Does Bitwig seem like a daw that very few people want? Kind of a rant I guess.

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Another thing about Bitwig's Arranger view... I was just commenting to someone about the Connect 4/12 and I basically said "I swear just fixing Bitwig’s shitty Arranger zooming would be worth it." And I say this as a Bitwig Enjoyer. I love Bitwig.

The sad thing is it really would. I could picture spending $600 for this.

And I'm only slightly joking. Like, I have spent $600 for worse things.
Last edited by stoopicus on Thu Jul 10, 2025 11:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Did Ableton fix PDC eventually?

We could also start posting catpics again to wait for Bitwig 6. Just saying :)
JamWide - a cross-platform Ninjam client for DAWs

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stoopicus wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 11:00 am Another thing about Bitwig's Arranger view... I was just commenting to someone about the Connect 4/12 and I basically said "I swear just fixing Bitwig’s shitty Arranger zooming would be worth it." And I say this as a Bitwig Enjoyer. I love Bitwig.

The sad thing is it really would. I could picture spending $600 for this.

And I'm only slightly joking. Like, I have spent $600 for worse things.
I feel like most of us have their pet issue that we'd pay $600 for a fix. I'd pitch in on the arranger zooming thing though, that one bugs the heck out of me too, and I swear I have issues with it that nobody else complains about.

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Zoom in the editor windows needs sorting out just as much.
It drives me mad when I open a clip and then have to scroll around to hunt down the midi notes.

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slackhead wrote: Fri Jul 11, 2025 4:38 am Zoom in the editor windows needs sorting out just as much.
It drives me mad when I open a clip and then have to scroll around to hunt down the midi notes.
ha ha ha exactly ... you have to double click on the clip a second time to get the notes into focus ... that's so stupid and annoying. let's wait for clips+ it will solve it.

about cpu usage: I tried to use the new clipper and compressor+ recently, but this got my project into cpu trouble. after deleting them and replacing them with free plugins, it became better. that's by the way a problem with some of the recent updates. they are giving us tools in categories a.) mostly everybody has a few other plugins already, b.) promise to make it "better" (aka differently aka idiosyncrazy: huh, what, a multi-band-not-multi-band compressor?) and c.) on the "cost" of comparitively rather high cpu usage ... ontop all presets seem to have gone. can't find any of these in the new browser since a few weeks ... all I want to do if I click the "preset" button on a device, is to see the presets of that device top most. you might now say: you have to go delete your cache and reindex everything ... which is btw something I read in different threads dropping in forums on a constant rate: reindex stuff. seriously?!
Now we could start to talk about grid and even notegrid. have you ever tried to split a chord into it's notes and treat each note differently, like the bottom note will be assigned cha1, second from bottom cha2 and so on? it seems not possible. I don't get why. the abstraction level even in note grid is mostly that of a analogue hardware modular system. why? we are in a all digital daw? on top there's no ~gen nodes like in cycling74 max or rnbo ...

Nevertheless Bitwig is my DAW as of today, though it's a love&hate relationship. Many things need improvement and for me personaly v6 is going to be the litmus test in many ways: Will it bring features, that improve my workflow. Will this features help increase attention on Bitwig overall ... let's wait till end of summer and we'll see.

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I would like to like Bitwig but the DAW comes up short from many different directions, given my multi-instrumental knowledge base and comparison to other DAWs I own or have tried. Bitwig has issues with my plug ins. It won’t, but inconsistently, recognize iLok synths. Bitwig is not as easy to use for live performance as Ableton Live. Bitwig does not offer the linear abilities and notation abilities of Logic Pro. Bitwig has constant upgrade fees. Logic Pro has none. Cubase sometimes has enough content to justify an update. Ableton Live has not justified updating to 12. I do not care for Reaper, FL studios, and reason due to workflow, capabilities, and/or stability.

So, not perfect, but the best fit by far for me is Logic Pro. Maybe Bitwig can justify a purchase from me in the future. $79 cross grade maximum is what I am willing to pay plus much more reasonable update prices/ better content. The DAW market is quite competitive. Compete or die.

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HTT wrote: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:45 pm It won’t, but inconsistently, recognize iLok synths.
iLok problems are always iLok's fault. That system is horrible and does extremely sketchy things to the application process that it runs in. If some iLok-using plugin doesn't work, just assume 100% of the time it's iLok's fault. Behind the scenes, DAW developers already have to bend over backwards to make them work at all.
HTT wrote: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:45 pm Bitwig has constant upgrade fees. Logic Pro has none.
Logic Pro is funded by the second wealthiest company in the world. They could charge $1 for it and it would make no difference to them. Logic used to cost a lot more, before Apple bought it and integrated it into their overall product strategy. (Basically, subsidizing its development as a way to further their platform overall.) I realize this doesn't necessarily matter to you, as a user, because the judgment is being made based on how much you have to pay additionally for the DAW after already buying your computer. But when doing commentary on the state of different DAWs and the industry, it's worth paying attention to.
HTT wrote: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:45 pm Ableton Live has not justified updating to 12.
Personally, I thought the Live 12 upgrade was fantastic.

