Replacing Audiomodern Freezr in Bitwig - Building Unique Buffer Repeat Effects

Tutorial | Nov 17, 2023

In this video, I explore creating a buffer repeat effect similar to Freezer within the Bitwig Studio grid. I demonstrate three different versions: one using triggers and modulation, another using predefined triggers, and a third using a scalar with the ability to shape the volume of each repeat. These methods allow for unique and customizable effects that can't be achieved with standard plugins.

You can watch the Video on Youtube - support me on Patreon

Hey folks, welcome back to my video. Today, I'm exploring the Freezer effect and attempting to recreate it in Bitwig Studio's grid. Here's a summary of my process:

• Introduction to the Freezer Effect: I explained the Freezer effect, a typical buffer repeat effect, and mentioned its basic functionalities like setting repeat counts for each step and options for oothing and filtering.
• Comparisons and Alternatives: I compared Freezer with other plugins, like Glitch, which I frequently use. I noted that many plugins offer similar features.
• Building the Effect in Bitwig Studio:
  • I started by adding an FX grid to a drum loop.
  • I used an audio input and output, along with a recorder, to capture audio every quarter note.
  • I encountered an issue with the triggers sending gates instead of the needed triggers. I resolved this by adjusting the length module to create the correct trigger type.
• Creating the Buffer Effect:
  • I used a value knob to modulate trigger timing, setting different repeat patterns.
  • I demonstrated how to switch between dry input and buffer effect using logic gates.
• First Version - Basic Beat Repeat:
  • This simple approach involved recording and then using modulated triggers to change the beat repeat effect.
• Second Version - Predefined Triggers:
  • I created a more quantized version using predefined triggers for specific repeat counts.
  • I included options for interpolation and nearest switches to improve sound quality.
• Third Version - Using Scalar for Rhythmic Variation:
  • I introduced a scalar to modify the trigger ratio, offering more control over the repeats.
  • I utilized the phase output signal for creative effects, like shaping volume for each repeat.
• Additional Features and Modifications:
  • I suggested settings for smoothing, useful for melodies or pads to eliminate clicks.
  • I explained how these settings allow for more creative control compared to the Freezer plugin.
• Conclusion and Availability of Presets:
  • I concluded by mentioning the possibility of creating stereo versions but opted not to cover it in this video to keep things simple.
  • I announced that these presets would be available on my Patreon, but viewers could also rebuild them using my video as a guide.
• Sign-off: I encouraged likes and subscriptions, thanking viewers and teasing the next video.

That's a wrap on my video exploring and recreating the Freezer effect in Bitwig Studio!

Questions & Answers #

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

What is the main purpose of this video? #

The main purpose of this video is to explore the possibility of rebuilding the Freezer effect inside the Bitwig Studio's grid. The goal is to create a buffer repeat effect with customizable parameters for each step.

How does the video approach the topic? #

The video provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to recreate the Freezer effect using different methods in Bitwig Studio's grid. It discusses three different versions of the effect, showcasing different approaches and highlighting the flexibility and customization options available in the grid.

What are the advantages of recreating the effect in Bitwig Studio's grid? #

Recreating the effect in Bitwig Studio's grid allows for greater customization and modification of the effect. It provides the opportunity to extend and modify the effect to suit individual preferences and sound needs. Additionally, the grid allows for greater control over parameters such as smoothing and volume shaping, enhancing the creative possibilities of the effect.

Where can viewers find the presets and additional resources? #

Viewers can find the presets and additional resources mentioned in the video on the creator's Patreon page. Alternatively, viewers can follow along with the video and recreate the effect themselves using the tutorial provided.

