Announcing Bitwig Studio 3.1

Published on Nov 14, 2019 bitwig

"Pitch is a fundamental cornerstone of music, and Bitwig Studio 3.1 is tuned up with new exciting ways to work with pitch and scales. Based on Bitwig Studio's unique way to work with micro-pitch information, our new Note FX device Micro-pitch lets you dynamically retune notes, import existing scales and define your own."

Changes in Bitwig Studio 3.1, Beta 1

EXPANDED PITCH FEATURES

New device: Micro-pitch, allowing micro- and macro-tuning of each note type, octave interval, and Scala (SCL) file import (for scales of seven or 12 notes)
New modulator: Pitch-12, providing a modulator source for each pitch class (C, D, etc.) when played
New Grid module: Transpose (Pitch category), for creating chords with or without signal input (with Stereo-ness options)
30+ tuning presets are already included, of various origins:
Theory-based tunings, using the overtone (Otonal) and undertone (Utonal) series, Quarter-tone ET, and even A4 = 432 Hz
Historic temperaments, including scales from Pythagoras, Werckmeister, Broadwood, Euler, and more
Cultural tunings, including a number of traditional Chinese instruments (such as Ti-tsu 7 (flute), Yang-chin 7 (dulcimer), and Yün-lo 7 (gong-chime)), as well as the Javanese Chromatic 7, which is the source for various mode (like pelog, dangsoe, bem, barang, etc.)
Artist-made tunings, either as concepts (Ives's Stretched Major, Wendy Carlos Optimized, and Johnston that blends the overtone and undertone series) and scales used for particular works (Partch from Harry Partch's "Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales", and Blues – Harmonic, used in Ben Johnston's "Suite for Microtonal Piano", Wendy Carlos's "Beauty in the Beast", etc.)
Original performance-minded tunings, which reshape the keyboard and coax new and unexpected outcomes from even experienced players (such as Beating Lydian, Phrygische Mütze, and Constant Portamento, which glides every note from a defined root)
All of these presets are tagged with scale and tuning
For frequency parameters (like filter frequency or EQ band), the window footer now shows frequency + pitch
NEW FEATURES

Quick Draw action: holding [ALT] with the pen tool will draw multiple notes at the current beat grid interval
Quick Draw action: drawing defaults to a single pitch for each note (think hi-hats), but adding [SHIFT] allows various pitches to be drawn (like a step sequencer)
Quick Slice action: holding [ALT] with the knife tool will cut any clip/event at the beat grid interval, for as far as you drag the mouse
Quick Slice action: slicing snaps its initial cut position to the beat grid, but adding [SHIFT] allows an off-grid starting position
Slice In Place function: will slice any selected clip(s)/event(s) at the detected audio Onsets, the set Beat Markers, or at a set beat grid interval
Interactive documentation for any device/module by selecting it, and then pressing the [F1] key or clicking Show Help in the Inspector Panel (device documentation is in progress and will be completed by official release)
Cue / Preview Volume control now exists in the Studio I/O Panel (and can be mapped via context menu)
Cue / Preview Cue Mix control now exists in the Studio I/O Panel (and can be mapped via context menu), setting the balance between the cue and master outputs
Note Chase option: when enabled (Dashboard > Behavior > Resume Playback), starting the transport in the middle of a note will sound the note (if more than a half-note duration remains)
Sampler (device and Grid module) now imports wavetables WAVs with the "clm" metadata chunk (as used by Serum and others)
Audio paths can now be added from any audio I/O chooser (Add Buss… option)
MIDI controllers can now be added from any MIDI I/O chooser (Add Controller… option)
New Grid module: Pluck (Envelope category), an envelope generator modeled after a plucked string, with a built-in amplifier for easy connection
New Grid module: Slope ↗︎ (Envelope category), a slope shaper for rising signals
New Grid module: Slope ↘ (Envelope category), a slope shaper for falling signals
New Grid module: Follower (Envelope category), a symmetric envelope follower with configurable math
New controller scripts: for the Novation Launchpad Pro, Arturia KeyLab MkII 49/61, Arturia KeyLab Essential 49/61, PreSonus Atom, and PreSonus FaderPort 8/16
Controller API: added Arpeggiator/Note-repeat functionality to NoteInput class
Controller API: New high-level API for defining low-latency hardware controls and simplified script development
IMPROVEMENTS

In Clip Launcher: + button now appears when hovering over empty clip slots, for inserting clips from the Pop-up Browser
Improved tempo detection when bringing audio into a project
Audio fade handles are easier to grab on shorter fades, especially when zoomed out
Steps, LFO, Random, ParSeq-8 & Sample and Hold modulators: now use modern timebase options, correctly uses the beat unit multiplier, and properly follow time signature changes when set to bar units
LFO & S/H LFO modules: properly follow time signature changes when set in bar units
EQ-DJ device: visualized crossover frequencies are now interactive
Ladder device: frequency modulation amounts are all set in semitones now
Window footer shows both the set parameter value and the currently modulated value (when a modulator is mapped)
Mac: reduced GPU (graphics processing) load
APC40 MKII controller script: using the Shift + Record/Session buttons toggles arranger recording and automation recording
FIXES

Note audition was sounding wrong notes when moving them with arrow keys in drum editor mode
Sustain pedal messages (CC64) were not returning to 0 when stopping the transport
Grid Envelope modules: visualizations were broken when curvature was set to 0 %
HW Clock Out device: some parameters were improperly disabled when not in Clock mode
Diatonic Transposer device: some scales were buggy
Deselecting a clip did not work when selection cursor pointed to unselected clip
When using the scroll wheel while performing a rectangular selection in audio expression editor (pitch or formant), the selection rectangle moved instead of growing in size
VST Multiout chains were getting muted when adding VSTs to chains based on order
Mac: while dragging a clip, the tab key did not work to switch between Arrange and Mix views