Unique Selling Points

In addition to improved support for Linux as a platform, Bitwig 1.1 also introduces new technologies that did not previously exist for Linux. Wiring and automation of sound generators, effects, and their parameters is unparalleled – even in the commercial world.

The update provides new opportunities for using signals for sophisticated modulations. VST outputs can be used as modulators in other VSTs or any built-in sound generators. Although you could do this before with a few tricks, it is now much easier.

Additionally, special channels of VST multi-out modules are supported, which is particularly interesting for modules that optionally provide more than just a stereo aggregation. The individual output of one drum from a VST drum sampler can be used specifically as a modulator for an effect or synthesizer.

The Note MOD device extension – a tool that can be added from the onboard module list – exemplifies these changes. The list appears after you click on the Plus icon to the right of any module in the Devices window under the track display. Using these plus symbols can sometimes be a bit tricky, because some features of the inserted module, as well as the signal routing, depend on the module itself.

By default, the Plus inserts an additional module in the mixer channel audio path. This means that Bitwig does not transfer advanced automation functions from the previous module to the one inserted. Clicking on FX, or the little arrow at the top right, opens a new Plus switch between the existing and the standard output in the context of a plugin.

By doing so, you are not simply adding a new module downstream of, but instead directly into, the respective plugin, which thus becomes a kind of mothership for the inserted effect or synthesizer.

Virtual appliances assembled in this way share the automation curve parameters on request and use the output channels of their effects predecessors, which in turn are connected to it by the FX plus symbol. If you understand the principle behind it, this seemingly complicated approach proves remarkably simple in practice. The principle is as follows: The more closely you want to connect two modules, the closer the Plus has to be to the predecessor (Figure 4).

Figure 4: The new Note MOD device uses notes from one track to modulate the filter to its left. The filter on the right is connected directly to that on the left using the plus symbol and is not modulated.

Bitwig implements the concept somewhat more intuitively in version 1.1 because the designers made the different connection options more easily recognizable through the use of subtle color differences. The connection provided by clicking FX and the scope of the connected module are color highlighted in light olive green.

The interconnections can be saved as presets known as chains, giving you, in effect, new plugins. Bitwig thus takes another step toward the modular system capabilities planned from the outset (but see the "Problem Solver" box).

Growing Habitat

A further improvement under Linux did not emanate from Bitwig, but from the on-going development of Linux Audio itself. The native VST interface is improving all the time and is therefore being used by more and more plugin developers.

The fact that plugins in Linux LV2 format are more easily ported to native Linux VSTs than in the past is a particularly important development.

More and more extensions are appearing in the Linux VST format and are thus also available to Bitwig (Figure 5). The "Advanced" box shows how to use and set up these plugins.

Figure 5: Bitwig 1.1.1 complete with clip matrix, arranger, and effect chain, including the Luftikus equalizer as a native VST plugin.

Figure 6: Enter directories containing VST plugins in the browser configuration box on the right. The software ignores plugins in DLL format, such as Crazy Diamonds in the dialog box.

Conclusion

The developers of Bitwig Studio 1.1 supply a very successful upgrade for their well-designed software. Jack MIDI support may still remain an unsightly blemish, but in all other respects, the software completely justifies the relatively affordable price of $270 (£219/EUR299).