Bitwig has announced Bitwig Studio 4.2. Here's what they say:
What sounds good? We got inspired by some classic audio effect units and then made a suite of excellent effects for Bitwig Studio 4.2. Please welcome new choruses, flangers, phasers, and just one more note FX to the family.
They may look like three new devices — Chorus+, Flanger+, Phaser+ — but they're really more like 12. Each device has four unique Characters that have their own DSP architecture, similar to different eras of vintage studio hardware. And each was designed to have range and sound good. They include:
Chorus+ Characters: - CE - A synth-style friend, with different tone inspirations.
- DD - Subtle, 80s, and coming from all sides.
- 8v - Eight voices swirling thru caverns of feedback.
- X2 - Classic voice doubling circuit.
Flanger+ Characters: - DP - That digital, scrapy cousin who chews up sound.
- MX - A firm, pedal-style classic.
- TFX - Smooth and sparkly, with some edge.
- WA - Stronger, but subtly delicate.
Phaser+ Characters: - GS - Your spikey #1 friend.
- EHx - Classy and smooth, with silky motion.
- MX - A raspy devil, but solid.
- MF - Pleasantly greasy and deep.
Bitwig spent a lot of time and care shaping each Character, including the LFOs that make each sound move. But you can also "override" Flanger+ or Phaser+ and get direct control. By mixing and matching LFOs, step sequencers, and any of Bitwig's 38 modulator devices, you are free to animate our algorithms and make them your own.
And Chorus+, Flanger+, and Phaser+ are also available as Grid modules. So throw these full effects into any Grid patch, with the freedom to craft a stereo modulation signal or make it fully polyphonic.
Note Grid:
The Grid is Bitwig Studio's modular sound-design environment, where building instruments and audio effects with Poly Grid and FX Grid is designed to be effortless, intuitive, and fun. Bitwig Studio 4.2 introduces a third device: Note Grid. With access to The Grid's 184 modules and polyphonic structure, Note Grid is made to process notes or even generate them.
With the new Note Out module, connecting a gate signal will start outputting notes. Pitch, velocity, and channel can be set manually or with dynamic signals. And since Bitwig fluently speaks MPE, unfolding Note Out allows signals for each note's timbre, pressure, gain, and panning expressions. As with all other Grid modules, Note Out(and CC Out) are available to Poly Grid and FX Grid as well.
Eight musical presets are included today, including new kinds of arpeggiators, swarming polyphonic randomness, modular drum sequencers, and even music-generating patches. The presets are production-ready, and together they show a range of possibilities with Note Grid.
Other miscellaneous updates to mention:
- New mini views for the Oscilloscope and Spectrum devices. With new audio effects in the works, it was especially handy to have mini views for devices that visualize their effects.
- A new Anti-aliasing option for most Grid Shaper modules.
- And a new Hard Clip module joining the team.
- A new Channel-16 modulator. Since Note Grid can sort signals into16 MIDI channels, the new Channel-16modulator helps you use those groupings on any instrument or plug-in.
- And when generating notes with a module like Probabilities, it just made sense to add a Confidence output, good for per-step velocities or just a little self-assurance.
- Bitwig is now available in French.
The Bitwig Studio 4.2 beta is available for download today and it's available to anyone with an active Bitwig Studio Upgrade Plan. The updated sound content includes 44 presets for the new audio FX devices, as well as presets of the eight patches shown in the Note Grid feature video. Anyone with an active Bitwig Studio upgrade plan can download the installer from their account. The official Bitwig Studio 4.2 release is planned for March, 2022.
The changelog and release notes are here.
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