Bitwig 5 is up

[Ou_Tis]

Wonder if they're stalling on midi comping because they think clip launcher is an adequate workaround. It's not, especially for MPE. When I tried it I found it very buggy, though I guess I should try it again in 4.4.10.

Even if I went to the trouble of doing it in Cubase instead, there's no way to export the MPE note expressions from Cubase to Bitwig. IDK about FL Studio---haven't used it in ages but it does have midi comping, and Bitwig can import FL Studio project files. But it's not clear from the documentation whether that includes MPE note expression data:

https://www.bitwig.com/support/technica ... ts-flp-41/

"What's Imported
Channels (FL) are converted to Tracks (BW). Supported channel types are audio, VST2/VST3 instrument channels, and sampler channels. Native instrument channels are imported as empty instrument tracks.
The first Playlist (FL) is imported as the arrangement, with its patterns & audio events converted into Arranger clips.
Patterns (FL) are imported as Bitwig scenes, with a clip created for each used channel.
Insert mixer tracks (FL) are converted to tracks, or group tracks (if multiple Channels were routed to it).
Not Imported
Any automation (clips or events)"

Guess it probably wouldn't work, since the section on importing Ableton projects specifically says:

"What's Imported

MIDI clip features (such as MPE, note chance, and velocity spread) and audio clip features (like pitch/volume modulation and warping) will be imported as closely as possible."

https://www.bitwig.com/support/technica ... ts-als-40/

I have some old free Ableton Lite licenses somewhere but I think they're for versions from before Ableton added MPE support. Ableton "Intro" does have MPE and midi comping, so I guess that would be sufficient if I bounced the rest of the track?... If the note expression conversion is good....

So I guess bouncing and looping the section is still the best workaround. Groan....

It looks like my old unused Ableton Lite serial will work for version 11, which does have MPE, but midi comping is conspicuously absent from the feature list, so I'd assume it doesn't have it.

https://www.ableton.com/en/products/live-lite/features/

[pdxindy]

I have some old free Ableton Lite licenses somewhere but I think they're for versions from before Ableton added MPE support. Ableton "Intro" does have MPE and midi comping, so I guess that would be sufficient if I bounced the rest of the track?... If the note expression conversion is good....

So I guess bouncing and looping the section is still the best workaround. Groan....

Live does not record the midi channels of notes... so that wont work.

[F.X.Randomiz]

You can right click on individual collections and select "Add to Quick Sources" to add them to the list of icons on the left side on the popup browser or side browser for quick access

Well, doing this you will then look at several dozens of one and the same icon in the list of icons on the left side. To read which collection each of them represents, you need to hoover over each icon. That's not quite what I would call "quick access".....

[pdxindy]

You can right click on individual collections and select "Add to Quick Sources" to add them to the list of icons on the left side on the popup browser or side browser for quick access

Well, doing this you will then look at several dozens of one and the same icon in the list of icons on the left side. To read which collection each of them represents, you need to hoover over each icon. That's not quite what I would call "quick access".....

Yeah, there should be a couple icon options... You can at least give them colors

Send a beta report in about it

[duanosforde]

I'm not a tinkerer nor do I make experimental stuff. Is it too much to ask to get audio quantization and groove templates at least? I'm sure this update is exciting to some but frankly it's been almost a year between updates (4.3 came out in June of 2022) and this doesn't feel like a years worth of updates to me.

Audio quantization and groove templates Would be a cool addition. Have you sent those in as suggestions to Bitwig? They do listen to well reasoned user input

I am thinking You can make groove templates with the added global modulation system. previously, I have been using the note delay container, setting the delay time to 1/16 then modulating the slider with a bi-polar step sequencer modulator to affect the nudge timing amount +/- on each track (which was a pain to manage separately). Now it looks like I can set up the modulator on the project and control everything from there then you can save these as presets. Which is great, i haven't been able to test this theory (I don't have an active plan), but will eventually. Definitely not studio one user friendly but I'd say more flexible especially when combining with other containers, note grid etc.

