What's new in Bitwig 1.1

Under Control

© Lead Image © David Sandonato, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © David Sandonato, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 173/2015
Author(s):

The latest version 1.1 of the Bitwig digital audio workstation provides an array of major improvements.

The commercial Bitwig digital audio workstation (DAW) competes against free programs such as Ardour, so the software needs strong features to score points – which it specifically does in the latest version. In November 2014, Bitwig published version 1.1 of their commercial audio/MIDI sequencer, Bitwig Studio [1], with the update v1.1.1 arriving shortly thereafter. The developers placed special focus on the freely licensed controller interface, which received a complete overhaul, allowing experienced users to write their own default settings for keyboards, controller surfaces, and similar hardware in JavaScript.

Short and Sweet

A detailed article about Bitwig Studio 1.0 appeared in this magazine July 2014 [2], so I will only briefly introduce the program here and then focus on the innovations.

The Bitwig Studio DAW lets you record sounds on unlimited tracks, produce tracks with instrument plugins, and apply effects to any track. Bitwig differs from other DAW solutions primarily in its special operating concept (Figure 1), which provides clever methods specifically designed for use in creating new compositions and during live performances – alternatives that programs like Ardour [3] or Qtractor [4] do not offer. (See a comparison of Ardour and Bitwig in the "Bitwig vs. Ardour" box.)

Figure 1: The Bitwig clip matrix is a hypnotic piece of music software you can use intuitively for hours to try out your most idiosyncratic ideas. Classic audio tracks run in parallel in the same project.

Bitwig vs. Ardour

In matters related to design, only Ardour 3 is roughly equal to Bitwig. The current version is the only free Linux DAW that also comes close to the features in competing commercial products. The software cannot touch Bitwig, though, regarding parameters for automation and modulation.

On the other hand, Ardour supports more, and arguably superior, plugins in LV2 format, which Bitwig hasn't fathomed until recently. Thanks to the current developer version of the plugin host program Carla [5], it is now possible to use LV2 plugins in Bitwig, too. Carla also provides a special VST module called Carla Rack that, like all effects, can be integrated in Bitwig and in turn support all plugin formats available under Linux.

Among the approximately 300 effects and synthesizers that the software now supports, you can get advanced modules like Calf Monosynth, an array of virtual guitar amplifiers from Guitarix, and many small helpers. In our lab, the Calf graphical interface was still slightly sluggish in terms of its response; otherwise, the technology worked perfectly.

Ardour also offers the option of compiling support for VST modules in the Windows DLL format. A few popular effects and sound modules are available for Ardour under Linux, too, that are only available under Windows in Bitwig. Additionally, Ardour provides more possibilities for dealing with audio-only recordings. What Bitwig offers in this area is pretty basic. Intuitively operable time stretching and a very useful loop function for audio/MIDI are the only advantage it has over Ardour in this respect.

Unlike Ardour or Tracktion [6], Bitwig uses special editor windows to edit audio and MIDI (Figure 2). On one hand, editing material in a track matches the intuitive musical logic of a piece; on the other hand, however, more options can be integrated into a specialized editor. Bitwig's editor offers equally easy-to-grasp operations as Ardour, but with a shorter learning curve, and it offers some special functions that everyone would actually want in an MIDI editor. For example, the option to play another track in the background while editing a track proves to be very useful.

Figure 2: Ardour's simple MIDI editor (top) works directly in the track. Bitwig 1.1.1 has a separate MIDI editor (bottom) with a practical special view that only displays notes used in the piece.

The program also offers opportunities for automating and modulating sound generators and effects that are unparalleled under Linux. For example, the music in an audio track can be applied as a wave function to a device's effects parameters – at any point of the project.

Bitwig Studio (hereafter, Bitwig) is based in part on Java, which allows it to be ported easily to all major platforms. The software developer currently offers versions for Linux, Mac OS, and Windows. However, they are not pure Java applications that rely only on JRE compatibility: The developers natively programmed the core functions for Linux, which you clearly see while in the program. After a relatively lengthy boot, it feels like any other native Linux software.

