Bitwig 6 Beta coming soon

[pdxindy]

because Bitwig's Segments, Curves, etc. modulators don't let you switch between shapes or easily re-synchronize the timing using events from the song like notes after a bar of 2/4 instead of 4/4 or whatever.

Sometimes I've wanted a way to trigger modulators in some way besides notes... perhaps a trigger modulator.

[stoopicus]

because Bitwig's Segments, Curves, etc. modulators don't let you switch between shapes or easily re-synchronize the timing using events from the song like notes after a bar of 2/4 instead of 4/4 or whatever.

Sometimes I've wanted a way to trigger modulators in some way besides notes... perhaps a trigger modulator.

It feels like there should be a hacky way to do this now but I am still just using modulators in very basic ways

[xbitz]

Sorry. I wasn't trying to do one-upmanship. I was just showing you can do the same thing without making a complicated patch in Grid. (Also, you can switch between different envelopes in LFOTool with automation, which is an ongoing missing feature in Bitwig -- being able to switch between modulator shapes in a modulator for different parts of a song...)

The Wavetable LFO could do that, but we have no built-in way to draw individual waves so I've never used it.

but at least can import the Serum ones

( virus wavetables are still here https://www.dogsonacid.com/threads/viru ... um.780296/ and there are zillions in the official forum thread https://xferrecords.com/forums/serum/th ... les-thread )

[pdxindy]

The Wavetable LFO could do that, but we have no built-in way to draw individual waves so I've never used it.

but at least can import the Serum ones

Sure... for me, that's enough work that it crosses the threshold where I just won't bother.

[xbitz]

By the way, since I’ve got Serum open in front of me, I don’t know how widely known it is that you can just drag and drop to export the last played preset — so for example, transition FX can easily be dropped straight into the Bitwig Sampler, arranger etc. it eats up a ton of CPU, especially the effects slapped on the oscillators — if you don’t need them, better deactivate.


just so you know, yepp in Bitwig it’s no big deal to begin with, but still — saves you a step

[tumface]

By the way, since I’ve got Serum open in front of me, I don’t know how widely known it is that you can just drag and drop to export the last played preset — so for example, transition FX can easily be dropped straight into the Bitwig Sampler, arranger etc. it eats up a ton of CPU, especially the effects slapped on the oscillators — if you don’t need them, better deactivate.


just so you know, yepp in Bitwig it’s no big deal to begin with, but still — saves you a step

It's a great feature. Make sure you import the rendered audio file into your project folder, instead of leaving it in Serum 2's temporary audio folder, or update Serum 2 to 2.0.21. In 2.0.20 and earlier (but fixed in 2.0.21) Serum 2 would delete files older than 30 days in that temporary audio folder.

[koalaboy]

By the way, since I’ve got Serum open in front of me, I don’t know how widely known it is that you can just drag and drop to export the last played preset...

Wait, WHAT ?!?!

I think you've just sold me Serum (which I've been on the fence for a long time about). Are there any other synths that do this ? I'm used to drag/drop sequences but never audio of a preset

[xbitz]

By the way, since I’ve got Serum open in front of me, I don’t know how widely known it is that you can just drag and drop to export the last played preset...

Wait, WHAT ?!?!

I think you've just sold me Serum (which I've been on the fence for a long time about). Are there any other synths that do this ? I'm used to drag/drop sequences but never audio of a preset

Serum only exports the audio sequence for a given key from a preset — as far as I know, the only tools that can sample an entire preset are SampleRobot (which I don’t have) and the New Sonic Arts Freestyle wrapper’s Instrument Freeze, which loads it into a Nuance(also comes from New Sonic Arts) instance, and from there it can export to SFZ, so Bitwig can also use it.

voilá

but at least this works with any synth

[koalaboy]

Serum only exports the audio sequence for a given key — as far as I know, the only tools that can resample an entire preset are SampleRobot (which I don’t have) and the New Sonic Arts Freestyle wrapper’s Instrument Freeze, which loads it into Nuance, and from there it can export to SFZ, so Bitwig can also use it.

Ah, okay. Still very interesting.

I had been looking at SampleRobot lately so may still consider that. I tried NSA Freestyle a few times, but just didn't really get on with it, and the last time I tried it I had some system issues, so not keen on that. The video was a great demo though, thanks !

