Bitwig Studio 4 announced (+beta available)!

[antic604]

Waveforms are now shown in a Perceptual scale by default, for easier reading (setting is in the Dashboard under Settings > User Interface > View > Waveform display)

Can anybody please explain what this means...

Does it upscale the waveform display for quieter clips that one can finally now see the waveform??

It's interesting, because the old "linear" mode seems technically correct, e.g. a clip that's -6dB looks like it's half the height (half the volume) of 0dB one. And the one -12dB is half the height of -6dB, and so on. Whereas the new "perceptual" mode the clips get progressively less tall, but that simple relation isn't there anymore. I'd even go as far to say that they should name them the other way around, as the old/linear shows change in waveform height the way we perceive the loudness...

LINEAR:



PERCEPTUAL:




But I'm not complaining - I thus far avoided working especially with bounced audio, because I'm typically somewhere around -24 to -18dB on a track, so I couldn't see shit there.

Great job by devs, especially because we could avoid the confusing data zoom from Studio One:

[MuzikFreq]

Omg this has been the best news I have heard as I bounce a ton of audio and was beginning to get irritated because I couldn't see squat

[Trancit]

...
But I'm not complaining - I thus far avoided working especially with bounced audio, because I'm typically somewhere around -24 to -18dB on a track, so I couldn't see shit there.

Great job by devs, especially because we could avoid the confusing data zoom from Studio One:

Exactly my thoughts...

While I see the importance that the waveform display get scaled by the clip volume There was always the problem with bounced audio and nearly blank clips...

I was never a fan of data zooming as it always worked on the whole project and dropping in a normalized file ended up in seeing just a black block...

With this new method it seems that Bitwig nailed it!!

[pdxindy]

With this new method it seems that Bitwig nailed it!!

Having used it for almost 2 weeks now, I am very happy with it. Took me a little bit to adjust my visual expectation and now I cannot imagine going back!

[antic604]

With this new method it seems that Bitwig nailed it!!

Having used it for almost 2 weeks now, I am very happy with it. Took me a little bit to adjust my visual expectation and now I cannot imagine going back!

Indeed!

But now it's even more jarring that MIDI notes are so thin (regardless of clip's height) that they're hardly readable. I guess I've a next feature request cut out for me, @Pie

[Trancit]

With this new method it seems that Bitwig nailed it!!

Having used it for almost 2 weeks now, I am very happy with it. Took me a little bit to adjust my visual expectation and now I cannot imagine going back!

Out of curiosity, could you post a screenshot how an audio clip at i.e. -15db looks now in the arranger compared to the old system?

[pdxindy]

With this new method it seems that Bitwig nailed it!!

Having used it for almost 2 weeks now, I am very happy with it. Took me a little bit to adjust my visual expectation and now I cannot imagine going back!

Out of curiosity, could you post a screenshot how an audio clip at i.e. -15db looks now in the arranger compared to the old system?

Check the graphic up above that antic posted. It has -6, -12 and -24 of both

[machinesworking]

Digital Performer has per track data zoom. I didn't even know other DAWs do some sort of global zoom, that's pretty dumb IMO.
Glad Bitwig didn't go there, but I would have preferred per track zoom, mostly I don't use it but it's nice to have for quiet parts.

[antic604]

Digital Performer has per track data zoom. I didn't even know other DAWs do some sort of global zoom, that's pretty dumb IMO.
Glad Bitwig didn't go there, but I would have preferred per track zoom, mostly I don't use it but it's nice to have for quiet parts.

Isn't that confusing if two tracks are at different zoom levels and look to be the same volume but really are not?

----------------------

Anyway, out of curiosity I made another test, because the name "perceptual" was bugging me and I was hoping that perhaps they're using Fletcher-Munson equal-loudness stuff to adjust the hight of specific frequency bands differently depending on ludness, but no.

Here I'm showing an audio clip - a sine wave going from 20Hz to 20kHz over 2 bars - at different volume levels and it's flat like Live's GUI

[PieBerger]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0, Beta 4 [released 11 June 2021]
New Features

Added track lane height zoom functions (assignable via Dashboard > Settings > Shortcuts)

[antic604]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0, Beta 4 [released 11 June 2021]
New Features

Added track lane height zoom functions (assignable via Dashboard > Settings > Shortcuts)

Yay! Please tell me Ctrl+Alt+MW also works

[pdxindy]

Digital Performer has per track data zoom. I didn't even know other DAWs do some sort of global zoom, that's pretty dumb IMO.
Glad Bitwig didn't go there, but I would have preferred per track zoom, mostly I don't use it but it's nice to have for quiet parts.

Isn't that confusing if two tracks are at different zoom levels and look to be the same volume but really are not?

Yeah, I prefer a single effective global setting like Bitwig just implemented. Then once I am used to it, I always know the approx level by a glance at any clip or section of a clip.

[pdxindy]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0, Beta 4 [released 11 June 2021]
New Features

Added track lane height zoom functions (assignable via Dashboard > Settings > Shortcuts)

Have you tried it? It is only a key command to incrementally make all track heights bigger and another for smaller. The increments are small, so it takes multiple repeats and it does not include a vertical zoom to fit or by selection.

Not enough for I think

[antic604]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0, Beta 4 [released 11 June 2021]
New Features

Added track lane height zoom functions (assignable via Dashboard > Settings > Shortcuts)

Have you tried it? It is only a key command to incrementally make all track heights bigger and another for smaller. The increments are small, so it takes multiple repeats and it does not include a vertical zoom to fit or by selection.

Not enough for I think

I think the is because it's a small step in a direction that was uncharted so far. Hopefully MW gesture and properly working 'Z' is next, followed by mixed track height ideally.

[pdxindy]

Changes in Bitwig Studio 4.0, Beta 4 [released 11 June 2021]
New Features

Added track lane height zoom functions (assignable via Dashboard > Settings > Shortcuts)

Have you tried it? It is only a key command to incrementally make all track heights bigger and another for smaller. The increments are small, so it takes multiple repeats and it does not include a vertical zoom to fit or by selection.

Not enough for I think

I think the is because it's a small step in a direction that was uncharted so far. Hopefully MW gesture and properly working 'Z' is next, followed by mixed track height ideally.

I just sent a feature suggestion to Bitwig saying I would like the increments bigger. 1 = 3 was my suggestion. Have you tried it yet?