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 folks, welcome back to another video. Someone under my last video suggested
[00:00:05] that I should look into Freezer and try to rebuild it inside the grid here. This
[00:00:10] is how it looks like. It's your typical buffer repeat effect. You draw in here
[00:00:15] some bars where you define how many repeats you want for each step.
[00:00:23] Right here, 16 repeats, 10 repeats. Left and right channel. There's a smoothing
[00:00:28] option here. There's a bit of filtering, so nothing too crazy. There are already a
[00:00:33] lot of plugins on the market that do exactly the same thing. I for myself
[00:00:38] use Glitch all the time, which is out for 20 years and does kind of the same
[00:00:42] thing. So this is the newest version here, the newest Glitch buffer on the
[00:00:48] block and we try to replace it inside of Bitwig Studio. So here I have
[00:00:54] some kind of drum loop. Okay, so we put an FX grid on that. In here we have an
[00:01:08] audio input, audio output and we use a recorder. We record here basically the
[00:01:14] audio input and we do this every quarter note. So the triggers actually doesn't
[00:01:21] send out triggers. It sends out gates and we need triggers. So we talked about
[00:01:33] this, the triggers actually has the wrong name. It should be called gates or
[00:01:37] something like that. So we take your length module, pull this down to 0.1
[00:01:43] milliseconds and now we have triggers here. And then we use a not basically
[00:01:49] invert this instead of having a gate low all the time and then just a small
[00:01:54] short trigger. Now we have a long gate high and a short burst of gate low. So
[00:02:03] basically exactly the opposite. And we take the signal and use that as a
[00:02:09] recording signal. So now we record basically every quarter note for
[00:02:13] exactly one quarter note. Okay, and you can see this here the red dot we just
[00:02:20] record this. So now we can take the easy route and say let's say use another
[00:02:28] trigger small tool here. This one and we do exactly the same thing. Wait a minute.
[00:02:38] Go in that. Okay. And we can just repeat what we have here in the buffer right. So
[00:02:45] we can change the trigger here with the step mode. Steps mode. Let's say 16
[00:02:54] notes and then paint in here some things. And then we use a value knob and
[00:03:06] if you modulate your basically the triggers timing let's go to I don't
[00:03:11] know 32 or 31 actually plus one.
[00:03:16] Let's actually type it in 31 and then we modulate you this value thing and
[00:03:28] then we can say logic bigger than so every time the value is bigger than
[00:03:37] zero because the second input check is empty right. Every time this is bigger
[00:03:41] than zero send out the gate and we use this gate to switch actually here this
[00:03:49] to the output of the recorder. So every time here this is zero take the dry
[00:03:58] input so don't repeat at all just use the dry input and pass it through the
[00:04:02] output here and every time we have your bar right the value is above zero we
[00:04:09] switch this to one or to gate high and then we switch to the buffer effect and
[00:04:14] then we also modulate here to triggers.
[00:04:18] So this is the easiest way of doing exactly that. We can define bars here
[00:04:36] and each of these bars the higher it gets right the more you repeat from one
[00:04:43] up to 32 we can also go higher if you want to to 64 maybe 63 plus one.
[00:04:54] Okay so this is the first idea so it's the easiest solution basically just
[00:05:12] record here and then we use triggers and modulate the triggers to change the
[00:05:18] beat repeat effect right. So this is version one we just duplicate this here
[00:05:25] disable this and do another version of this so instead of modulating here to
[00:05:31] trigger small tool we use predefined ones so we use a merge. So right with this
[00:05:39] modulation solution here you can have three triggers six triggers seven triggers
[00:05:45] and so on so a lot of in between that maybe doesn't sound that good when you
[00:05:49] repeat it. So what I want to do here is basically to use predefined ones so it
[00:05:54] would say trigger one then we use your four triggers then we use maybe eight
[00:06:00] then use here 16 so we can make it pretty pretty easy for you to make like a
[00:06:13] quantized version of this we don't need to modulate this here then we modulated
[00:06:21] the value already so we can use the value here to switch through that we also
[00:06:26] maybe want to use interpolation and nearest so we switch from one to the
[00:06:30] other and we can also use this use linear here so you have like maybe this
[00:06:35] retrigger and this retrigger at the same time and it doesn't make sense. So
[00:06:39] switch is to nearest let's listen to that one.
[00:06:55] So right so now with these bars here you can't select anything between eight
[00:07:01] three triggers and six retriggers you basically quantize you have one four
[00:07:08] eight sixteen thirty two and sixty four so maybe the output is more more pleasant
[00:07:15] to you right if you want to have specific retriggers.
[00:07:20] So this is another version of this in my opinion this is the best or the easiest
[00:07:33] one to use just predefined things here and if you get board of these equal
[00:07:40] retriggers you can dial in anything in between you can even say let's say I use
[00:07:46] a clock quantizer here right and then user another triggers here and use 16
[00:07:59] nodes here 32 and 64 doesn't make any sense now but you can choose here then
[00:08:05] something odd like three and seven here and then put everything everything
[00:08:09] through a clock quantizer and you get these kind of more like rhythmic
[00:08:15] interesting repeats so that's something you can do in the grid that you can't do