The Bitwig developers showed great interest in Linux, as well as the appropriate skills, during the first beta release, in particular with regard to the distinctive Linux audio system. The equally attractive and easy-to-use design of the interface blends seamlessly with Linux. Bitwig uses Gtk as a file selector, which means no problems with window management, as is sometimes seen in other cross-platform programs.

More Understanding

Bitwig proved to be Linux-affine even during installation. The 64-bit Debian package installs flawlessly on a newly installed Kubuntu 14.04.1 using dpkg.

OpenSUSE and Fedora users also report successful installations of the DEB package; however, you do need to convert it to an RPM package beforehand using the alien tool. That said, we were unable to install a package generated in this way on openSUSE 13.2 in our lab because of missing dependencies that we could not resolve manually.

Adjustments to the installation package do not cause license problems, because the complete license is only authenticated when you first launch the program. If Bitwig is installed in /opt/bitwig-studio/, it can be started and activated accordingly. After a login, the license for Bitwig 1.0 also activates the update to version 1.1 when you start the program.

Offline activation will not work anymore after reinstalling the operating system, though. Additionally, session authorization by logging in to your Bitwig account is not particularly stable. After some time, it seems to receive a timeout error from Bitwig's web server, which then causes the program to revert back to demo mode. Anyone reinstalling a previously used Bitwig should therefore ask support for a new ticket for offline registration. In principle, it is also possible to delete registrations that have already been carried out so you can create a new one. After registering Bitwig for offline work, you cannot tell that it is copy-protected software, and updates progress smoothly.

Bitwig still has one problem with the Linux audio system: After starting the current version with the Jack audio server as an interface, Bitwig no longer receives MIDI signals from a connected keyboard. The software may indeed detect the simple Behringer UMX keyboard and integrate it as a generic controller, but neither sound generators nor parameter controls respond to the UMX signals.

This problem disappears, however, if you do without the MIDI system built into Jack. If you start Jack without the -Xseq or -Xraw options, the keyboard works perfectly in the test. This is not a satisfactory solution, however, because many advanced music programs now exclusively use the Jack MIDI server.

At the same time, Bitwig 1.1 also provides some real improvements for MIDI under Linux: Other than the hardware ports, as produced, for example, by keyboards connected to USB, the software now also detects the Alsa virtual MIDI interface. To this end, it is also necessary to load the VirMIDI kernel module before starting Bitwig:

$ sudo modprobe snd-virmidi snd_index=1

The command automatically generates four new interfaces, each with 16 channels, that can be selected in Bitwig as inputs or outputs for MIDI data.

For inputs, you can create a new generic keyboard by selecting Options in the menu then assigning it one of the VirMIDI interfaces. For outputs, insert the special Hardware Instrument plugin in a track. It then displays the VirMIDI channels in the list of its outputs (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: The output of a hardware plugin is wired to the Rosegarden input via Alsa's VirMIDI virtual MIDI interface.

This technique can only be used if you start Jack without its own MIDI system.

Many New Features

The enhancements do not cause a noticeable increase in the workload when compared with the previous version. The current release runs stably, without a howling computer fan, and without interruption – even with ambitious Jack settings.

The changes encompass more than just a few minor plugins that only take effect when enabled: Bitwig 1.1 uses a completely revised mechanism to compensate for the delays caused by effects and sound generators – that is, latency.

Latency is unavoidable because of the time it takes to make the complex computations for sound waves. Although most software modules used in a track will only cause a small delay, many different effects are frequently chained.

The delays therefore add up, and this causes noticeable problems, even below the level of perception (i.e., about 10msec). This is especially the case when mixing pieces with multiple tracks with the same acoustic effect, like choir recordings and arrangements with voices in unison.

Bitwig cannot start the affected tracks early to compensate for this problem; instead, it precisely computes each track's delay and then adjusts the faster tracks so that everything plays in sync in the end. The software needs to adjust the complex computations constantly during the operation, so it's quite a remarkable achievement that the latency compensation does not cause any noticeable increase in the workload.

For anyone working on very large projects or using a low-powered computer, version 1.1 provides many potential savings. In addition to freezing whole tracks, during which the tool renders all real-time computations in a wave file and then shuts down the plugins to save their workload.

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