Bitwig Studio 2.4 is out now. Huzzah!

Release Notes for Bitwig Studio 2.4

System Requirements

Windows - Windows 7, 8, or 10 (all in 64-bit)
Mac - macOS 10.11 ("El Capitan") or above
Linux - Ubuntu 17.04 or later

What's New in Bitwig Studio 2.4 [released 12 Sept 2018]

New features

Sampler overhaul (see section below)
Program-wide MIDI channel support (see section below)
New device: Note FX Layer, for stacking note effects as parallel layers
New device: Channel Filter, for suppressing select MIDI channels
New device: Channel Map, for remapping select MIDI channels
New modulator: ParSeq-8, a unique parameter step sequencer
New modulator: Note Counter, an incrementer for creating swirling modulation patterns
Tracks can be horizontally resized in the Mix View
Scenes can be horizontally resized in the Arrange View
Scenes can be colored
Global controller takeover modes, to set how hardware controllers and software parameters interact
On-screen controller visualizations of takeover status, showing the current bank of controls with their parameter values
Interaction-based hints, displaying all currently available mouse actions
New Quick Start templates in the Dashboard
Modulation mappings can now be copied/pasted by various methods
Updated device: Bit-8 now has new quantization modes, additional parameters, and an optimized layout
Updated device: HW Instrument now has an MPE mode that outputs note expressions as MIDI channel voice messages and dynamically allocates MIDI channels, if appropriate
Updated modulator: Steps now has ping-pong looping and pattern generation/processing functions (available via right-click)
Controller Scripting API now supports USB device detection and communication
Controller Scripting API now offers graphics API (for passing bitmap data to controllers)
Added controller support for Novation Launchkey MK2, Launch Control XL, and Launchkey Mini
Added controller support for Sensel Morph
Added controller support for MIDIPLUS X2mini, X3mini, X4mini, X6mini, X6pro, and X6pro
Added controller support for Vault Apex 25, Apex 49, and Apex 61
Various writings systems are now displayed properly, including: Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Cham, Cherokee, Chinese, Devanagari, Georgian, Gurmukhi, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Runic, Tamil, Telugu, and Thai
Updated user guide for version 2.4

Sampler overhaul

Repitch playback mode, for traditional sampling
Cycles playback mode, using wavetable techniques
Textures playback mode, using granular techniques
Freeze option (❄︎) for manually controlling the playhead in any playback mode
Visual crossfade looping
Ping-pong looping mode
One-shot envelope mode now has fade-in and -out controls
Keyboard tracking can be turned on or off, or set as a percentage
Detect root key function (from right-click menu) detects sample pitch from the start of the loop region
Editing playback and loop points snaps to zero crossings by default
Each Sampler device can load its audio in RAM or play it back from disk
Updated multisample interface now with a detail view, showing note ranges along with velocity/select ranges for each zone
Select parameter (*) controls what zones are played at note on
Zones can crossfade with other zones based on key, velocity, and/or the Select parameter
Three per-zone modulation sources are available, with modulation amounts set in each zone
Groups can be created for managing zones
Round-robin option per zone, to only trigger one matching zone at a time

Program-wide MIDI channel support

Each track has settings for the incoming MIDI channel(s) it responds to and which channel(s) it writes to
Layers (such as in the Instrument Layer device) have channel options as well, supporting multitimbral tracks
Each note stores which channel it plays back on
MIDI automation lanes are defined by channel
Layered editing mode can work by channel, with various view/edit options
Detail Editor Panel provides various note color options, including by clip, by MIDI channel, by pitch class, and by velocity
The tool menu in the Detail Editor Panel contains an Insert Channel setting as the destination for new notes

