Bitwig releases Bitwig Studio 3.2 with new sound shaping features
Bitwig has released Bitwig Studio 3.2. The latest version of the DAW comes with several new effects and sound shaping tools. New creative features for composition and production have also been added, along with workflow improvements and a handful of new Grid modules. Bitwig Studio 3.2 is a free upgrade to anyone with an active upgrade plan. For all others, the Bitwig Summer Sale gets you up to USD 100 off the price of the software.
Bitwig Studio 3.2
Things are evolving quickly in the world of Bitwig. After releasing Bitwig Studio 3 last summer and following up with version 3.1 in November, the Berlin-based company has just released another upgrade for the modular DAW. The developer says that Bitwig Studio 3.2 focuses on “greater control and sculpting possibilities for all sounds”.
The update adds two new audio effects: EQ+ and Saturator. EQ+ is a parametric EQ with up to eight bands, which can be edited by clicking and dragging the EQ curve. It offers a total of 14 filter types and an Adaptive-Q option, which narrows the width of a band as the gain increases. You can solo bands for precise editing, and there’s a global frequency shift option. Bitwig has also paid attention to looks: EQ+ applies a rainbow colour spectrum to the EQ curve and bands. The developers say that this visual connection makes editing more intuitive. EQ-2 and EQ-5 now sport the new colour scheme, too. So do the frequency controls in more than 20 other devices.
Saturator is a waveshaping effect for adding “buzzing, rumble and warmth”. With drive, gain normalize and low-pass controls, as well as separate threshold, transform amount and knee settings for the quiet and loud portions of a signal, Bitwig says that it can also be used as a dynamics processor. Saturator is also available as a new Grid module. This lets you use the Grid’s polyphony to shape each note of a chord independently.
EQ+ · Source: Bitwig
New creative tools
Furthermore, Bitwig Studio 3.2 adds a number of features to the DAW’s creative tools. The Arpeggiator has gained a pitch control for each step. It also now tracks micro pitch changes and polyphonic aftertouch, which should be useful if you work with MPE-enabled controllers. New arpeggiation shapes and timing options have also been added.
The Instrument Selector, Note FX Selector and audio FX Selector have been expanded with voice modes for dynamic triggering of layers. Bitwig says that this lets you do things like assigning different presets or even different VST plug-ins to each note of a chord. There are various modes for switching layers automatically, including Round-robin, Free Voice and Random. Manual layer switching can be achieved with keyswitches, control changes or program change messages.
New Grid modules
Bitwig Studio 3.2 comes with a handful of new Grid modules, as well as improvements to others. New modules include XP (Filter), Array (Data), N-Latch (Logic), Saturator (Shaper) and Logic Delay (Logic). The Steps and AD modules have been updated with new features.
Workflow improvements
Bitwig says that they’ve implemented a number of user-requested workflow enhancements. This includes local audio returns for Drum Machine, better visualization in spectrum analyzers across the whole software and new mini displays in the mixer view. And dropping a sample into a Grid patch now results in the automatic creation of a Sampler module, which is quite convenient.
Price and availability
Bitwig Studio 3.2 is a free upgrade to all users with an active upgrade plan for Bitwig Studio.
If you don’t own Bitwig Studio yet, now is a great time to get it. During the company’s summer sale, which runs until July 1st, 2020, you can get the full version of Bitwig Studio 3.2 for USD 299 instead of 399. You can also save on upgrading from Bitwig Studio 8-Track and 16-Track to the full version, and on renewing your upgrade plan. Bitwig says that they’ll donate the proceeds from one day of the sale to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and Reach Out, two groups working towards racial justice.
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