With Bitwig Studio 2.5, plugins will no longer crash your entire projects

Bitwig has announced version 2.5 of Bitwig Studio is now available and the big news is that its DAW is changing the way it handles your plugins.

The latest iteration overhauls the plugin-hosting architecture and improves on the sandbox approach, so that should any plugins crash, you’re entire project will be unaffected. In fact Bitwig even say that playback will not be interrupted. Instead, in the event of a crash, the plugin will try to be reloaded immediately.

Bitwig Studio will now feature five methods of plugin-hosting, which promise a saving on resources and increased security:

  • Within Bitwig - Plugins are loaded along with the audio engine. This requires the least memory, but any single plug-in can crash all audio.
  • Together - Plugins are sandboxed together, separating them from the audio engine.
  • By manufacturer - Individual sandboxes are created for each plug-in manufacturer. (This can be necessary when plug-ins need to communicate with one another.)
  • By plugin - Individual sandboxes are created for each plug-in used. When a plug-in is used multiple times, its instances are sandboxed together, reducing the required memory.
  • Individually - Individual sandboxes are created for each plug-in used. This is the most memory-intensive option, but the safest.

Version 2.5 of Bitwig Studio is available as a free download for all license holders with an active Upgrade Plan. For more details, including the changelog, 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.

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