Improvements

Better anti-click fading for audio Launcher clips
Default anti-click fade time is now set in seconds instead of beats
Automatic fades for audio clips and events are now applied in additional editing cases
Last used velocity is applied when drawing a new note
Linear velocity ramps by can be created by alt-clicking (and then clicking/dragging again adds curvature)
EQ band-type can now be changed in the GUI by right-clicking
Right-clicking a modulation source allows you to change its modulation amount(s) from the context menu
Right-clicking in an empty modulator slot now targets the modulator slot
Nested device chain channels have a smaller width in the Mixer Panel
Modulation sources are now sorted in the Inspector Panel
Browser items can now be added to a collection via the context menu
Now supports drag and drop of a sample filename from Sampler to the Arranger or Launcher, etc.
Enhanced device logic for note channels information (Note Echo and Note Latch)
Expressions modulator now has a smoothing option (was always on before)
LFO, Steps, and ParSeq-8 now follow the pitch bend when set to track the pitch
Polysynth device’s glide is consistent across different audio interface settings
Arpeggiator device now holds keys with the sustain pedal (MIDI CC64)
The Button and Buttons modulators now show their modulation routing button in the Remote Controls pane
Steps modulator can copy/paste patterns from/to other instances of Steps
Steps modulator has better visuals when minimized
Extended filter range in Phase-4 and Polysynth to match Sampler
Voice settings have moved to device inspector for several instruments (FM-4, Organ, Phase-4, Polysynth, Sampler)
Pitch bend range used in MPE for plug-ins can now be set in the Device Inspector
Text editing of parameters is now more robust (only selecting editable values)
Added unselect-all command to Edit menu, with escape key as premapped shortcut
Note FX Layer now uses larger LEDs
Open file starts from the current project directory, or from the standard project directory if the dashboard is shown
Demos and templates are now under Quick Start in the Dashboard
Demos and templates can now install required packs automatically
Improved tooltip display logic
Added pitch-bend range setting to LinnStrument controller extension
Updated support for Nektar controllers