[EnGee]

I hope that Bitwig team really enhance the arrangement view workflow. For me, Live is ahead. Mainly I want key shortcuts for moving around the arrangement view! Come on Bitwig! This is so essential!
I can move easily in Live by just pressing the left and right arrow keys!
Second, I hope I’m missing something, how to communicate with my external synth/rompler (like MODX) by setting the midi bank select, sub bank and program change?
In Live I could set the midi clip preferences to a specific channel, bank, sub bank, program change numbers, so I don’t need to set it on my keyboard every time I open the song!
For me, these old fashion workflow ways are what I use mostly. I don’t care about 100 ways of modulation web or generative style. Am I in the minority now?
Anyway, I must thank Bitwig generosity for the latest update (my update plan has ended about a month ago, but I found a notification saying my plan includes this latest update)

[pdxindy]

Serum only exports the audio sequence for a given key from a preset — as far as I know, the only tools that can sample an entire preset are SampleRobot (which I don’t have) and the New Sonic Arts Freestyle wrapper’s Instrument Freeze, which loads it into a Nuance(also comes from New Sonic Arts) instance, and from there it can export to SFZ, so Bitwig can also use it.

Logic's Autosampler as well...

[ere2learn]

Renoise aswell

[wintoid]

Bliss sampler

[xbitz]

FL Studio can do this by default too on DAW level, since can see FLS in every BWS topics anyway...

Screenshot 2025-08-20 at 7.16.42.png

Now it’s really time for Bitwig 6 to come out. Good thing all these kinds of topics will sink into the ocean of oblivion.

based on the teaser they posted, the Bitwig team is bringing over Logic’s arranger

aaa.png

+automation clips, — now it’s just the piano roll that’s in question, the BWS piano roll is currently unsuitable for creating happy accidents — for that they’d need to bring over FL Studio’s PR tools. https://www.admiralbumblebee.com/music/ ... Tools.html the synergy of these (+ devices in BWS) would already be a level-up towards FLS We’ll see.

ps. btw, if I were doing it, I’d make it like Reason’s Delta MIDI Computer extension —just able to read from clips and print into clips, just like the Reason Players just on steroids. (with FLS PR tools in the nodes)

visual scripting in a Grid-like environment on a per-clip basis — that would already feel Bitwig enough for me, especially if it could be automated too, and then the clips would mutate in real time. There would be the base notes and the little blue notes showing the mutated state, just like with modulation — now this I can already see taking nine months of dev time

[tumface]

FL Studio can do this by default too on DAW level, since can see FLS in every BWS topics anyway...

That would be great. Especially something like folder clips.

Though, with regards to the piano roll...

Maybe I'm in an ever-shrinking group of people. I don't really want "happy accidents" in a piano roll editor, because I don't want to have accidents in the piano roll editor. I mean, it implies I did something unintended and it still sounded OK. Pretty much always in a piano roll editor, I'm editing with intent. I might not always know exactly which outcome I want. Like I have 3 viable choices for a note in a two part harmony that all sound good, so I'll try all 3 and listen back a few times and then pick the one I like the most. That sort of thing.

But I rarely want to do something like hit a random button or a procedural generator button and make a bunch of random or pseudo-random stuff in the piano roll until I get a "happy accident." And that's not really an accident, right? I'd be doing it on purpose. [1]

I tried out the chord stamping tool in FL just now, for the first time, and it's... OK. I guess there's nothing wrong with it. I don't know when I'd use it. Personally, naming the chord I used is something I do *after* I write it down. I don't usually think "maj7no5 with an inversion" if I'm in the middle of writing something out from scratch. I guess it could be useful in some cases, for me .

But, I think FL Studio's piano roll isn't the best because of the scripts and chord stamping and whatever. It's the best because all of the hit zones for the mouse interactions, the tools, the snapping, the modifier keys, all work well and fluidly together. The UI responds instantly with no lag (assuming some plugin's GUI isn't screwing it up) and nothing gets in your way for doing fast manual editing. Some of the extra tools are cool, but that's a bonus. FL Studio's piano roll was already one of the best before those things existed.

Even if you added all of this script tools and piano roll gimmicks to Bitwig, the piano roll editor would still not feel very good to use as the one in FL, because the hit zones, clicking and dragging, snapping and zoom persistence, etc. all kind of suck in Bitwig's piano roll editor. Random things get in your way, like the time selection bound grabbers. It's too hard to set the playback head to the correct location. Moving your mouse to the time bar causes it to change to weird magnifying glass that makes it hard to tell where the actual click target of the mouse cursor is. Death by a thousand cuts.

Well, OK, that's all just my opinion Different people will have different priorities depending on how they work and what they work on.

[1]: I lied, and there are a few times I use randomization in a piano roll. Usually for stuff like trying out random velocities on hi hat patterns in dance music. But it's kind of a fringe thing, for me.