KVR Audio

cowby · Post by **cowby** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:28 am

Hi all,

Been using S1 for 2 years and I have Cubase 7 as well (less use). Mine gears includes Novation UL, Virus TI2 and Maschine Studio and not to mention some pop of the town soft synths.

I mainly do 80% of MIDI editing and 20% with sample (like drum / fx loops for layering to Maschine) and I seldom do the recording from my gears (no GT no vocal).

I know very little of bitwig but only know they are now onsale and I read from some other forum that ppl said it has a pretty good workflow which can speed up the process. I didn't know the how good is built-in synths and effect. I didn't use bitwig as DJing or live performance.... And as you may know.. Switching DAW from A to B like switching OS (more or less). Please anyone can tell me if it is wise to switch from S1 to Bigwig.

Kind regards!
Cowby

Ogopogo · Post by **Ogopogo** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 4:49 am

I'd say try the demo and you'll know for sure. I use Bitwig but I've have barely dipped my toes into cubase. Bitwig seems to have a overall simpler more steamlined concept and interface. It's still missing some stuff though, like group tracks, input quantize, other big things and a lot of little things. Seems to be coming along nicely though. Right now it doesn't support vst multiout either but the upcoming 1.1 patch has that and should be in a couple months or less so that's pretty much sorted. Whenever you hear about Cubase you hear about in depth midi editing and I doubt Bitwig can stand up to some of the more complex stuff you can do in Cubase but there is some nice stuff like layered (multitrack) editing, and toggling between track based or clip based editing, and a few tools, and the inspector makes things easier.

Bitwig has the clip launcher of course which enables a totally different way of working than a linear daw; it's not just for performance, it helps with writing as you don't have to constantly move clips and loop points around in the arrange view, rather you just trigger what clips you want to hear at that moment. You probably need to use it for a bit to appreciate what it does and if its good for you.

Not sure about what sounds Cubase comes with but what Bitwig comes with is the fundamentals I guess. A polysynth that people seem to like, an fm synth, some nice sampled instruments, a few cool drum samples, a healthy bunch of fx including midi fx. Once again it's up to you if you like what it has to offer but it sounds like you've got a lot of your own stuff anyway. I'm not crazy about most of it to be honest but there are some good nuggets in there and I have never had any great love for software synths and fx so I would say the same about any daw. I do love stuff like the drum machine and sampler though that give you a lot functionality that is integrated with the daw, for example with the drum machine device you can add whatever plug or sample you like on any pad and automatically get channels for each sound in the mixer instead of having to deal with premixing in a plug or manually routing through 8 or 16 outputs. Grouping stuff and organizing presets is also really easy with nested fx, and the modulation system is very simple and powerful.

Overall I think Bitwig is a nice daw, very streamlined and simple to use, good interface, and a bright future with cool stuff like the modular system and other the net collaboration that will come in later versions.

Dazed Veins · Post by **Dazed Veins** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 5:20 am

Bitwig is still developing. However, great GUI, fast workflow. If you have the patience I would go for it. It definitely is the DAW of the future for me. Some people find the GUI cluttered but I do regard such opinions as being nonsense; you can quickly adjust the screen content to your likes in every way you want.

xbitz · Post by **xbitz** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 5:37 am

1.1 is just around the corner (zillions of new things will be included), should wait and test it before make any final decision, u can start watching Brian Bollman series about BWS meantime https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... aRHYWDncW8

working with MIDI episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7_c8XHCukw

Lee702 · Post by **Lee702** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 7:48 am

Demo the hell out of it before spending another $300.

4damind · Post by **4damind** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 8:57 am

Hmm... maybe in the future. They working hard to fix all the bugs and implement the missing features but it's IMO too early. I would wait for the next release (1.1?) and demo it.
But I would not expect a competitor to Cubase or S1. Bitwig will never have the same features like Cubase. So if you need some of the features you need a different DAW besides Bitwig.
I think it's a good idea to use Bitwig as a scratchpad and finish the song in Cubase.

