Bitwig Studio User Guide
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Master Track Routing

We mentioned earlier that the default output assignment of all tracks is Master (see Track I/O Settings). This is referring to the name of the project's master track, which defaults to Master. If we rename the master track, the output choosers will follow suit.

As you can also see in the image above, the default output of the master track is set to Studio, which refers to the output set in the Output Monitoring Panel. We will now examine this panel and then see an example setup where a multichannel audio interface is used.

Output Monitoring Panel

Clicking the Output Monitoring Panel view toggle (the speaker icon) in the window footer will call up the panel.

The top area of the panel displays the following audio settings:

  • The Output Monitor Selector lets you select which pair of speakers and/or sets of headphones are being used for any track whose output is set to Studio.

    The monitoring options are those you have defined under Settings > Audio in the Dashboard (see Audio Settings, and Combined Audio Devices) using the same interface.

    To toggle a monitor: click the monitor's icon.

    Only one pair of speakers can be active at a time, and any number of headphones may be used.

    A fuller example with multiple monitoring options is presented in the next section.

  • The Mono button toggles your studio output(s) from stereo to a mixed-down mono output.

  • The Local Solo button applies when working with container devices that have discrete layers that include their own solo buttons, such as Drum Machine. When this function is enabled, solo logic is applied at the local device level. In this case, soloing one instrument layer/chains only mutes that device's other layers. This is the default behavior.

    When this function is disabled, solo logic is applied at the global level. In this case, soloing one chain of a Drum Machine would effectively mute all other tracks in your project.

The middle area of the panel displays the following cue and preview settings:

  • The Cue / Preview output menu sets the monitoring destination for both cue signals (when the Solo as Cue button is active) and Browser Panel previews.

    This is particularly useful for performance situations. For example, this allows you to cue up certain signals in your headphones before adding them to the main mix.

  • The Solo as Cue button alters how solo works. When this function is enabled, all solo-enabled tracks are also routed to the cue output, and all other tracks are routed as usual. Solo buttons themselves will be switched from S to C to reflect this.

    [Note]Note

    You can also toggle the Solo as Cue setting directly from the mixer by right-clicking on any solo button (see Channel Strip Section).

    When Solo as Cue is enabled, two additional parameters are available:

    • The Post-Fader toggle applies each track's volume level before routing the signal to the set cue path.

    • The Cue Mix control is a crossfader, blending between the output Studio buss output on the left and the cue signals on the right. This allows you to set a mix of the two on your cue monitor.

      [Note]Note

      While the performance case (of cueing material thru a separate path) may be obvious, this function is also helpful for production.

      When Cue / Preview is set to the same path as your Studio output, the Solo as Cue function offers a gradual solo. So tracks with Cue enabled will be heard normally, and the relative volume of all other tracks is set by the Cue Mix control.

  • The Cue Level control sets the volume out for cue monitoring. As this buss is also used for previews in the browser panels, it is relevant even when the same audio path (say, headphones) is used for both your Studio and Cue / Preview outputs.

Multichannel Audio Interface

Several settings in the Output Monitoring Panel are only useful when you have more than one audio output option. Using a single, large audio interface would provide this, but so would Bitwig's Combined Audio Device option (see Audio Settings, and Combined Audio Devices).

In the example below, I have set up a Combined Audio Device under Settings > Audio in the Dashboard.

Three devices have been enabled here:

  • Duet 3 is set as the clock master and contributes its two inputs and four outputs. Since this device is selected, we can see its configuration below. This includes the Outputs section, wherePlayback 1/2 is marked as Speakers, and Playback 3/4 is set as Headphones.

  • MacBook Pro Speakers is contributing its two outputs (which are not visible but are also marked as Speakers).

  • polus Microphone is also included, contributing its mono input.

The audio input paths will now be available in various places across the program, such as audio tracks' input choosers.

The audio output paths will be available from every output chooser, but they will also appear in the Output Monitoring Panel.

Any outputs marked as Speakers or Headphones are monitoring options and are available here. Paths without one of these designations have a generic Output role, leaving them available for signal routing but not for monitoring.

So in this example, my project's master track is routed to Studio. Because the Output Monitor Selector (of the Output Monitoring Panel) is set to Duet 3 Playback 1/2, anything reaching the master track is getting passed to my main Duet outputs. And because Solo as Cue is enabled, any track that is solo-enabled (and any browser content being previewed) is routed to my headphones via Duet 3 Playback 3/4.

The operating logic matches what you would expect on a hardware monitor controller. Clicking a headphone pair simply enables or disables it. As headphones don't interfere with one another, their states are independent. With speakers, however, you usually want to listen to one pair at a time.

To switch output from one pair of speakers to another: click the speakers you wish to activate. This will automatically turn off any other speakers.

But maybe you aren't in the studio and wish to enable multiple sets of speakers with the same signal.

To enable output to an additional pair speakers:SHIFT-click the speakers you wish to activate. This will route signal to these speakers without disabling others.

If you have a simple setup and never click any of these options, audio will be routed to the right place. But if you have multiple sets of speakers or other sophisticated requirements, the settings shown here and Bitwig Studio's routing options will cater to your needs as well.

< Other Mixing Interfaces   8. Introduction to Devices >
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