0. Welcome to Bitwig Studio

Welcome to Bitwig Studio! We are glad you have joined us and are excited to help you create, compose, polish, and perform your music.

And welcome also to our Bitwig Studio Producer and Bitwig Studio Essentials users! Most of Bitwig Studio's functions and resources are available in all of our products so this user guide applies equally to all programs.

If you are reading this user guide as a web page, the table of contents along with a search function and language selector is available either on the right of this text or at the bottom of this page (hello, mobile interface). And if you are viewing the PDF version, use your program's normal features for browsing sections, searching, etc.

The purpose of this document is to walk you thru most of Bitwig Studio's functions and show you how to operate the program. The chapters and topics are arranged progressively, with basic concepts appearing first and advanced ideas showing up later. And although this document does not attempt to explain fundamental audio and musical concepts, it is written for users of any stripe who want to use software to make music.

In addition to this document, other resources will be mentioned when appropriate, and you can always visit Bitwig's website for the latest information. And please share any feedback you have or issues you encounter by visiting our support portal.

In this chapter, we will begin with links to sections that have changed in this version. We will move on to the Dashboard, which is more or less the command center of Bitwig Studio. Finally, we outline a few conventions that will be used across this document. But you will not make sound in this chapter; that is what the rest of this document is for.

What's New in Bitwig Studio v5.3

For those of you who are recent Bitwig users, hello! Here are some pointers to new and changed sections of this document. New features and some of the updates in Bitwig Studio v5.3 include:

The v8 Drum Family

Ten new instruments, all inspired by classic drum modules but with additional controls, extended ranges, and modern interfaces.
New drum instrument: v8 Clap (Clap), an instrument inspired by the Hand Clap (CP) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Clap).
New drum instrument: v8 Claves (Percussion), an instrument inspired by the Claves (CL) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Claves).
New drum instrument: v8 Cowbell (Percussion), an instrument inspired by the Cow Bell (CB) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Cowbell).
New drum instrument: v8 Cymbal (Cymbal), an instrument inspired by the Cymbal (CY) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Cymbal).
New drum instrument: v8 Hat (Hi-hat), an instrument inspired by the Hihat elements (CH, OH) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Hat).
New drum instrument: v8 Kick (Kick), an instrument inspired by the Bass Drum (BD) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Kick).
New drum instrument: v8 Maracas (Percussion), an instrument inspired by the Maracas (MA) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Maracas).
New drum instrument: v8 Rimshot (Percussion), an instrument inspired by the Rim Shot (RS) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Rimshot).
New drum instrument: v8 Snare (Snare), an instrument inspired by the Snare Drum (SD) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Snare).
New drum instrument: v8 Tom (Tom), an instrument inspired by the Tom Tom elements (LT, MT, HT) of the Roland TR-808 (see v8 Tom).

The v9 Drum Family

Nine new instruments, all inspired by classic drum modules but with additional controls, extended ranges, and modern interfaces.
New drum instrument: v9 Clap (Clap), an instrument inspired by the Hand Clap (CP) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Clap).
New drum instrument: v9 Crash (Cymbal), an instrument inspired by the Crash Cymbal (CY) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Crash).
New drum instrument: v9 Hat Closed (Hi-hat), an instrument inspired by the Closed Hi Hat (CH) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Hat Closed).
New drum instrument: v9 Hat Open (Hi-hat), an instrument inspired by the Open Hi Hat (OH) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Hat Open).
New drum instrument: v9 Kick (Kick), an instrument inspired by the Bass Drum (BD) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Kick).
New drum instrument: v9 Ride (Cymbal), an instrument inspired by the Ride Cymbal (CY) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Ride).
New drum instrument: v9 Rimshot (Percussion), an instrument inspired by the Rim Shot (RS) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Rimshot).
New drum instrument: v9 Snare (Snare), an instrument inspired by the Snare Drum (SD) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Snare).
New drum instrument: v9 Tom (Tom), an instrument inspired by the Tom Tom elements (LT, MT, HT) of the Roland TR-909 (see v9 Tom).

The v0 Drum Family

Six original instruments, using detuned oscillator banks, FM, filter banks that are sometimes harmonic, and even physical models.
New drum instrument: v0 Cymbal (Cymbal), a hybrid cymbal instrument (see v0 Cymbal).
New drum instrument: v0 Hat (Hi-hat), a hybrid hi-hat instrument (see v0 Hat).
New drum instrument: v0 Kick (Kick), a hybrid kick drum instrument (see v0 Kick).
New drum instrument: v0 Snare (Snare), a hybrid snare drum instrument (see v0 Snare).
New drum instrument: v0 Tom (Tom), a hybrid tom tom instrument (see v0 Tom).
New drum instrument: v0 Zap Kick (Kick), a psy-inspired kick drum instrument (see v0 Zap Kick).

