The Bitwig Studio DAW transforms Linux computers into music workstations
Tunesmith
© Lead Image © Igarts, 123RF
Bitwig Studio is the first complete music workstation offered as a commercial product for Linux. Now, Linux finally offers music production software that has, up to now, only been available on other platforms.
The Berlin-based startup Bitwig [1] announced plans for a new major league digital audio workstation for Linux about two years ago. About a year ago, a beta version of Bitwig Studio for Linux came out for testing, and in March 2014, the company finally released a complete version (Figure 1), having completely eliminated the bugs from the beta.
Figure 1: Bitwig Studio 1.0 is fully equipped – audio tracks, MIDI tracks, plugins, automation – and it's true Linux software that feels at home on desktops like KDE.
Besides the freely licensed Ardour and its smaller "siblings," such as Qtractor and MusE, musicians also have access to commercial and proprietary music production suites on Linux. Most are geared to the needs of electronic music producers. Renoise and Tracktion are built natively for Linux, whereas Reaper is a Windows program optimized for operation with Wine.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.
-
RingReaper Malware Poses Danger to Linux Systems
A new kind of malware exploits modern Linux kernels for I/O operations.
-
Happy Birthday, Linux
On August 25, Linux officially turns 34.
-
VirtualBox 7.2 Has Arrived
With early support for Linux kernel 6.17 and other new additions, VirtualBox 7.2 is a must-update for users.
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.