Bitwig 5.2.5: Audio Import & New Features!

Tutorial | Oct 11, 2024

In this video, I discuss the updates in Bitwig Studio 5.2.5, focusing on the new audio import behavior settings, like the ability to choose between stretch modes and the reintroduction of the raw import option. I demonstrate how these changes affect sample imports and recordings, and highlight additional interface improvements like devices scrolling into view in the chain. Overall, I find these updates to be positive steps forward, but I suggest further tweaks, such as a consistent raw setting for recordings, would make the experience even better.

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Summary #

Maybe you don't watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

Hey folks, welcome back to another video! A few weeks ago, I made a video discussing Bitwig Studio's audio import behavior, and now with Bitwig Studio 5.2.5, we have some kind of solution where they’ve tried to fix this issue. In the settings, under behavior, there is a new audio import section. The stretch behavior, which was originally set to sync with the project by default, can now be switched to options like original speed, neutral, and raw. The raw option means that whenever you drag in a sample, it isn’t stretched at all; it’s always in raw mode. You can switch back to syncing with the project, where it analyzes the BPM and any tempo changes, which is useful for something like a vinyl sample that changes tempo over time. You also have the option to define the start of the clip as the sample start or the first detected beat, like a kick drum or hi-hat.

If you import an audio file and it detects a different tempo, the stretch mode adapts, and you can select other import stretch modes, like stretch HD or slice, especially if you’re working with a lot of drum loops. Also, when recording and bouncing stuff inside Bitwig, you can adjust the default stretch mode. Although the standalone raw mode doesn't appear in this setting, I remember from years ago that if you use stretch mode but the tempo doesn’t change during recording, it uses raw mode internally so there is no stretch applied. Basically, if your track is at a consistent BPM, even though it technically shows as using stretch mode, it functions as raw mode.

I understand that some people still want the raw mode option available, just for reassurance, even if it doesn't practically change the result. I did some testing: starting a new project under the "sync to project" setting and gradually dragging in audio clips. By holding down various keys like alt for original speed neutral and control for original speed raw, you are given different options before the clip selection. This time, when dragging in a sample, it identified the BPM from the file name. Switching back to raw mode in the settings means you drag in samples at their raw, unaltered form with no additional key commands.

On the flip side, when trying to bounce or record within Bitwig, it doesn’t allow selecting raw mode directly in the recording settings. If you right-click and select options like “bounce post fader,” the system still applies the stretch mode by default, even for recordings whose tempo matches the project’s BPM. However, if you change the project BPM, the clip would initially seem to engage stretch mode, matching the project settings unless explicitly changed back to raw.

In my view, Bitwig made some great improvements in the right direction. For instance, one minor yet significant tweak is how newly added devices via the pop-up browser are automatically scrolled into view. Before, you’d add a device, and if it was off-screen due to an already long chain, it wouldn’t immediately appear, forcing you to manually adjust. Now, it automatically scrolls, making the workflow smoother.

These are two relatively small but important changes that have been integrated well into Bitwig Studio 5.2.5. Personally, if they reinstate the direct raw setting for recording and bouncing, it would be nearly perfect. That's my opinion; let me know yours in the comments! Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and I’ll see you next time. Thanks for watching, bye!

