Just got the demo, initial impression not so great but that’s always the case with a new interface. Still what I’m most interested in is how it works with our elektron gear. Anyone else trying or maybe even buying?
it looked interesting from what i’ve seen so far but i would rather wait the next few months to see whether it really is worth trying it out. this release might not be as stable as it should. buying it: for that price,not sure…trying it, why not
I’ve played with it quite some bit. Its interesting but too early. Especially with hardware. I’m not able to send midi other than notes to hardware. It does register knob movement from devices, but not sending it. Not even pitchbend.
What i liked:
I love the design/interface
Modulation routing is really nice, including the ability to hook up lfos/steps to everything
Individual note events, sort of p-locks 
Sound quality of builtin plugs
Layered note editing
Sorry if this comes across as cynical… but I guess it sorta is… either way it’s certainly my “first impression”
Honestly… there’s no reason every other DAW can’t implement whatever they like/don’t like about anything Bitwig does… so really, I couldn’t care less… I haven’t actually tried it, but nothing i’ve read inspires me and images of the interface look cluttered to me…
I have no desire to keep clips and arrangements on the same screen in Ableton… the same way I have no desire to see my mixer and arrangement view at the same time in Pro Tools… It’s only one keyboard shortcut away if I do need it… infact… for writing/performance, aren’t we all trying to look at the screen less?
I’d much rather stick with what I know and is proven to be reliable/supported and not have to waste a day installing a bunch of new software, finding out what plugins aren’t supported etc and keep having fun.
Really, I just hope it gives Ableton enough of a wakeup call to finally sort out their MIDI implementation…
No sysex and having to use Max for Live devices just to send specific CC’s…
(by the way if anyone knows a good way to send MSB/LSB (dual byte) CC’s with a max for live device in Ableton i’d love to hear about it)
is a joke… no excuse for it whatsoever… (also having to use M4L if you want a “normal” panning system in Ableton is a little frustrating… but I get why one knob panning is good for Live)
shrug maybe it’ll turn out to be AMAZING I don’t know… but if you’re already using 3rd party plugins or hardware… well, DAW’s are really just about what feels ergonomic to you… it’s not gonna sound any different if you’re using one of the major players and a halfway decent interface e.g.: Logic, Protools, Ableton, Cubase/Nuendo …I’ve never sat down to listen to a new piece of music and though “wow, the summing engine used on this track sounds like shit”…
Food for thought…
^ what he said…i’ve enough things to do in an average, and learning a new new daw, is definitely not one of them. i use my current daw (live) so minimally, i doubt i’d get anything of value out of switching to another.
They took too damn long. If they released 1-2 years ago, I probably would’ve bought it; but the tides have changed. DAW =YAWN
i had the beta for quite a while and i think i will change over to bitwig after using ableton since version 1.
the reason is, the developers are those from ableton and i already know some secrets which will be accessible in future updates…and those things will be a huge leap forward.
you will see
by now, there are some points where i need some more time with the software to feel as fast like i use ableton now, but i really like the effects, very good quality.
my biggest wish is that bitwig will implement a good interface to connect external gear cause i use vst less than hardware
@jayphonic - as you where on the beta and obviously have a few more bits of info than we do - with the external instrument it does not have any ability to adjust the timing (as per the ableton implementation) obviously I’ve had pdc enabled - I gotta say the timing has been ok for me. I haven’t really given it a real beating but it’s been waaay better than ableton. I was thinking if no manual adjustment was possible then maybe it’s dynamic timing? Do you know anything about this? It’s the one reason I’m interested in bitwig and I’m not hearing much about external instruments
Not hearing much about how Bitwig handles external synths and gear hinders me buying this software right now. I am using Live for the moment but struggle from time to time with the implementation of external synths. It can be done but sometimes you just run from one hassle to the next and lose much time with fiddling around parameters.
I was hoping Bitwig will jump into the DAW market, delivering some pain release regarding the use of external gear but also the much talked about PDC issues Live has.
I like checking out something new. It’s part of the hobby for me.