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I just wish Logic would fix its bugginess with plugins resizing. They are generally good with bugfixes but this one has gone on for years.

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tumface wrote: Sat Jul 12, 2025 11:54 pm
HTT wrote: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:45 pm It won’t, but inconsistently, recognize iLok synths.
iLok problems are always iLok's fault. That system is horrible and does extremely sketchy things to the application process that it runs in. If some iLok-using plugin doesn't work, just assume 100% of the time it's iLok's fault. Behind the scenes, DAW developers already have to bend over backwards to make them work at all.
HTT wrote: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:45 pm Bitwig has constant upgrade fees. Logic Pro has none.
Logic Pro is funded by the second wealthiest company in the world. They could charge $1 for it and it would make no difference to them. Logic used to cost a lot more, before Apple bought it and integrated it into their overall product strategy. (Basically, subsidizing its development as a way to further their platform overall.) I realize this doesn't necessarily matter to you, as a user, because the judgment is being made based on how much you have to pay additionally for the DAW after already buying your computer. But when doing commentary on the state of different DAWs and the industry, it's worth paying attention to.
HTT wrote: Sat Jul 12, 2025 8:45 pm Ableton Live has not justified updating to 12.
Personally, I thought the Live 12 upgrade was fantastic.
Thanks for sharing your perspective/opinions.

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gulugulufish wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 7:05 pm
stoopicus wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 11:00 am Another thing about Bitwig's Arranger view... I was just commenting to someone about the Connect 4/12 and I basically said "I swear just fixing Bitwig’s shitty Arranger zooming would be worth it." And I say this as a Bitwig Enjoyer. I love Bitwig.

The sad thing is it really would. I could picture spending $600 for this.

And I'm only slightly joking. Like, I have spent $600 for worse things.
I feel like most of us have their pet issue that we'd pay $600 for a fix. I'd pitch in on the arranger zooming thing though, that one bugs the heck out of me too, and I swear I have issues with it that nobody else complains about.
It would be an absolute sh*t show, but the idea of crowd funded DAW development is amusing.

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machinesworking wrote: Sun Jul 13, 2025 3:07 am It would be an absolute sh*t show, but the idea of crowd funded DAW development is amusing.
I'm just... like... mindblown at the kind of kitchen sink that would result from this.

Like I hope someone tries it just to grab some popcorn for the slow-mo trainwreck.

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They will never ever fix the "fullscreen mouse cursor" problem on MacOS. :roll:
In their opinion it's aaaight... minimal... we don't care much
MacMini M2 Pro MacOS Tahoe ……… Reason 14

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lb24569 wrote: Thu Jul 10, 2025 8:10 am Wait for Bitwig 6 to drop, which should be just around the corner. It's a highly anticipated update that promises major overhauls to the piano roll and arranger, bringing them up to par with other leading DAWs. Once Bitwig catches up in these key areas, I expect it will attract a much wider audience.
Their crowning achievement and USP is modulation, from granular Grid-based instruments and effects to endless plugin parameter modulation to DAW-wide shenanigans. There is no DAW that comes even close to.

However, in terms of more traditional DAW features, Bitwig is behind, by a lot. It's instruments and effects are mostly just tools, with with much of a sonic character, or factory sounds and presets that make them stand out. Even compared to Ableton that, if you don't use any of those sound packs is at least mediocre when it comes to the quality of presets and sounds, Bitwig is just bad.

But if you pair it with an interface with CV outputs and a modular synth, this DAW is way ahead of its competition. I wouldn't be surprised if, down the line, they partner with a Eurorack company for the ultimate implementation of Bitwig into a modular rack. Or with VCV Rack to implement that side more. It's not the biggest market niche, but it's one that, judging by what I heard and saw at Superbooth, is filled with Bitwig fans.

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sQeetz wrote: Sun Jul 13, 2025 4:50 am In their opinion it's aaaight... minimal... we don't care much
The issue is probably disproportionately hard to fix, doesn't mean they don't care and it probably bugs them just as much as you.
There are many such issues at my job, I wish I could just snap my finger and magically fix them but that's not exactly how software development works.

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Dionysos wrote: Sun Jul 13, 2025 1:58 pm The issue is probably disproportionately hard to fix, doesn't mean they don't care and it probably bugs them just as much as you.
There are many such issues at my job, I wish I could just snap my finger and magically fix them but that's not exactly how software development works.
Probably. The way I circumvent it is by typing

Code: Select all

defaults write com.bitwig.studio AppleMenuBarVisibleInFullscreen -bool true
Then the menubar is always visible although it has no purpose for Bitwig.... but the mouse pointer behaves as it should at least....
MacMini M2 Pro MacOS Tahoe ……… Reason 14

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