[JHernandez]

You can right click on individual collections and select "Add to Quick Sources" to add them to the list of icons on the left side on the popup browser or side browser for quick access

Well, doing this you will then look at several dozens of one and the same icon in the list of icons on the left side. To read which collection each of them represents, you need to hoover over each icon. That's not quite what I would call "quick access".....

Yeah, there should be a couple icon options... You can at least give them colors

Send a beta report in about it

^Yeah, ideally the side browser should open to a chosen default position/view. This is done by saving as template before, or at least it was, haven't looked into since, and don't know about v5.

[JHernandez]

I'm not a tinkerer nor do I make experimental stuff. Is it too much to ask to get audio quantization and groove templates at least? I'm sure this update is exciting to some but frankly it's been almost a year between updates (4.3 came out in June of 2022) and this doesn't feel like a years worth of updates to me.

Audio quantization and groove templates Would be a cool addition. Have you sent those in as suggestions to Bitwig? They do listen to well reasoned user input

I am thinking You can make groove templates with the added global modulation system. previously, I have been using the note delay container, setting the delay time to 1/16 then modulating the slider with a bi-polar step sequencer modulator to affect the nudge timing amount +/- on each track (which was a pain to manage separately). Now it looks like I can set up the modulator on the project and control everything from there then you can save these as presets. Which is great, i haven't been able to test this theory (I don't have an active plan), but will eventually. Definitely not studio one user friendly but I'd say more flexible especially when combining with other containers, note grid etc.

I saw Polarity experimenting with mod > tempo to create interesting grooves in his "Bitwig v5 is here!" vid. Pretty cool but a proper groove system would be appreciated I think.

[duanosforde]

I'm not a tinkerer nor do I make experimental stuff. Is it too much to ask to get audio quantization and groove templates at least? I'm sure this update is exciting to some but frankly it's been almost a year between updates (4.3 came out in June of 2022) and this doesn't feel like a years worth of updates to me.

Audio quantization and groove templates Would be a cool addition. Have you sent those in as suggestions to Bitwig? They do listen to well reasoned user input

I am thinking You can make groove templates with the added global modulation system. previously, I have been using the note delay container, setting the delay time to 1/16 then modulating the slider with a bi-polar step sequencer modulator to affect the nudge timing amount +/- on each track (which was a pain to manage separately). Now it looks like I can set up the modulator on the project and control everything from there then you can save these as presets. Which is great, i haven't been able to test this theory (I don't have an active plan), but will eventually. Definitely not studio one user friendly but I'd say more flexible especially when combining with other containers, note grid etc.

I saw Polarity experimenting with mod > tempo to create interesting grooves in his "Bitwig v5 is here!" vid. Pretty cool but a proper groove system would be appreciated I think.

I totally agree, hopefully in 5.1, (cough* along with ARA, chord/arranger tracks, multi out exports without having to route them individually to separate tracks, MIDI comping). Kinda holding off to upgrade until at least two of those things materializes. I am a gear nerd so probably wont be holding long though lol.

[Dostoyevsky]

7hwq9m.jpg

[Greenstorm33]

I'm not a tinkerer nor do I make experimental stuff. Is it too much to ask to get audio quantization and groove templates at least? I'm sure this update is exciting to some but frankly it's been almost a year between updates (4.3 came out in June of 2022) and this doesn't feel like a years worth of updates to me.

Audio quantization and groove templates Would be a cool addition. Have you sent those in as suggestions to Bitwig? They do listen to well reasoned user input

I am thinking You can make groove templates with the added global modulation system. previously, I have been using the note delay container, setting the delay time to 1/16 then modulating the slider with a bi-polar step sequencer modulator to affect the nudge timing amount +/- on each track (which was a pain to manage separately). Now it looks like I can set up the modulator on the project and control everything from there then you can save these as presets. Which is great, i haven't been able to test this theory (I don't have an active plan), but will eventually. Definitely not studio one user friendly but I'd say more flexible especially when combining with other containers, note grid etc.

