Hi, and welcome back to Music Nation TV! Ordinarily, we avoid reviewing DAWs due to their notorious complexity and the difficulty with fully exploring advanced features within our time constraints. However, given the hype surrounding Bitwig Studio and its unique feature set, it seems only fair to dedicate a decent amount of time to exploring this new platform in full. And I’m certainly glad I did.

(Updated September 2021) Bitwig Studio is a multitrack audio and MIDI workstation that features a unique twin-sequencer modular workflow, along with a comprehensive selection of synths and MIDI and audio processing effects.

Bitwig is available for an upfront purchase price of $399 USD with an additional fee of $130 USD per year if you want to continue receiving updates, fixes, and support.

So, is Bitwig a subscription service? Although the developer insists it isn’t since you aren’t technically required to purchase any further updates, opting out of this means you’ll lose access to all service fixes, support, and upgrades after the first year.

(Please visit our latest review for Bitwig Studio 6 right here)

Keep it simple, stupid.

Don’t be deceived by Bitwig’s seemingly simple GUI; beneath its surface lies a formidable DAW boasting perhaps the most comprehensive modular workflow currently available. Thankfully, its intuitive design ensures that the majority of functions and operations are straightforward to grasp, eliminating the need to consult the manual in most cases.

However, the synths and modulation options present a different challenge altogether. Their depth and complexity mean that mastering the intricacies and nuances of each device could potentially require years of dedicated learning.

While like all DAWs, Bitwig can handle the basic functions of recording MIDI and audio, sequencing, mixing, and bouncing finished mixes perfectly fine, it stands out as one of a small group that offers a truly creative sandbox environment, encouraging users to explore and experiment with FX and instrument devices to discover happy accidents.

This does tend to lead to a lot of tweaking and adjusting of FX chains and quite complex macro-like modulator functions which I found overwhelming as a newcomer to the platform. Most of the time, I avoided anything that looked too complicated.

This will offer a challenge for anyone wanting to learn the intricacies of the platform, but stepping beyond the very basics of recording, mixing, and simple processing will not be for the faint-hearted.

Modulators, Note FXs and Operators, oh my.

Bitwigs’ obvious point of difference over the competition is modulators. Literally anything can modulate anything – if you know what buttons to push. It’s certainly very complex to begin with, and time spent learning and practising the workflow builds important muscle memory.

The extensive modulation system reminded me of Reason Studio’s CV patching, and to great extent you can achieve similar results here.

For instance, you could choose to modulate the output volume of a track using an LFO, so it fluctuates similarly to a tremolo effect, but have it modulate this effect based on the velocity of a snare hit sidechain so you get nice wobbly tails only on the loudest hits. If you try to think three-steps ahead, pretty much any scenario you can dream up is possible with a little practice.

There are 36 modulators to play with, some are simple while others are quite complex and in-depth.

Most notable here is the Poly Grid which is effectively a full-blown modular synthesiser. While it can function as a fairly basic subtractive synth if you like, running through some of the presets really showcases Bitwigs’ strengths when it comes to using its 180 or so modulators.

Similar to a physically modular synth, Poly  Grid invites you to drop in devices and interconnect them, either purposely or experimentally. Devices can be interconnected with cables that more or less flow in any series of directions you like.

The Poly Grid really deserves much more time to explore than I have, and though I’m no expert in modular synthesis, it is quite jaw-dropping how flexible and customisable the Poly Grid playground is once you get a feel for it, even for a casual like me just noodling around.

In addition to the modulators, Bitwig included note FX and operators. Note FX are simple little devices that bend MIDI, such as echo, arpeggiator and randomize. Operators are not only simple slider controls to affect MIDI but feature some pretty cool functions: Chance, repeats, occurrence and recurrence. These are applied to select MIDI notes to induce some randomisation to your arrangements, the strength of which can greatly affect your song depending on how heavy-handed you are.

Launch that clip

Less groundbreaking, perhaps, is the Ableton-style clip launcher mode, which sits prominently in the split sequencer’s default UI view. This may be the first feature you’ll try out, and you might wonder exactly what it’s for. The answer is somewhat ambiguous: use it for anything you want.