[00:08:21] in freezer right so you can extend basically on this idea inside of it
[00:08:25] that's all this is why I say try to do it inside of the grid because you can
[00:08:31] extend you know you can make this effect more unique to your own sound in a way
[00:08:38] that you can't with the VST plug-in it's just you know predefined and it's it
[00:08:43] works how it works in for everyone but inside of the grid you can extend and
[00:08:49] modify and make it sound a bit different okay so this is another solution
[00:08:56] let's duplicate this here again switch this off and with the last version I
[00:09:02] want to use instead of triggers I do it differently so let's put this over here
[00:09:11] I think I don't also don't need to do this so with this in this version we want
[00:09:17] to use a scalar and with the scalar we not only get the trigger out here we also
[00:09:23] get the face out and we can do something very interesting with the face out here
[00:09:27] so I'm using the device face input here so now with this input here we get
[00:09:36] basically one trigger two triggers right you can see this here as an output but
[00:09:41] we also have to reset here let me see so every time the face goes down to zero
[00:09:49] we want to retrigger or reset the scalars we are exactly on the grid we do
[00:09:54] this here and then we want to change here the ratio also to predefined things so
[00:10:01] we use a constant and put this here into the merge so one and what you later out
[00:10:10] here and we modulate here the ratio exactly by one okay and then we go down
[00:10:17] to zero here so when we select basically the first input we modulate exactly by
[00:10:22] one so we get one repeat the second year gets let's say four this one gets eight
[00:10:33] so we do the same thing as before but instead of the triggers we use basically
[00:10:41] the scalar 64 okay okay so now we basically modify here with a step mod
[00:10:51] this value this value then changes here the constant the constant then
[00:10:58] modulates the scalar here to the exact right ratio and then we can take this
[00:11:04] here as an input for the repeater it should sound like the same as before
[00:11:16] so here okay so now that it sounds like before we can now use also here the face
[00:11:36] output signal and this is special because if you see here the face output it's
[00:11:41] basically a ramp now for every repeat so every repeat gets a ramp and we can use
[00:11:49] now a curve curves modulator or LFO and kind of drive it with this face so let's
[00:12:00] put this here to hold and then use this as an input go 100% and now we
[00:12:11] can reset the curve and we have kind of a shape now that we that we can shape
[00:12:16] for each repeat and we can use this output signal here for shaping the
[00:12:25] volume of the output of the recorder right so now every repeat gets this
[00:12:31] shape
[00:12:33] so let's say you don't want to repeat or freeze buffer a drum loop you need to
[00:12:51] have some kind of smoothing setting for like melodies or pet sounds right you
[00:12:56] don't want you or you want to get rid of the initial click and fade out here at
[00:13:01] the end right so you can say I want to slowly fade in and slowly fade out for
[00:13:09] each repeat so you get rid of these clicks so it's maybe more interesting if
[00:13:13] you want to use that on melodies or on pet sounds and so on and I think here in
[00:13:19] this freezer thing you have also your this smoothing setting I think it does
[00:13:24] exactly that it brings in a ramp at the beginning at the end of each repeat you
[00:13:31] know to get rid of these clicks but you can also create your more like creative
[00:13:36] effects like I showed you do maybe something like that and then make it
[00:13:40] pretty short
[00:13:42] so this is also something you can't do in freezer but you can in Bitwig studio
[00:13:59] because you have access to all these signals and you can modify these signals
[00:14:04] and all kinds of different directions like you know that's that's why I like
[00:14:09] it or that's that's why I prefer the grid most of the times for stuff like this so
[00:14:15] I have three versions here that's the easiest one the beginning just trigger
[00:14:21] to record and retrigger to play it back then here the second one where we use a
[00:14:28] merge and switch through predefined three triggers it's also easy to set up and
[00:14:35] the third one here where we use basically a scalar and with the scalar we get the
[00:14:41] face signal and with the face signal we can also make a volume shape for each
[00:14:46] partial or for each retrigger so three versions of this how I would do it if you
[00:14:55] want to create basically here this for stereo for the left and the right channel
[00:15:01] I think you just need to duplicate everything you need to step modulate
[00:15:08] us here then you need stereo split right you need to split this into left and
[00:15:15] right channel here the input put the left channel into recorder right channel
[00:15:20] into a recorder and then repeat left and the right channel separately but I think
[00:15:26] you don't want to do that actually and it's I mean if you want to do it you can
[00:15:32] do it but I want to show it don't want to show it in this video just to make this
[00:15:37] tutorial not too complex I think you get the idea how it works and I put these
[00:15:43] three presets here onto my patreon so you can download it and if you don't want to
[00:15:49] subscribe to the patreon you can just rebuild it from the video at my moment
[00:15:53] it's not that you know it's not super complicated so this one is pretty easy
[00:15:57] and I think that's it for this video so leave a like if you liked the video
[00:16:01] subscribe to the channel thanks for watching and I see you in the next
[00:16:05] video bye