System Requirements

• Windows - Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11 (all in 64-bit)
• Mac - macOS 10.14 ("Mojave") or above
• Linux - Ubuntu 18.04 or later
• a CPU capable of SSE 4.1

What's New in Bitwig Studio 4.2 [released 10 March 2022]

New Audio FX device: Chorus+

• Four different Character modes, each with its own DSP architecture and different X + Y controls:
  • CE - A synth-style friend, with different inspirations in the tone (Tone + Width)
  • DD - Subtle, 80s, and coming from all sides (Time + Balance)
  • 8v - Eight voices swirling thru caverns of feedback (FB + Width)
  • x2 - Classic voice doubling circuit (Time + Width)
• Parameter controls for the LFOs' relative Speed and the modulation Depth, as well as a dry/wet Mix control
• New Grid module: Chorus+ (Delay/FX), a module version of the audio effect device
  • All the same parameters as the device
  • Like all Grid modules, it will work polyphonically (a separate instance for each voice) when in a polyphonic patch
  • Available in all Grid devices (Poly Grid, FX Grid, and Note Grid)

New Audio FX device: Flanger+

• Four different Character modes, each with its own DSP architecture:
  • DP - That digital, scrapy cousin who chews up sound
  • MX - A firm, pedal-style classic
  • TFX - Smooth and sparkly, with some edge
  • WA - Stronger, but subtly delicate
• Alternate Character (ø) toggle, for a slight variation of the currently selected Character
• Added Dirt option, to insert a little noise for additional coloring
• With a Color control for the starting tone, and FB for how pronounced the feedback is
• Parameter controls for the LFOs' relative Speed and the modulation Depth, as well as a dry/wet Mix control
• Stereo-ize toggle to invert the LFOs' value on the right channel
• Option to replace the internal LFOs with Manual Override
  • This replaces the Speed control with one called Mod, which is used as the device's "modulation" signal
  • Any one (or combination) of Bitwig's 38 modulators can be mapped to this parameter, in addition to automation or direct control
  • Even in Manual Override mode, the modulation Depth and Stereo-ize controls are still operative, allowing simple creation of a rich control signal
• New Grid module: Flanger+ (Delay/FX), a module version of the audio effect device
  • All the same parameters as the device
  • Instead of Manual Override and Mod controls, a stereo input port is available for direct, oversampled control
  • Like all Grid modules, it will work polyphonically (a separate instance for each voice) when in a polyphonic patch
  • Available in all Grid devices (Poly Grid, FX Grid, and Note Grid)

New Audio FX device: Phaser+

• Four different Character modes, each with its own DSP architecture:
  • GS - Our spikey #1 friend
  • EHx - Classy and smooth, with silky motion
  • MX - A raspy devil, but solid
  • MF - Pleasantly greasy and deep
• Alternate Character (ø) toggle, for a slight variation of the currently selected Character
• With a Color control for the starting tone, and FB for how pronounced the feedback is
• Parameter controls for the LFOs' relative Speed and the modulation Depth, as well as a dry/wet Mix control
• Modulation Curve options are available:
  • Phaser - A more "traditional" modulation curve (the default)
  • Speaking - A shape that can produce "vowel" sounds
  • Barber ↑ - Barber pole-esque effect, spinning upward
  • Barber ↓ - Barber pole-esque effect, spinning downward
• Stereo-ize toggle to invert the LFOs' value on the right channel
• Option to replace the internal LFOs with Manual Override
  • This replaces the Speed control with one called Mod, which is used as the device's "modulation" signal
  • Any one (or combination) of Bitwig's 38 modulators can be mapped to this parameter, in addition to automation or direct control
  • Even in Manual Override mode, the modulation Depth, Modulation Curve, and Stereo-ize controls are still operative, allowing simple creation of a rich control signal
• New Grid module: Phaser+ (Delay/FX), a module version of the audio effect device
  • All the same parameters as the device
  • Instead of Manual Override and Mod controls, a stereo input port is available for direct, oversampled control
  • Like all Grid modules, it will work polyphonically (a separate instance for each voice) when in a polyphonic patch
  • Available in all Grid devices (Poly Grid, FX Grid, and Note Grid)