Fixes

Fix bugs in Clip.scrollKeysPageUp/Down via controller API
It was possible to sometimes get clip contents scrolled out of view on the clip launcher if a project was saved on a hi res monitor and then opened on a low res one
Step modulator has an offset of 1 when using note advance and smooting
Error playing back .multisample files which had non-ASCII filenames inside them
There was no inspector on the second display of the "Dual Display (Studio)" layout
Fixed certain ASIO input formats
Corrected note playback behavior for non-overdubbed arranger recording
Content of looped Audio Clips in Launcher should not be doubled, when using Bounce in Place on them
Transport.fastForward() and Transport.rewind() did not do anything when the transport was playing
Devices/modulators with any source routing selected (sidechain, etc) will now never go to sleep
E-Hat amplitude fluctuated with certain attack/decay settings
It was possible to get the application into a state where the dashboard could never be shown again
Fixed auto detection of Korg nanoKONTROL2 on Mac and Linux
Preserve note-channel (whenever possible) for notes sent to VSTs with the "Use MPE" setting enabled
Clips visualized on Maschine JAM don't get turned off when deleting them
Creating a new project before the audio engine has finished connecting to the existing project could get the application into a state where the engine could not connect to the new project
Marian Seraph ASIO driver didn't work
Crossfade to next clip gets replaced by fade out when cutting clip using knife tool
Delay-2: audio cuts out if Delay time goes below 0ms due to Detune
Crash when switching between different controller extensions using the drop-down when ports where already selected
Use MPE setting can now be turned off even for plug-ins which are automatically detected as supporting MPE
When connecting an engine to a project that has some parameter automation manually overridden the engine would still play back the automation even though it shouldn't
Selecting notes via alt+left/right keys sometimes does not work when note editor is in clip mode
Beat markers created by dragging a ghost marker at the end of the sample sometimes jump to an invalid location
Reversing a looped clip sometimes moves the start marker when it should not, or result in a non-looped clip
Stretch tool might snap to timeline grid with an incorrect offset
Deleting a modulation mapping from the source context menu did not remove it in the context menu but did delete the mapping
On 4k monitors the minimum width of the scrollbar in the arranger could get too small to be of much use
Remote controls panel layout would get broken if a page had a very long name
File dialog on Linux may sometimes open behind the application window and show the file dialog as a separate application in the taskbar
Modulation copy/paste allows to make modulators modulate themselves
Device remote controls open/closed state would not be restored correctly when dragging a preset to the empty track area to create a new track
Issue with controller scripts using both MPE and a note-translation map
When playing two notes of the same pitch using MPE controllers, releasing either note would stop both notes from playing
Send RPN 6 to plug-ins when "Use MPE" is enabled (or auto-detected).
Excessive CPU load for note-inputs of controllers
Sustain pedal CC64 does not return to 0 when stopping transport
Steep automation curves are not being read under certain conditions
Jump to play position in clip has offset if clip start is not at 1.1.1
Dropping samples on the zone list header now maps the whole key-range
Don't use AltGr modifier during drag and drop on Mac as this key is not present
Clip color indicator for group scenes does not redraw when changing clip colors
Drag-and-drop on windows didn't work for some sources
Takeover modes sometimes not working correctly
Possible to lock the application up in multi display profile by editing shortcuts and not providing a valid name for the shortcuts and closing the dashboard
When browsing for devices and presets for the first device with a mix parameter in an effect track using the popup browser make sure to set the mix parameter to full wet
Application could end up not being able to quit if it was closing and asking user about saving a project and user changed display profile before responding to the question
EQ-5 lowpass4 was called "2 poles" instead of "4 poles"
Sometimes notes get recorded one bar further than you actually play them in clip launcher
Beat LFO could go wonky gonky bonky at high transport beat time
Polynom modulators are all called "Out" in Inspector and context menus
Hold pedal automation was sent with the transport stopped when setting the transport position
APC40 MKII: the knob's ring might not be properly initialized
On certain Linux system, Bitwig Studio did not start because of missing libbsd.so
Polysynth glide might sound steppy when playing with large buffer size
Improved oscillator retrigger in Polysynth
Legato glide's pitch might jump under certain conditions
Crash when toggling pre-fader in the inspector of an FX track
Control Surface API: crossfade enum got broken ("Off" instead of "AB")
Moving clips while playing could make the sequencer out-of-time
Text editing of integer fields was annoying if the display had a pre or post-fix
Note counter modulator does not update gfx (0/5) when being used in monophonic device
Remote controls: button modulator name was not properly shown
Engine crash when using Note Counter Modulator on a Monophonic device like E-Kick
Possible to scroll the key zone out of screen using the bottom scroll bar in the multisample editor
Launch Control XL auto-detection for firmware older than 1.2 is not working
Launch Control XL: device LEDs not painting correctly
Crash when dropping clip on note editor piano keyboard
Crash when dropping sample on empty device list area of a track in mix view
Maschine JAM version 0.6 by Native Instruments crashed
Right-click on a Track Group Slot from the mixer view does nothing
Stop the modulation mapping if a modulation source gets disabled
Sampler - Reverse mode calculates offset play start/end off of sample start (instead of sample end)
Multisample editor: some parameter values are not mirrored between GUI and Zone Inspector
Channel list should not be visible in layered note editor when editing audio
Remote controls should show the parameter value as provided by the plug-in instead of a 0..1 range
Fixed auto detection of Akai MPK25, Akai MPK49 on Windows and macOS
Fixed auto detection of Korg nanoKontrol2 on macOS
It was possible to get launcher clips out-of-sync with the transport if the transport was started as a result of launching the clips
Crash when performing undo after slice to drum machine
File open dialog starts in temporary folder for a new project or the templates folder if it was created from a template
When dragging a clip to the track above in the clip launcher it easily lands in the slot to the right
Wrong arranger playback start position when double-clicking into note editor timeline ruler
Notes sometimes get pasted multiple times
Not possible to move an automation segment by using cmd-drag in clip automation editor
Shift-clicking on notes to select a range of notes does not behave as expected
Cryptic device type text in Browser side panel
Channel aftertouch did not get recorded anymore
Pitch-bend automation was recorded wrong
Steps modulator in transport mode did not start if device chain was not in focus
Should not be possible to drag expression nodes beyond note end.
Copy devices modifier was not shown when dragging clips to new tracks
Copy modifier was not shown when dragging remote control pages
Setting crossFadeMode of a track via API does not work
Recording of audio clips in the clip-launcher finished too early when stopped by launching a clip (including itself)
Flowing layouts were line-breaking too early
Paste at the start of device chain was broken.
It was possible to get two audio clips playing at the same time on the same track
Elastique Pro formant resolution parameter only worked for every second audio event
Cross-fade between launcher clips added a slight offset to automation
Issue with polynom display
Loops were not read for some SFZ files which didn't follow spec
Crash when reading metadata from some SFZ files
Plug-in parameter value text is not updated