes stops the updating of the knob onscreen
In the Edit View, tool and snap settings are now shared between the Detail and Automation Editor Panels [25727, 26197]
Smaller (read: better) sensitive area for boundary interactions with clips
Showing piano roll micro-pitch expressions on a hybrid track could crash [25936]
Clip selection in Detail Editor Panel did not always update correctly when selecting a clip on another track in the Arranger [21812]
Note Editor: The "Draw Note Pattern" modifier would sometimes draw a double note with certain beat grid settings [25374]
Automation editor was showing preview region over full editor width when drawing with pencil tool in some cases [25924]
Snapping did not work for zero offsets via snap-to-relative-grid [26155]
Various note and note name painting issues in Detail Editor Panel [26123]
Crash when clip end was adjusted on mixed clip/meta-clip selection [26037]
Clicking on an audio lane header in layered editing mode (for tracks) was changing the layers shown
Drum Machine device: Weird CPU spikes could appear when playing one drum slot that is set to be choking another slot [25645]
Drum Machine device: Internal return chains are no longer accessible to nested FX Layer devices (which could cause feedback loops) [25929]
Delay 1, Delay 2 & Delay 4 devices: Might go to sleep before feedback is played, when delay times were long [25442]
HW Instrument device: Did not preserve MIDI CC's channel [26102]
Note FX Layer & Note FX Selector devices: Were causing note delay when first inserting them [23192]
Note FX Selector device: Now correctly works with sustain pedal [25997]
Mod Delay Grid module: Was sometime glitching at start/stop of transport when project had PDC latency [26363]
Channel Map device: Was always lightning the channel 1 indicator
Channel Map device: Did not work on MIDI CCs with HW Instrument device [26102]
Crashes sometimes when undoing deletion of devices that were using samples [26166], [26065]
Crash when triple-clicking inspector number field followed by drag at the right edge [25683]
Possible to crash the application by calling some methods via controller API in some cases [26165]
Zooming out in Grid editor could make knob graphics disappear [26039]
macOS: Incorrect names were sometimes shown for certain files loaded from the OS (e.g Korean file names composed of Hangul Jamo characters) [25890]
Linux: Rare crashes when using Wavetable module, in Polymer or The Grid [25958]
Controller API: Tracks created via HW API were white [26126]
Controller API: Added monitorMode() and isMonitoring() on Track object [deprecated monitor() and autoMonitor()]