Without diving too deep, the basic idea is that you create blocks of MIDI or audio data that loop within a scene, which is a top-to-bottom column of blocks. Each block within your scene can loop at its own bar size, allowing for interesting rhythms.

You can advance to the next scene to play the next stack of blocks, bouncing back and forth within your arrangement of scenes as required. This lets you stack blocks of data in patterns to compile a loop-based song.

It’s all quite intuitive for live use once you get the hang of it. However, for traditional song writing in the studio, I question the value of this function.

Personally, I have no interest in loop-based music, but I found an excellent use for the clip launcher to store MIDI patterns. Since Bitwig lacks freeze functionality at this time, I use the clip launcher to keep backup copies of my MIDI arrangements, allowing me to bounce in place the main arranger to preserve DSP processing power. This may not be the designer’s intended use, but hey, it works for me.

Naturally, everyone will immediately compare Bitwig Studio to Ableton Live, and I can certainly see the visual similarities. However, in real-world operation, I feel Bitwig is actually closer to Reason Studio, as the entire system is predicated on modulated automation. Reason employs a similar workflow with its rack combinator CVs, which for me works much better due to its real-world emulated workflow. While Reason focuses on patching virtual cables between rack devices, Bitwig utilizes visual modulators that can become quite complicated very quickly.

Performance

System performance, on the whole, I found very good. For anything under 20 or so audio tracks or perhaps a dozen or so light VSTi instruments, Bitwig Studio performs very well. Sticking to the stock synths and FX is the most efficient use of your DSP, as Bitwig Studio feels a little temperamental with some VST effects.

I attempted to construct a large orchestral template using around 500 tracks of articulation Kontakt instruments and Bitwig pretty much ground to a halt. There seems to be some strange conflict between Kontakt and Bitwig that the support team couldn’t help me with.

Also, with its lack of video support, unfortunately, Bitwig is not going to be top of the list for media composers. This is a real shame as the stock synths and modulation workflow is the perfect partner for contemporary film music composing.

Included goodies

Similarly to other DAWs, Bitwig Studio includes a pre-packaged selection of effects, loops and MIDI. It’s not on the same level as some of the competition, but definitely more than adequate.

I very much like the apparent simplicity of the stock effects. I have yet to be left wanting for something specific, other than perhaps a decent sampler. There’s a neat feeling of exploration when you drop a new effect into the signal chain, wondering what exactly is going to happen.

There is a strong emphasis on prompting the user to try modulating this or that, just to see what happens. I like that.

On a side note, there has been a huge renaissance in young producers getting back into analogue synthesisers in 2025. Check out my article on Why Young Producers Are Buying Synths Again when you’re done here.

Pros and Cons

Bitwig Studio is a simple-to-use multitrack sequencer on the surface with huge potential for those willing to dive deeper into the workings. There also seems to be interest in utilising Bitwig for its live performance capabilities, especially with its clip launching and looping features. I think the stock effects and instruments are optimised very well and shouldn’t cause any undue stress when used live.

Pros:

Cons:

Conclusion

Bitwig Studio is a breath of fresh air, and though much of the feature hype is old news for the Abelton Live crowd, I feel Bitwig Studio is on course to develop a nice little niche community for itself.

Though Bitwigs’ modulation workflow and Grid environment isn’t for everybody, it’s not a mandatory feature so don’t be put off if all you want is a simple and easy-to-use sequencer. Its potential as a stable live performance platform promises exciting possibilities.

I have some major concerns over the pricing model, not only is this jaw-droppingly expensive for a relative newcomer, but it feels rife for exploitative and expensive DLCs in the future once you’re financially locked in after a few years. Time will tell how the community reacts to this.

But, having said that I’m very much in support of this neat little DAW, it’s offering a viable option for those feeling disheartened with the Abelton direction and like the modular workflow.

For those looking for something fresh and creative in an overcrowded market, Bitwig Studio may indeed be the exciting new challenger to the established industry leaders.

(Please visit our latest review for Bitwig Studio 6 right here)

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