NAMM 2017: Bitwig Studio 2 offers 'near endless' modulation possibilities

NAMM 2017: Bitwig has announced the first full update of its DAW, Bitwig Studio, with a fully reworked modulation system.

The update also features 15 new devices, including a Spectrum Analyzer, MIDI and CV devices and the curiously-named Treemonster, an "organic zero-crossing amplitude controlled ring modulator with a life of its own."

Version 2 comes with 24 brand new modulators; from standard fare such as envelopes and LFOs, to more unique modulator types like Random, Select-4 and Math. Each device or plugin within the DAW will have modulation slots where you can load an unlimited number of individual modulators.

Alongside the brand new devices, previous units have also been updated in the latest version, with Polysynth's feature set improved with several oscillator mix and filter waveshaping modes. Polysynth also comes with a sweepable high-pass filter, improved unison features and stereo-width control over the oscillators. And as there are almost endless modulation possibilities, the three LFOs or expression choosers have been ditched.

It's not just Bitwig Studio's internal devices that are feeling the love, either, as version 2 also features support for VST3 plugins.

Bitwig Studio 2 will be arriving 28 February 2017, but in the meantime, the German firm is offering the beta version free to existing Bitwig Studio 1 users.

The upgrade from Bitwig Studio 1 to Bitwig Studio 2 is priced at €159 EUR/$169, though the upgrade is free for anyone who purchased Bitwig Studio 1 on, or after, 10 December 2016.

For more information and full specs on the update, check out the Bitwig website.

Simon Arblaster
Video Producer & Reviews Editor

I take care of the reviews on MusicRadar and Future Music magazine, though can sometimes be spotted in front of a camera talking little sense in the presence of real musicians. For the past 30 years, I have been unable to decide on which instrument to master, so haven't bothered. Currently, a lover of all things high-gain in the guitar stakes and never one to resist churning out sub-standard funky breaks, the likes of which you'll never hear.