Polarity Music Tutorials

I'm sharing a free Bitwig preset called BND Wave Cycle Bender, inspired by Colugo's BND device for Reaktor, which applies pitch-tracked phase modulation to audio for unique distortion effects. This tool allows you to add new harmonics and character to your audio samples by tracking pitch and modulating them with a sine oscillator, with adjustable delay and modulation settings for creative results. You can download the preset from my Patreon or GitHub and experiment with it on your own sounds to discover interesting textures and effects.

In this video, I discuss how to use the free and open-source spectral compressor plugin in Bitwig for precise sidechaining and frequency ducking, especially when working with combined drum loops and bass tracks. I demonstrate how its audio-rate processing and flexible attack and release times make it uniquely effective for not just kick and bass, but also for managing overlapping frequencies in pads and leads, allowing for detailed mix control without needing separate drum tracks. While powerful, the plugin requires careful adjustment to avoid overly digital or unnatural results, and I encourage viewers to experiment and share their own use cases.

In this video, I introduce Spectrum Thief, a free plugin designed to clone EQ curves from speaker cabinets or amplifiers, which I also creatively use to streamline EQ chains and match sounds like snares and percussion. The plugin allows you to capture and export impulse responses, saving CPU and making it easy to share projects without requiring others to have the same plugins. Its high-resolution matching and flexible features make it a powerful tool for both guitarists and electronic producers looking to replicate or shape unique spectral signatures.

Looking for a Minimeters review? This page explains what the audio visualizer app and plugin does, how the waveform, spectrogram, and oscilloscope modules work, and whether it is worth using in a DAW workflow.

Looking for the Bitwig 6 release date and what changed in the update? This page covers the August 27, 2025 beta announcement, the expected rollout pattern, and the main Bitwig 6 focus areas like piano roll and arranger improvements.

In this video, I show you how to resynthesize a kick drum in Bitwig Studio using The Grid by extracting and mimicking the pitch and amplitude envelopes from a sampled drum sound. This method allows you to create highly tweakable, high-definition drum presets that can be customized and reused without needing tons of samples. The approach is efficient and flexible, giving you precise control over your drum sounds while you wait for the much-anticipated Bitwig Studio 6 release.

In this video, I demonstrate how to turn a Bitwig grid patch into a full track by separating and bouncing individual instrument layers using the DC offset trick for modulation-based audio routing. I explain step-by-step how to split sounds within the grid, assign each to separate tracks, and export them for further arrangement and production. While the process isn't perfect or high-end, it allows for creative freedom, layering, and practical workflows to develop unique ambient tracks from simple beginnings.

noteGRABBER 2 is a plugin for any DAW that allows users to manually convert audio to MIDI by visually analyzing a sonogram and painting notes, making it easier to extract melodies, basslines, or chords from tracks.

The video demonstrates how to build a generative techno grid patch in Bitwig Studio's modular environment, breaking down the process of creating drums, bass, arps, and effects step by step. While the patch may look complex, the creator emphasizes it's mainly a matter of arranging basic modules, sound design techniques, and sequencing cleverly, then compacting the layout for visual effect. The process showcases both sound creation and modular workflow tips, with the finished patch to be shared for free on GitHub.

Forever 89 has released VISCO 2.0, a drum sampler and synthesizer that allows users to morph between different sounds and easily play them in key without needing to set a root note. The update introduces new tonal features, enabling users to turn samples into playable synth patches, create pads, and experiment with harmonics and modulation for unique sonic results. The upgrade is free for existing owners and brings enhanced flexibility and creativity, making it even more useful for sound design and music production.

The reviewer tested the affordable Reloop Keypad Pro DAW controller, highlighting its solid build, useful Bitwig integration, velocity-sensitive keys, versatile controls, and convenient features like battery power, a mini USB hub, and scale modes. It worked flawlessly with Bitwig on Windows and offered flexible mapping and performance options, although switching between modes for clip launching and drumming could be more streamlined. Overall, the Keypad Pro is recommended as a fun, budget-friendly controller for Bitwig users, especially in club settings or for mobile music-making.

In this video, I demonstrate a unique technique in Bitwig using pre-emphasis and de-emphasis with tilt EQs to mimic multi-band limiting and achieve more balanced loudness across frequency ranges, without traditional band splitting. By tilting the analyzing signal fed into auto-levelers or limiters, you can shift how loudness is controlled across your mix, changing the tonal balance solely through volume adjustments. This approach allows for more natural and flexible mixdowns and can be applied not just to limiting but also to compression, reverb, and other effects, potentially streamlining your workflow and achieving more transparent results.

In this walkthrough, I demonstrate how to create a complete drum and bass track from scratch in Bitwig Studio, focusing on making original sounds without relying on sample packs. I show how to design bass, kick, snare, hi-hats, and percussion, while explaining techniques for modulation, sound layering, and basic mix strategies for punchy results. The process emphasizes experimentation, customization, and the development of personal taste, illustrating that strong grooves and creative sound design are more important than complex melodies.

Atlas 2 by Algonaut helps you organize drum samples, build random kits, and sketch beats quickly with sequencing tools for faster beatmaking.

Melda's Multi-Analyzer is a powerful and affordable plugin that lets you visually analyze the frequency content of multiple tracks in a single window, working seamlessly with Bitwig Studio. It offers clear visual features like spectrum, sonogram, collision detection, loudness, and stereo field monitoring, along with practical adjustments for smoothness, normalization, and prioritization. Despite previously disliking Melda's interfaces, I found this plugin highly effective and user-friendly, making it an excellent value, especially at its current discounted price.

Reev-R is a free, open-source convolution reverb plugin available for Windows, Mac, and Linux that allows detailed envelope shaping, sample stretching, and automated reverb control. It supports custom impulse responses and includes additional features like integrated delay and various envelope curve options, making it highly flexible for sound design. Recommended for users seeking an alternative to paid creative plugins, Reev-R offers professional-grade functionality and is actively developed with community feedback.