![]() ![]() There's a ton of other options for hiding and revealing UI elements, too, making Bitwig's interface feel far more customisable than Live's. ![]() To the left is the Inspector window (which can also be folded into the Browser's tabbed space for small-monitor setups), offering access to a host of clip parameters, while the bottom panel, as with Live, hosts each track's device chain and clip editor - which can be expanded to fill the whole window - as well as a mixer. The metadata-based browser to the right provides access to instruments, effects and files, although it occasionally takes a long time to preview and load one-shot samples (we expect this issue will be resolved before too long, though, and indeed, Bitwig were very quick to fix the few other minor issues we came across). While - commendably - Ableton have always stuck to their guns in keeping Live clutter-free at the expense of making certain functions harder to get at than they perhaps could be, Bitwig are happy to let the interface get a little busier.Ĭonceptually, Bitwig Studio may centre on a dual-view setup like Live - the Arrange and Mix windows - but it breaks out of this paradigm by introducing various sub-windows, pop-ups and, of course, that Arrange view Clip Launcher. In fact, Bitwig's GUI in general feels slightly more user-friendly than Live's. Still, for one-monitor musos, Bitwig's Clip Launcher trumps Live's comparatively clunky two-window solution. Bitwig also supports up to three monitors, enabling even more expansive use of both views - although since Live finally introduced dual monitor support in version 9.1, this isn't quite the talking point it would have been a few months ago. While it might seem trivial at first glance, arguably Bitwig's biggest innovation is its ability to display the Mix view's Clip Launcher and Arranger side-by-side in one window, making it possible to lay out the arrangement of a track in a traditional, linear manner and experiment with clips at the same time, with the ability to drag clips between the two and keep a constant eye on what's going on in both.įor those working on a single monitor, this is a fantastic workflow improvement over Live 9.1's two separate windows. Sure, the two have enough similarities, both obvious and subtle, that we could fill this entire review discussing them but to do so would be to miss the point that Bitwig is packed with plenty of its own well-thought-out features. As a result, approaching Bitwig as a Live user, the learning curve is extremely shallow Ableton regulars will probably feel right at home within minutes of opening the application.Ĭrucially, however, Bitwig Studio doesn't just feel like it's aping Live for the sake of it. ![]() But the similarities run deeper than just that.įor one thing, many of Bitwig's devices (more on the later) have noticeably similar counterparts in Live in fact, the overall workflow of Bitwig - from the GUI layout to the way it handles audio and even certain keyboard shortcuts - feels remarkably familiar. So just how close are the two applications? The most prominent similarity lies in the fact that Bitwig is based on a dual-window interface, featuring Mix/Clip Launcher and Arrange views cut from the same stylistic cloth as Live's Session and Arrangement views - one for on-the-fly clip launching the other for traditional linear arranging. As such, any application aiming to encroach on Live's turf is understandably going to cause a stir. Until now, Ableton's DAW, with its non-linear, clip-focussed workflow, has largely existed in its own space somewhat removed from the rest of the market. Then there's Bitwig's eyebrow-raising visible similarity to Live. Subsequently, throughout the extended beta cycle that followed, we've been drip-fed details via official previews and word-of-mouth hype. It was first brought to our attention over two years ago, billed as a brand new DAW under development by a team including several former Ableton developers, and offering a complete production package for creating tracks in any style, albeit with an emphasis on electronic genres. ![]() We can't remember the last time a music application generated the level of pre-release buzz that Bitwig Studio has - a major factor, of course, being its extraordinarily lengthy beta testing period. The Live-inspired DAW is finally here, does it live up to the hype? ![]()
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