I saw Polarity experimenting with mod > tempo to create interesting grooves in his "Bitwig v5 is here!" vid. Pretty cool but a proper groove system would be appreciated I think.

I totally agree, hopefully in 5.1, (cough* along with ARA, chord/arranger tracks, multi out exports without having to route them individually to separate tracks, MIDI comping). Kinda holding off to upgrade until at least two of those things materializes. I am a gear nerd so probably wont be holding long though lol.

I said it earlier in the thread but I'm reeeeaaaallly hoping that a more robust groove system with audio quantization is the endgame for the onset detection improvements in this release.

[duanosforde]

7hwq9m.jpg

Man can only dream

[SamDi]

New browser is cluttered and not user friendly at all. My old collections are there - but they're all empty. There is no (obvious) way to add new items to them. New "smart" collections are actually filters.
How to create list/collection/folder/whatever with e.g. "only 10 VSTis out of 110 installed"?

The browser is going into the complete wrong direction IMHO. What needed me one or two clicks in version 4 does now take the double click amount. I could freely filter for vendur or category with one click. Now I need to choose filter type first for selecting the according item.

And who had this f***king idea, that when I insert an instrument, that I want to see all these crappy BW presets? It fells like bloatware and I found until now no chance to set this behavior off. I don't want to see any preset, when I want to choose a plugin.

Furthermore now any smartcollection is no text anymore but all the same icon.
Who from product management does think, that this will be any improvement?

I think, I should write them a feedback email to state, that I am not happy at all with this

[j wazza]

The browser is going into the complete wrong direction IMHO. What needed me one or two clicks in version 4 does now take the double click amount. I could freely filter for vendur or category with one click. Now I need to choose filter type first for selecting the according item.

And who had this f***king idea, that when I insert an instrument, that I want to see all these crappy BW presets? It fells like bloatware and I found until now no chance to set this behavior off. I don't want to see any preset, when I want to choose a plugin.

Furthermore now any smartcollection is no text anymore but all the same icon.
Who from product management does think, that this will be any improvement?

I think, I should write them a feedback email to state, that I am not happy at all with this

Maybe they should give people the option of using the old browser, or give people settings for the browser so it works the way you want. I did find the old browser wasn't that great but that doesn't mean the new one will be any better. I think they said that search results now show up plugins, presets etc all in one place, but I definitely don't want that as it gets cluttered enough already, I want it to show just 1 type

[Greenstorm33]

New browser is cluttered and not user friendly at all. My old collections are there - but they're all empty. There is no (obvious) way to add new items to them. New "smart" collections are actually filters.
How to create list/collection/folder/whatever with e.g. "only 10 VSTis out of 110 installed"?

The browser is going into the complete wrong direction IMHO. What needed me one or two clicks in version 4 does now take the double click amount. I could freely filter for vendur or category with one click. Now I need to choose filter type first for selecting the according item.

And who had this f***king idea, that when I insert an instrument, that I want to see all these crappy BW presets? It fells like bloatware and I found until now no chance to set this behavior off. I don't want to see any preset, when I want to choose a plugin.

Furthermore now any smartcollection is no text anymore but all the same icon.
Who from product management does think, that this will be any improvement?

I think, I should write them a feedback email to state, that I am not happy at all with this

Same impression after a play with the beta last night. I was hoping it was a user issue and there was some way to get it to behave more like the old browser. It definitely feels cluttered and it takes more actions to do the same things. Not a fan.

[mazecrawler]

Maybe they should give people the option of using the old browser, or give people settings for the browser so it works the way you want.

Good ideas there.
I've even tried to add my custom tag (like, quick way to access my selection of plugs) when saw this on BW 5 page: "The new browsers implement a modern, flexible approach that does away with hierarchies."
...but no luck.