Doesn’t seem to work now that I have 8-Track. It’s just not available as far as I can tell.
If you’re on a Mac, you can create an additional user account, download the full version, and run it in demo mode from that account’s desktop.
Hey everyone,
I took the plunge, and I’m now a Bitwig Studio owner (full version).
I started with the demo, and upgraded to the 16 track version to fully test my setup. I was really impressed with what I saw (and heard) but needed the ability to create custom project templates, so I got the full version.
Getting set up with my Digitakt (using OB), and my Argon8 with BWS went very smooth.
The only brief challenge I had was getting all my CCs working with the DT.
I’m really enjoying how BWS is structured, and yet also super flexible. It’s clean, and the UI is expertly crafted IMO. Being able to reuse modules in many places is fun to explore. It’s a damn impressive piece of software!
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Welcome aboard!
Would you mind sharing your Digitakt OB template? (Bitwig Project file or just screenshots and explanation would be sufficient) I’m kind of a template slut, to find the perfect balance of simplicity and flexibility, so I would love to get your point of view too 
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Sure, happy to do that. I’m still optimizing, as I want it to be as clean as possible.
Getting closer, and had my first test run with DT+Argon8+Omnisphere+BWS last night.
It went great, but I have some bugs to work out, because BWS crashed and I lost my work
I think this had to do with enabling “Use a template for new projects” and double clicking on a file in Windows to open it. When I do this I get the file I opened, plus an additional “New 1” session. I closed the “New 1” session, and worked on the file I opened, and that seemed to confuse BWS.
I’m used to 1 file per song, and BWS is more like 1 folder (or project) per song.
To better understand what I’m trying to do, this is how I typically work on music:
- Start a blank session which initializes my gear (DT, Argon8, and Omnisphere)
- Create a sketch for a song or groove using the DT to sequence notes
- Save the session as a file (if I like it)
- Go to step 1 to explore another idea
- Render out the best ideas as audio clips to collaborate with another musician who is in CuBase.
So maybe I need to make a single project for all my sketches, and was wondering how others handle this (or any advice on how to do this).
Edit: Folders are good once you get used to them It’s an extra click, but pays off to keep samples, recordings, and extras together.
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Quick update…
Things are going well, and I’m very happy with BWS so far!
One interesting situation that happened yesterday, was that I wanted to make something with FX Grid to test latency.
In FL Studio I typically output a click from 2 different instruments to the left and right channels. Then in Edison (the wave editor in FL Studio) I could zoom in and measure the difference between their start points in ms, and that told me how well things were aligning when all the dust settles.
I dipped my toe into the grid, and it was COLD! Ok - that’s not fair, as it was actually fun, but I wasn’t able to create what I wanted.
What I wanted was a readout of the timing difference between a click on the left and right channel (in ms or samples). What I ended up doing because I couldn’t figure it out, was to subtract the signals, so that I could hear the difference (shorter/quieter was better).
A few more details on my failed attempt:
First I recorded a clip playing the same high hat sample with the DT and Omnisphere, as those where the 2 things I wanted to compare.
Then I made an FX Grid on the master track, and did a few things. I first split left and right to separate signals, used an envelop follower to convert the audio signal to something I could measure, then decided I needed to make a stopwatch/timer to get meaningful values, and after that I flailed I just could not figure out how to build a timer with start/stop and display the value in ms or samples.
If I could have made the timer successfully, then my next step was to route the difference between the 2 envelopes (one from left, and one from right), and that would give me the latency between them.
Anyway, if anyone can help, please do
Best regards,
Gino
@Gino! Seems we have taken the same path my friend! I’m on Bitwig 8 Track which is plenty good enough for me for right now while I learn it. I’ll throw the $ down if I need more features.
My brother is an evangelical Bitwig supporter and what finally sold me was the ease of figuring things out and getting a recording going. I just went in and figured it out. I’ve tried Ableton a dozen times and its powerful and basically a standard nowadays, I just could never click with the workflow.
The midi is super tight and everything just seems to work like you think it should. It will take me a while to get used to this piano roll though. I think FLStudio has the best implementation by far. FM4 instrument sounds wonderful. I’ve not scratched the surface yet but hope to in the coming weeks and months
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Cross posting this here to see if anyone with Bitwig and a DT can reproduce this issue I’m seeing.
Best regards,
Gino
Well, how IS Bitwig with MIDI sync and Overbridge? Any better than Ableton with getting everything to line up?
Getting audio gear to sync up is the scourge of this world.
No it’s not. It’s more like people doesn’t want to spend money on a piece of equipment call syncbox. The most reliable sync is based on audio pulse and serve then few midi clocks to go to hardware. Then you can get pretty good results even with a computer in the setup.
Therefore If notice better timing back in the days with the first iteration of Overbridge I’m not sure it’s the same now. I mean OB2 + Ableton vs OB2 + Bitwig… some may talk about that if they able to compare.
I can’t I just hint you on a proper syncbox but before to buy a syncbox I would try to sync with OB2 FIRST
NB: each time you add processing VST your delay drift and you need to adjust that anytime your FX chain grow
Syncbox I now efficient are :
New : E-RM Multiclock USB, SND ACME-4
Secondhand : Innerclock SyncGen 2 Pro
People may disagree, but that’s my experience on this subject
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This is the answer. The E-RM Multiclock removed any and all sync headaches I’ve ever had. It’s expensive for what it does, but can you put a price on never, ever, ever having a sync issue again?
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I’m using an Expert sleepers USAMO. I know it’s not an E-RM, but I’ve been hopeful it would solve some of these issues.
I loaded the demo Bitwig and first impressions are nice. I was able to get better sync than with Ableton so far. With Ableton, Usamo, Overbridge and other MIDI devices, the problem is not jitter as much as getting everything to play nicely from the first step, and also getting various sync latencies to line up 
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I cant compare it to Ableton, but for me bitwig and overbridge mostly play well together. Tracking the a4 mk2 and rytm mk2 via OB is perfectly sync’d. I have a mix of other hardware that is using either midi over usb or midi din. I dont have much trouble syncing any of those. I usually just do it by ear (and eye) and adjust the clock offset in the sync settings. Changing the contents of a project can affect that, but I just fix it when I hear it. Maybe I’m not as fussy as some, but I have no complaints about this.
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I think I am in. It seems like Bitwig has better sync across my devices, significantly.
Now I just need to find a Bitwig 8-track license, apparently it’s bundled sith some products. Wish I needed a MIDI keyboard
Usamo is ace! Using it with logic. Timing just strucles when you have a lot of vst already going on, especially send fx and plug ins on the master bus.
btw. Bitwig 3.2 is out and they have summer sale. Maybe time to upgrade my 8-track to full version?
this looks like next level shit 
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I just installed this latest version. Looking forward to digging into it.
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so finally I went with the summer sale and upgraded my bitwig 8-track to full version. Does have anyone some tutorials recommend to watch? I ready watched the video about the wavetable synth, which is the main reason for me. As a longtime logic user I never really gel with Ableton for some reasons. But Bitwig just has so many features, which even Logic doesn´t nearly got with the new 10.5 update. Maybe for live recording I would still prefer Logic for its cleaner interface. But for making new tracks out of the recordings, I guess Bitwig offers a lot more features what can be done with a modern DAW and software technology. So lets dive deep
polarity’s videos are great
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