Stepwise, a generative note effect / sequencer

New note sequencer device: Stepwise (Note FX), a playful, eight-row step sequencer that outputs notes while the global transport is playing (see Stepwise).
Related features make it easy to use multiple Stepwise devices, or note-generating Note Grid patches:
- Stepwise passes any incoming notes thru, so multiple devices can be placed in a row for additional sequencer rows.
- Note FX Selector (Container) now has a Solo Active Layer option, overriding the normal selector behavior and activating only layer at a time (see Note FX Selector). This is good for switching between multiple Stepwise devices, for different patterns or variations.
To isolate individual rows of Stepwise, the Use MIDI Channels parameter can be turned on in the Inspector Panel. Note streams can them be separated in various ways, such as:
- By adding a Channel-16 (Note-driven) modulator on a following instrument or device (see Channel-16).
- Grid module: Note In (I/O) now has a MIDI Channel(s) parameter, to have a module only receive notes from a single channel, easily splitting note streams in any Grid patch (see Note In).
- By using the Note FX Layer device to segregate each row to its own chain. For example, see the factory preset "by MIDI Channel", which breaks apart a single note stream and offers individual note processing chains for each MIDI channel.
Related technology is now available in The Grid:
- New Grid module: Step Access (Phase), a transport-relative phase signal generator (always relative to bar 1 beat 1, like Stepwise), for reaching particular step ranges within data sequencers (see Step Access).
- New Grid module: Accents (Data), a tri-state event sequencer, with separate out ports for Normal and Accent events (see Accents).

Master Recording for New Workflows

The new Master Recording feature offers new possibilities and workflows (see Master Recording, to Directly Capture Audio).
The master track's level meters are always visible now along with Master Recording controls in the display section of the transport area (see Display Section).
Since it is independent of the global transport, you can now continuously record audio while retriggering or jumping the playhead. Or you can record audio without ever pressing play in the transport. After recording, you can preview or drop in the new audio — even to a Sampler or Convolution device — without interrupting the transport.

New Ways to Shift Audio

New audio FX device: Freq Shifter+ (Audio FX), an analog-style frequency shifter, with optional delay network and much more (see Freq Shifter+).
New Grid module: Freq Shift+ (Delay/FX), a module version of the Freq Shifter+ device, with optional polyphony, stereo signal-rate control, and a special Keytrack mode (see Freq Shift+).
New Grid module: Pitch Shift (Delay/FX), a pitch-transposing module, with keytracking, grain control, and the ability to phase modulate any signal, etc. (see Pitch Shift).
Related technology now available in The Grid:
- New Grid module: Dome (Filter), provides any signal's real and imaginary portions, as well as its magnitude and phase (see Dome).

Audio System Overhaul

Audio devices can be set up in a more consistent way, with options to hide or favorite ports for program-wide choosers (see Audio Settings, and Combined Audio Devices).
Multiple audio interfaces can now be part of a Combined Audio Device, made within Bitwig Studio on macOS and Linux (see Multichannel Audio Interface).
When new audio interfaces are found, they can be directly switched to via notification (see Audio Settings, and Combined Audio Devices).
Audio interface switching now happens more quickly, keeping the engine alive whenever possible.
Audio interface ports are now automatically configured, when possible.
New special configurations are available, such as System Out to follow the OS-selected output, and System In + Out to follow the OS-chosen output and input.
Multiple speakers can now be enabled at once from the Output Monitoring Panel (see Multichannel Audio Interface).

Other new things include:

Projects and presets now load faster on all computers, and subsequent loads are even faster because of optimized caching.
New Grid module: CV Pitch In (I/O), a specialized input module, with DC and AC modes, as well as Octave Range, Root Key, and Smoothing parameters (see CV Pitch In).
The Bounce function now has an In-Place toggle, allowing full configuration of the Bounce In Place function (see The Bounce Function).
Additional Bounce In Place functions have been added, with the original function — renamed Bounce In Place (Pre-FX) — joined by Bounce In Place (Pre-Fader) and Bounce In Place (Post-Fader).
Various Audio Import settings have been adjusted (see Behavior Settings).
The original E- drum family is now renamed as the v1 family, so:
- E-Clap (Clap) is now v1 Clap (see v1 Clap).
- E-Cowbell (Percussion) is now v1 Cowbell (see v1 Cowbell).
- E-Hat (Hi-hat) is now v1 Hat (see v1 Hat).
- E-Kick (Kick) is now v1 Kick (see v1 Kick).
- E-Snare (Snare) is now v1 Snare (see v1 Snare).
- E-Tom (Tom) is now v1 Tom (see v1 Tom).

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