New Realm of The Grid: Note Grid

• New Note FX device: Note Grid, for using The Grid to create note processors or note generators, etc.
• New Grid module: Note Out (I/O), for creating note output
  • Gate In port triggers a note to be created
  • Pitch In, Velocity In, and Channel In can either be set with fixed values, or provided with signals
  • When Enable All Expressions (… toggle) is on, Timbre In, Pressure In, Gain In, and Pan In ports are available for signal control of all note expressions
  • When Enable All Expressions (… toggle) is off, connections to these additional expression ports are remembered but inactive
  • As with any module, multiple Note Out modules can be loaded, helpful for sequencer or "groovebox" style patches, or whenever you want to group notes onto different MIDI channels, etc. etc.
• New Grid module: Note In (I/O), with incoming (read: output) versions of all Note Out module ports
• New Grid module: CC In (I/O), receives a specified control change message from any/all MIDI channels
• New Grid module: CC Out (I/O), outputs a signal as a specified control change message on any MIDI channel
• As with all 184 Grid modules, these modules are available in all Grid devices (Poly Grid, FX Grid, and Note Grid)
• Note Grid is the one note FX device with optional polyphony and Voice Stacking (just as FX Grid is the one audio FX device with these options)
• Note Grid presets are shown when browsing for Note FX — just as Poly Grid presets show in instrument searches, and FX Grid presets show when looking for audio effects
• All Grid devices now have Note Thru and Control Thru toggles, in case you want to disable notes or MIDI messages (including control change messages) from being forwarded directly from device input to output
• Note Grid also has an Audio Thru option, which is on by default, forwarding audio (from bounce in place or other sources) to following devices — and disabling Audio Out from the patch
• Right-click the header of any Grid device to Convert to the other devices

New Features

• The Bitwig Studio application is now localized in French
  • 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
• New Modulator: Channel-16 (Note-driven), providing 16 individual modulator signals that fire when notes are received on that particular MIDI channel. Good for turning MIDI channel information into different sounds from Note Grid or wherever else.
  • Release with Note Offs option in Inspector, to return to zero when in poly mode
• New Grid module: Poly→Mono (Level), flattens any polyphonic signal, making it the same for all voices. With five different modes.
• New Grid module: Hard Clip (Shaper), for hard clipping with optional Anti-aliasing mode
• Grid module updates: Distortion, Quantize, Rectifier, and Wavefolder (Shaper) all have an Anti-aliasing (AA) mode option, for smoother shaping

Improvements

• Device updates: Oscilloscope and Spectrum (Analysis) both have a Mini view option, which is the new default
• Added conversion option between Stereo Split and Mid/Side Split devices (just right-click in either device's header)
• Grid module updates: All Data sequencers (Gates, Pitches, Probabilities, Steps and Triggers) now have an option to Mute when stopped, so that steps/notes end when the global transport is stopped
• Grid module update: Probabilities (Data) now has a Confidence output, useful for velocities, etc. when randomly creating note patterns
• Grid module update: Dice (Random) now has a Bipolar option, for any random use including generating a full panning or timbre signal with each note trigger
• Gates Grid module: Now has three modes for how transitions are handled:
  • Gate (previously G[ate]) - Stays high/low for each step, allowing ties when successive steps are on
  • Pulse (previously T[rigger]) - Sends the state for the first half of each step, then low for the second half
  • Trigger (new) - Good for random/trigger-based access, briefly dropping to zero whenever changing steps
• Most modulators now show user-provided names within the modulator panel, useful when using multiple envelopes, LFOs, etc. etc.
• New mappable action to Insert Cue Marker Here, which creates an Arranger cue marker at playback position [24002]
• New option to Always send MIDI clock even if the transport is stopped (under Dashboard > Settings > Syncronization)
• In Layered Editing mode with the drum-style editor, you can now move notes to different keys of another clip
• Arrow keys can now move notes to different keys in drum editing mode
• New context menu action for clearing the displayed expression (Timbre, Pressure, Gain, or Pan) of selected notes
• macOS: Improved Touchpad support for Mac-specific gestures:
  • Use "Smart Zoom" gesture to:
    • In timeline editors, toggle between zoom-to-fit and zoom-to-selection
    • In the Grid editor, put zoom level back to 100%
  • Use "Force Click" to:
    • Create a clip on the Arranger or in a Launcher slot
    • Add/remove notes, automation, or expression events
    • Insert devices in device chain
    • Play project/clips in ruler area
    • Open device chain (on track header)
    • Open clip in Detail Editor Panel
    • On device headers, opens the Pop-up Browser for presets
    • Commit browser choice (except for Samples tab)
    • Preview samples in browsers (and stop preview on release)
    • In empty track area of Arranger, opens up the Pop-up Browser
  • Touchpad pan & zoom always works now (regardless of the middle-button navigation setting)
  • Touchpad pan works in both axes simultaneously
  • Improved touchpad zoom (hold [ALT] to toggle the zoom axis)
• macOS Trackpad: Added option for Trackpad "scrolling" always pans (under Dashboard > Settings > User Interface > Mouse), so it can be disabled
• Updated window header to feel more at home in Windows 11 and macOS 12
• macOS: Now has its own set of cursors
• macOS ARM: account for performance cores instead (of efficiency cores) if applicable for parallel processing
• New control surface API to launch clips with specific options. In the APC40mkII and Launchpad Pro scripts, you can:
  • Hold shift to immediately launch a clip or a scene
  • Release the clip or scene button while holding shift, to return immediately to last playing clip(s)
• VST API Version is now shown (under Dashboard > Help > About)

