Reviews | Bitwig Studio 4
Bitwig Studio 4 €399
The modular-inspired DAW hits version 4, but is it still at the cutting-edge of music software? Si Truss finds out
CONTACT WHO: Bitwig WEB: bitwigstudio.comKEY FEATURES Adds Audio Comping, Event Operators, Expression Spread, M1 Mac support and Chinese, Japanese and German localisations. Price includes 12-month update plan. Update is free to users with an active plan.
THE PROS & CONS
+ Operators and Expression Spread make creating variety and complexity easy
Audio comping is well implemented
Probably the best M1 Mac support of any DAW, right now
- There’s nothing here as essential as v3’s The Grid or v2’s Modulation System
COMPS, NO COMPROMISES
While audio comping is nothing new, it’s nicely implemented with a few unique touches that suit Bitwig’s workflow. Comping lives within each clip, meaning it works the same in clip launcher and timeline views, and comped edits can be dragged between the two. The tools and workflow are neatly designed – each audio take is colour coded, and various shortcuts make it easy to select, adjust and move audio events. One nice touch is the Fold To Takes function, an easy way to slice a longer take into equally-sized takes for editing. For editing long hardware jams, this is very handy.