Bitwig Connect 4/12

[webmob]

I found what I was looking for. The "Lindy 2m USB 2.0 Type C cable, Anthra Line", works perfectly, even under heavy mechanical stress, the connection remains stable, no matter which side I plug in or how I turn it. You can feel how securely it clicks into place as soon as you plug it in.
Now I can report the solution to the problem to support before they contact me. It's been a few days already.

from there German Site:
Professionelle USB 2.0 Typ C Stecker an C Stecker Kabel für hochperformante kommerzielle AV- und IT-Anwendungen
Unterstützt Datenraten von bis zu 480Mbit/s
Robustes PVC-Gehäuse mit vergoldeten Kontakten und Steckerhülsen
2-fach geschirmtes Kabel mit korrosionsbeständigem, verzinntem Kupferleiter
10 Jahre Garantie, mehr über Garantiebedingungen

[webmob]

Anyone using it with 250Ω headphones? Looks like the headphone output impedance is only 4Ω which is not promising.

Not the end of the world but surprising that on such a high end interface they didn't go with a 32Ω output impedance. Then again it's entirely bus powered and USB2 so maybe it's simply not meant to drive high impedance cans. Feels weird to need to buy a headphone amp with a $600 interface.

I have DT-880 pro and DT 770 250 ohms. The headphone amplifier sounds very good, but the volume doesn't quite match my Clarett+, although it's loud enough for mixing. With DT 770 80 ohms, everything sounds great, even when recording the Trumpet. The 990 PRO X (48 ohms) sounds excellent with the Connect.

Update:
I now have the DT 900 Pro X (48 ohms) as a replacement for my DT 880 Pro 250 ohms and am completely thrilled with how well they work with the Connect. In direct comparison with the Clarett+ headphone amplifier, I think they sound even better on the Connect and sound more relaxed, open, and detailed. However, the Clarett gets them considerably louder. They seem to work very well with bus-powered interfaces.
The Connect also gets them loud enough to record loud instruments. I'm becoming more and more enthusiastic about the Connect.

[stoopicus]

My 250Ω DT990Pros sound fine, it turns out.

Bitwig Mode and Scroll Mode are great. Question - I heard there was an update to make Bitwig Mode work for hovering over a plugin's UI too, is that the case? It works in the FX lane but not the plugin's GUI itself for me.

[KamalaKlub]

Even though I KNOW that I am still just scratching the surface of what Bitwig Connect can do — I am especially super impressed with the C/V control, and grateful it's every bit as rock solid as I had imagined and hoped it would be.
I still can't get my ES9 to behave nearly this reliably for the same tasks … e.g. sending GATE to advance clock on DFAM -and I must admit I have barely cracked open the manual - I was basically up and running with it as soon as I plugged it in

[kultschar]

Mine arrived today - solid / heavy bit of gear. Very good quality and a great first attempt! Was sending clock and reset to my modular in no time! Look forward to trying the Grid with my hardware in due course!!!

[stoopicus]

Some (so far) minor annoyances that may be a dealbreaker for some:

- Inputs 3 and 4 cannot Direct Monitor
- The gain on inputs 3 and 4 is fixed at either +0 or +12dB gain; even at +12dB line inputs can be too quiet. It feels like they are attenuated
- Inputs 3 and 4 are not balanced
- Inputs 3 and 4 are disabled as audio inputs at higher audio rates
- There is no ADAT to add more inputs, so this is all you get

As a result, the general feeling you get using it is that inputs 3 and 4 are actually just CV inputs, with a hack to support basic audio input. I am not sure I would consider this a true 4-input interface as two of the inputs only have (very) partial functionality compared to the other two.

On the other hand, both Bitwig Mode and Scroll Mode are awesome and very natural feeling, and the thing is a joy to use. It's also extremely well made.

[stoopicus]

Hmm, weird, it locked up today. Like hard crash, unresponsive.

[webmob]

Hmm, weird, it locked up today. Like hard crash, unresponsive.

I had two scenarios where the Connect did not respond.
1. The USB cable supplied was broken and the device was sometimes not recognized by the operating system. The lights on the Connect were lit as if everything was OK, but it wasn't working.
2. After starting up the computer with the Connect connected, there was an extremely loud noise coming from the speakers and all the lights on the Connect were on. This has not happened since.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[stoopicus]

Some (so far) minor annoyances that may be a dealbreaker for some:

- Inputs 3 and 4 cannot Direct Monitor

It's funny but this is annoying me way, way more than I thought. So much that I am now cable swapping with it with extension cables and just using inputs 1-2 linked when I want to monitor (which is often).

This device really needs ADAT and to allow direct monitoring more inputs; it would be basically perfect then. As it stands I might swap it out for an AudioFuse or an Apollo.

[webmob]

Some (so far) minor annoyances that may be a dealbreaker for some:

- Inputs 3 and 4 cannot Direct Monitor

It's funny but this is annoying me way, way more than I thought. So much that I am now cable swapping with it with extension cables and just using inputs 1-2 linked when I want to monitor (which is often).

I assign outputs 3 and/or 4 in Pipewire (Linux) directly to the outputs I want to use. This also allows me to send the mono signal to both speakers. It should also work with Jack, which is available for all platforms.

[stoopicus]

I’m talking about the inputs

[webmob]

I also talk about the inputs.

[stoopicus]

Oh I see what you mean, sorry. Yes that would work (with Elements or other similar tools) but at that point it’s equivalent to track monitoring in a DAW, sure.

[stoopicus]

I am starting to really hope there can be a firmware update to improve the utility of inputs 3 and 4. I would love to see a gain control and direct monitoring of them, plus also linking like you can with 1-2. As it stands I might need to trade this out of an interface with 4 fully supported inputs or something like ADAT, which would be a shame, because I really like the Bitwig integration.

[webmob]

........and maybe a pad on the microphone input. With loud sources, it clips very quickly with condenser microphones.