Fixes

• Expression points that are "hidden" beyond note margins no longer affect next note on same key [27967]
• Session recording a Launcher audio clip to the Arranger would end early on stop [20320]
• Session recording into Arranger while the Arranger Loop is enabled would break recording [27983]
• Setting clip default launcher quantization to Off no longer quantizes to 16ᵗʰ notes [14483]
• Dragging modules in The Grid close to their edge sometimes didn't work
• Note playback would sometimes produce note events one sample too late [27443]
• Un-arm tracks when loading project if they use an audio source which cannot be found
• Voice Stacking in True Mono did not work properly with modulators (until receiving note input) [27768]
• Instrument Layer device: Solo was not working when copy/pasting instrumenting [26968]
• Classic LFO modulator: No longer breaks synchronization after some time [23381]
• 4-Stage modulator: Small curve previews were sometimes oriented wrong [23422]
• Modulators on plug-ins are correctly time-aligned [27329]
• The Grid: Oscillator pitch inputs no longer clip above +0.5
• Pitch Quantize Grid module: Wasn't rounding before quantizing
• Bouncing hybrid tracks in a project with significant latency would have silence at the boundaries between note and audio clips [23720]
• Bouncing PreFX (such as Bounce In Place) would not properly compensate delays [27405]
• Consolidating an empty audio clip left the clip in a weird state [28044]
• Track's note output routing to a plug-in did not wake up the plugin [27951]
• When editing multiple MIDI channels in drum editor mode, notes couldn't be moved between note lanes [27577]
• When session recording, triggering a clip with automation would not allow automation takeover if Write automation on record was turned off [25418]
• Imported audio into comping clips didn't properly Fold to Takes, but was spreading out [27887]
• Fixed a waveform painting bug when using reversed raw audio events with note repeat [27933]
• Fixed graphic glitch when mousing over far zoomed-in raw waveform in onset editor [28071]
• Elastique stretching was not transposing beyond +11 tones when 96kHz is used in a 44.1 kHz project [27635]
• Onset position shown in inspector had wrong value and unit [28020]
• ALS import: Wrong output was assigned for nested groups [27427]
• Feedback cycle now prevented when loading certain project [26792]
• The "Show Plug-in Window" button was sometimes hidden behind a scrollbar in the Mix Panel [27054]
• Waveform generation would fail with large file sizes [25749]
• Scrollbar in device chain was not working correctly when using Studio/Touch display profile [26317]
• Fixed font rendering bug that would sometimes load the wrong font
• macOS ARM: Plug-ins that were hosted separately from the audio engine may perform better now [27261]
• macOS: GUI was becoming unresponsive when program was started on a secondary display and then dragged over to primary display, on some systems [26772]
• macOS: Mouse cursor offset is now correct when scaling the window to 300%, on some systems [27087]
• macOS: Window content was rendered too small when moving window from non-Retina to Retina screen, on some systems [26785]
• VST3: plug-in window resizing has been reworked