Creating Unique Sounds with Bitwig Studio Filter and Grid: No Oscillators Needed!

Tutorial | Aug 15, 2019

In this video, I show how to create sounds using just the filter in Bitwig Studio and the grid. I demonstrate how to generate noise using the random noise generator, and then use a filter with resonance to shape the noise and add tonality. By manipulating the filter, resonance, and key tracking, you can achieve different sounds and effects. I also suggest trying different filters and experimenting with modulation to further shape the sound. Overall, it's an interesting and unique way to generate sounds without traditional oscillators or audio input.

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Questions & Answers #

Maybe you dont watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

Question 1: What is the main concept in this video? #

The main concept of this video is to demonstrate how to create sounds using just the filter of Bitwig Studio and the grid. The video explains that by utilizing the noise generator and connecting it to a filter with resonance, users can generate tonal sounds from noise sources. This technique allows for the creation of unique and interesting sounds without the need for traditional oscillators or audio input.

Question 2: What are the different types of noise mentioned in the video? #

In the video, two types of noise are mentioned: white noise and pink noise. White noise is a random signal that contains equal power in all frequencies. On the other hand, pink noise is a type of noise where the power in each octave is equalized, creating a more pleasing frequency distribution to the human ear. While technically both types of noise are considered white noise, pink noise provides a more balanced and tonally pleasing result.

Question 3: How does the filter with resonance affect the noise generated? #

The filter with resonance is a crucial component in shaping the noise generated. When the filter is applied, it cuts off certain frequency content from the noise source, resulting in a more tonal sound. By adjusting the resonance of the filter, users can introduce distortion or self-resonance, which further enhances the tonal characteristics of the sound. Additionally, the filter's key tracking feature allows the filter to open based on the keys pressed on a MIDI controller, creating a dynamic and responsive tonal output.

Question 4: What other filters can be used in this technique? #

While the video demonstrates the use of a filter with resonance, it is mentioned that any filter with resonance and key tracking can be utilized in this technique. This means that users have a variety of options within Bitwig Studio to experiment and create unique sounds. Filters like the low pass filter LD mentioned in the video can be used as alternative options. Each filter will result in a different tonal quality, allowing for a wide range of sound possibilities.

Transcription #

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00:00] Hey, welcome back to another video.
[00:00:06] Today I want to show you how you can create sounds with just the filter of Bitwig Studio
[00:00:13] and the grid.
[00:00:15] And when we see here we have an oscillator section where you can generate noise or you
[00:00:20] can use the audio in and just put in some audio from outside of the grid.
[00:00:27] But you also can use here the random noise generator which just generates some noise.
[00:00:36] So there's no output.
[00:00:37] So we need an ADSR here.
[00:00:41] Just connect that.
[00:00:47] So we have two types of noise here.
[00:00:49] White noise and the pink noise which is more like a frequency distribution that matches
[00:00:58] your ear where you would say every frequency is exactly the same loudness.
[00:01:04] But technically it's white noise.
[00:01:07] But pink noise is more like for the ear pleasing.
[00:01:13] And yeah, we have random noise across the whole frequency spectrum now.
[00:01:20] And to make music out of this because this has no tonality, we need a filter.
[00:01:27] And this filter here, we have a lot of filters actually, but we need a filter with resonance.
[00:01:34] And I take this one here and that's why it is up.
[00:01:38] So we now have a noise going into the filter, going into the amplitude modulation envelope
[00:01:45] here and then we're going out.
[00:01:47] So this is...
[00:01:50] So sounds like we just cut off the high end of the noise.
[00:01:58] So exactly what's expected, right?
[00:02:04] But when you double click this button here or this knob and you can see the cut off knob
[00:02:13] is jumping to 262 hertz, which is exactly if you hover over this knob here and look
[00:02:20] in the bottom photo here from Bitwig, you can see it's exactly at C3.
[00:02:28] So the note C3.
[00:02:30] And that's for a reason, right?
[00:02:32] Because when you have here the pre-chord activated or the key track, that means that when you
[00:02:40] play the keys on your keyboard or have MIDI input into the grid going in, accordingly
[00:02:48] to the keys you are pressing, the filter is opening this knob here.
[00:02:57] You don't see it, but it's happening in the background.
[00:03:01] So the higher we go on the keyboard, the more the filter is opening.
[00:03:11] And when we now raise the resonance here until we have some ringing going on, we have now
[00:03:26] some kind of tonality, right?
[00:03:28] We have distortion or self resonance.
[00:03:31] When we press different keys, the filter is opening to the right frequency of the keys
[00:03:40] we are pressing.
[00:03:41] Then we have now some kind of a sound that we can play with.
[00:03:54] But you can still hear some kind of noise coming through the filter.
[00:04:00] So it has some kind of special character.
[00:04:03] It sounds more like a flute or trombone or some kind of horn, for example.
[00:04:13] You can even change how much noise and how much tonality you want with the filter resonance.
[00:04:22] So for instance, when we take this envelope here and modulate the resonance a bit, so
[00:04:28] we have at the start more like a windy attack.
[00:04:54] And you can hear when I hold the note, it's not exactly, it's changing a bit because we
[00:05:12] are having white noise as an input.
[00:05:16] So it's not exactly a sine wave that we are generating.
[00:05:21] It's something in between like a sine wave combined with the noise signal.
[00:05:44] So let's use some reverb here.
[00:06:07] So it's a pretty interesting concept to generate sound.
[00:06:11] You also can use all the other filters here, for instance, the low pass LD.
[00:06:20] So every filter with resonance and key tracking is working.
[00:06:50] So it's just another way to create interesting sounds from noise.
[00:07:05] You can also change the pink noise.
[00:07:19] What you also can try is to not rely on C3, so just go in here and type C4, for instance,
[00:07:30] and leave the key track on.
[00:07:36] That should work too, but a bit differently because we have now offset the filtering via
[00:07:45] an octave.
[00:08:07] Also nice to generate some kind of percussions with tonality.
[00:08:16] Maybe use some shapers here, distortion.
[00:08:42] Yeah, maybe if you try to lay out with some other sounds, then it's becoming better.
[00:08:58] But yeah, that's just one example how you can create sounds without oscillators or the
[00:09:04] sampler or audio input.
[00:09:07] Just use the noise and drive it into the filter of Bitwig Studio, use the resonance, play
[00:09:16] around with the resonance values and you get some interesting sounds out of it.
[00:09:23] Yeah, and that's it for this video.
[00:09:25] Thanks for watching.
[00:09:27] If you liked the video, please leave a like and I'll see you in the next one.
[00:09:31] Bye.
[00:09:33] Bye.
[00:09:34] Bye.
[00:09:35] Bye.
[00:09:37] Bye.
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[00:09:41] Bye.
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[00:09:45] Bye.
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[00:09:49] Bye.
[00:09:51] Bye.