I’ve scanned thru the manual of bitwig and with an ableton backgroud I had the feeling I was completely up and running after a day. External FX and instrument implementation looks promising but it’s not perfect. If they fix the midi CC stuff it’s already very useable
I’ve helped (part time) beta testing for a few months.
Hardware integration is currently “OK” but needs some work. There is an I/O device that allows choice of MIDI interface + channel, and return audio channel. This works well enough, but I have only recorded external audio so far, not checked out how well it syncs when using built in devices/plugins.
The export options are currently lacking real-time export which is obviously required if the audio has not been captured to a track. The export options are pretty basic in general, but they say this will be improved with future updates.
There is no track delay parameter in v1.0, not sure what the status of this is.
Also it’s not (AFAICT) possible to send MIDI messages other than notes to external devices, so that means no CC automation etc. This is another obvious area for improvement in an update.
More general comment about Bitwig:
It’s version 1.0, expect some bugs, and features to be missing or cut down, because it had to be released at some point. They’ve been very responsive so far, with several updates to address problems reported by early adopters.
PDC is currently a bit buggy, but the v1.04 update should fix that in the next few days.
If you like living on the bleeding edge it’s a pretty solid release and certainly offers something new. If you hate bugs and consider v1.0 to be “public beta” then avoid for a few months until the teething problems have been sorted out.
Peace,
Andy.
Well, after about 40 hours of testing Bitwig I came to the conclusion that it definitely has potential but can not replace Ableton at the moment. The midi implementation is really awesome and hell, I can use some of my old plugins again, that went obsolete with the 64 bit installation of Ableton.
The downside of the current version is for sure the audio manipulation features. The timestretch has some flaws and warped audio starts to sound grainy quite fast.
Another huge bummer is the missing rewire function and M4L with its great convolution reverb and some other great tools.
So from my point of view they started not too bad but kinda too late. I expected something really mature after that long developement and testing phase but got kinda disappointed.
However, I bought my copy of Bitwig to support this company, hoping they work even harder on it…
Cheers,
C
Bitwig have just realised another uodate which fixes the pdc issue. That’s pretty good considering ableton are aware of the issue but don’t care to fix it. One of the reasons I ditched live.
Really hoping they continue to fix bugs at this rate.
Anyway it’s great to see them so connected to their potential customers
I’ve been shying away from DAW’s in favor of all hardware solutions. However the Linux support on this makes me at least want to try out the demo on Ubuntu Studio. Still not sure of the benefits for me of a hybrid in and out of the box solution vs full OTB.
I have tried both ITB / OTB so many times back and forth but ended up with a hybrid solution and never look back.
Stuff like Nebula and Cytomic’s Glue can easily compete with decent outboard gear and having them on each channel is massive luxury.
Thats why I am extending my hybrid setup with a 32chan. FW mixer like the Midas Venice F 
I haven’t used Bitwig (not interested in switching DAWs) but I have watched several demos.
The GUI is very nice. Sounds like they’ve written the code in away that’s going to make add-ons and upgrades work universally (so no more PC or Mac versions) which is kinda cool when you think about how this could streamline development and support.
All the issues will most likely be worked out, as it normally does when a company releases a product before it’s 100% ready (Elektron does too).
I am surprised that the first version is priced as it is. You’d think they’d seed the market with a special "introductory offer’ just to get people using the product. Price should go to full value after bugs are fixed.
I think long time LIVE users will stick with what they know, unless Bitwig offers something ground breaking that can’t be done in LIVE. But new music producers (kids these days) will come with fresh eyes, and no bias for one product over the other. In that respect I think Bitwig has an edge because it’s interface look more contemporary than Live’s, and this could be a big draw for smartphone addicted youngsters.
Nailed it.
What is a pdc issue?
Renoise 3.0 is pretty incredible.
Lack of AU support is the killer for me. And the fact that my Push controller is quite possibly the best thing I’ve bought over the last few years.
Nice design though and some good ideas. Just doesn’t do enough different for me compared to Live 9 (+Max)