Ogopogo · Post by **Ogopogo** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:24 am

4damind wrote:Hmm... maybe in the future. They working hard to fix all the bugs and implement the missing features but it's IMO too early... ...Bitwig will never have the same features like Cubase. So if you need some of the features you need a different DAW besides Bitwig.

Valid points. That's why you need to demo. It comes down to whether it has the specific things that help you make music and nobody can really tell you that, you just have to see for yourself. You could end up thinking it already has everything you need and the rest is just gravy or you might find you move at a snails pace compared to Cubase.

dsan@mail.com · Post by **dsan@mail.com** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 12:34 pm

I have the three mentioned here (and several others) and can say I find Bitwig the easiest to use, regardless of its short comings.

In its present form it is more than adequate for me to complete a song; composition, mix to master.

Now, having said that, what works for me may not for the next person. Reading the forum I see many that get much more involved and needing more than BWS has to offer at this time.

As others have stated - DEMO. It is the ONLY way you will know if BWS is for you.

Happy Musiking!
dsan

SODDI · Post by **SODDI** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:00 pm

I have Cubase 7.05 - I'm not happy with it, but I can use it. I am a 20 year Cubase user, I will not buy another Steinberg product.

I figure it has a couple two years left of viability, plenty of time to decide on a DAW, more than enough time to demo Bitwig, Reaper and other DAWS.

I'm going to give Bitwig a year of active duty before I seriously consider it.

So to extend your metaphor, I'm not so much going to jump ship as I am going to saunter jauntily down to some more hospitable port in the near-ish future.

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 10:13 pm

It depends, do you like cats?

Nothing does everything. Dealing with hosts shortcomings is the most frustrating thing. Plug ins are just rad. 99.9% of what I've used works and works well. Hosts are just a mess.

@bitwig: I wish I knew for sure what 1.1 was bringing. Considering their past it's tough to want to jump on that wagon. They are small and don't work fast. Nothing against them, bitwig has promise but I already have hosts that do what I need mostly.

I'll take a page from "that" school and say that if you can't do it in cubase, you probably can't do it. Yes, I've been converted.

AmyTree · Post by **AmyTree** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 11:11 pm

hibidy wrote:It depends, do you like cats?

...

@bitwig: I wish I knew for sure what 1.1 was bringing. Considering their past it's tough to want to jump on that wagon. They are small and don't work fast. Nothing against them, bitwig has promise but I already have hosts that do what I need mostly.

You know at some point Bitwig will be purrfect.

LawrenceF · Post by **LawrenceF** » Sat Oct 18, 2014 11:42 pm

dsan@mail.com wrote:As others have stated - DEMO. It is the ONLY way you will know if {anything that you've never really used} is for you.

Happy Musiking!
dsan

Fixed that for ya.

hibidy · Post by **hibidy** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 12:38 am

AmyTree wrote:
hibidy wrote:It depends, do you like cats?

...

@bitwig: I wish I knew for sure what 1.1 was bringing. Considering their past it's tough to want to jump on that wagon. They are small and don't work fast. Nothing against them, bitwig has promise but I already have hosts that do what I need mostly.
You know at some point Bitwig will be purrfect.

Dazed Veins · Post by **Dazed Veins** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 1:26 am

Close to perfection FTFY

Muziksculp · Post by **Muziksculp** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 1:48 am

Cubase 8 will most likely be released before Bitwig Studio 2.0 , which might not materialize until mid-2015 ! That's a long wait for BW-Studio to mature. So, you might want to wait for Cubase 8, and see what Steinberg has to offer. It is not too far fetched that Cubase 8 will be released this year. But then again, no guarantees that will happen.

Well.. I'm also very interested in adding Bitwig Studio once it is at 1.1 as an additional DAW option to Cubase 7.5, which is my primary DAW of choice. Hopefully BW-Studio 1.1. will be released during Nov. or early Dec. 2014.

imho. Bitwig Studio has a very bright future, but I only see it as a serious option when it gets to Version 2. and above. Currently it is too much of a stripped down version, and needs quite a bit of time to mature.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

Wise to Jump ship from S1/Cubase to Bitwig