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 and maybe you remember a few weeks ago I made a video about
[00:00:06] Bitwig Studio's audio import behavior and with Bitwig Studio 5.2.5 now we have some kind of
[00:00:15] solution where they try to fix this. We have now here under settings behavior this audio import
[00:00:20] section and then we have stretch behavior sync to project which was the default thing we had before.
[00:00:27] So now we can switch to original speed here neutral and raw and raw means every time you drag in a
[00:00:35] sample it's not stretched at all it's always in raw mode and you can also go back here to sync the
[00:00:44] project so when you drag in a sample it's analyzed for the bpm and also for tempo changes right so
[00:00:51] sometimes you have like a vinyl sample and it changes the tempo over time at different positions
[00:00:57] inside of the sample so you can detect this here or you can say what I drag in with my samples is
[00:01:04] always a fixed tempo it's it never changes right you can also disable this here if you want to
[00:01:11] you can also say start clip from sample start or first detected beat which means you don't start at
[00:01:21] the beginning of this here at the beginning of the file of the wave file with this here Bitwig tries to find the first kick drum or the first hi
[00:01:28] hat or the first percussion or whatever it starts with right and it offsets slightly the first beat marker to
[00:01:28] this point so you can also choose this here if you want to so we have a lot of options here and if you have an audio import here let's say this one and it detects a different tempo it changes the tempo it changes the tempo and it changes the
[00:01:51] tempo it changes the stretch mode and then you can select the import stretch mode and then you can select here the import stretch mode to something different maybe stretch hd right or slice when you import a lot of drum loops for instance
[00:02:02] um so you can change this um so you can change this and also when you record and bounce stuff inside of bitwig studio you can change here the default um stretch mode um
[00:02:14] um sadly um the raw mode is still gone here but i know from some talks years ago that if you use the stretch mode here and you record something and the tempo doesn't change
[00:02:29] um it actually uses raw mode internally so there's no stretch applied so if you have let's say a track with 150 bpm and you record an audio sample and it's on another track then right it's bounced to a new track
[00:02:43] track and then this audio clip is using the stretch mode here but because it doesn't change the bpm of the whole project it does need to apply stretch mode
[00:02:43] or stretch mode so it's the same bpm so you actually use it in raw mode um but i guess some people still want to have the raw mode in here even though it doesn't make a difference just to feel good in a way um but i think
[00:03:12] um if you switch this here you can see here it's still using then for the record bounce it's it's it's it still uses stretch then so let me try this out here uh i first start here with a sync to project
[00:03:26] and i use a new project here and i make this window a bit smaller so you can see what's going on down in
[00:03:34] the info bar here so let's use here uh let's say a drum loop so i drag this in just without holding anything
[00:03:42] and you can see down in the info bar we can now use the alt key to uh use original speed neutral and you can use
[00:03:51] control key for original speed raw right so now i just drag it in without using any key
[00:03:58] and now we have here the stretch mode and we have tempo 173 so it detects the bpm or maybe it just uses
[00:04:07] here the file name because i have 173 bpm in there so it probably uses this info there so now i'm going
[00:04:17] back here and drag in something different let's say i use this one here and drag it in and now i can hold down
[00:04:23] the control key it looks like this and now when i click here on this audio clip you can see on the
[00:04:31] left side it uses raw mode right and bpm is 172 so it's still correct because this is in 172 bpm
[00:04:42] okay let's go back here to the settings behavior and let's use raw
[00:04:48] so now we can drag something in let's say this one here new track and you can see down in the info bar
[00:04:57] we have no options we can't use alt and control because it's disabled we always drag in the samples
[00:05:05] in raw mode let's select this you can see it's raw right so let's try and use this here and maybe
[00:05:14] right click and say bounce to new track right and if you remember we have here in the settings
[00:05:24] behavior record bounce is always the stretch mode here we can't select raw
[00:05:30] so we right click here and say where's the option bounce post fader no dither okay
[00:05:39] okay so this thing here now is still in a stretch mode right and it uses 110 ppm because we have here
[00:05:50] 110 ppm and i guess if you just play back this audio sample now it uses internally the raw mode because
[00:05:58] there is no stretch applied but when you change the ppm here then it stays in place and then we use
[00:06:05] probably uh raw let me uh let me uh let me go down yeah then it uses a stretch
[00:06:15] right uh we can switch this here to raw and then it looks like this
[00:06:21] so i don't know maybe we should also have still in here the raw uh mode for when you record something
[00:06:33] and i guess this one should be disabled right if i have this here on original speed raw
[00:06:40] this is disabled and this should be then also disabled here
[00:06:45] import because you always import with war with the raw mode so this is
[00:06:50] i guess that's my thinking maybe i'm wrong let me know in the comments down below what you think
[00:06:56] i think i think they made here some some great changes actually it goes in the right direction
[00:07:01] um let me see here in the browser um so this was one feature importing audio as raw is available as
[00:07:08] default option um that's coming back basically um
[00:07:13] yeah what they also changed is here when devices are added to the chain via the pop-up browser they are
[00:07:22] now now now scrolled into view automatically i think this was also something i said in the video
[00:07:28] uh it's some random video i'm not sure um that's about when you have a lot of
[00:07:35] devices here inside of the chain let me see something like this and then you scroll to the right
[00:07:42] right and then you can't scroll any further right and then you want to add a new device here and this
[00:07:47] new device then was hidden below the sidebar so now we add here the amp
[00:07:54] right and it scrolls into the view so it scrolls to the left side which is nice to have
[00:08:02] um that kind of works before you had to add it basically and then you had to move it to the left
[00:08:12] side or you had to use the scroll bar to scroll it actually into view so this is much better so my
[00:08:18] opinion uh two small very important changes i think when they bring back here this raw setting in here
[00:08:27] then it's probably perfect um so that's just my guess let me know in the comments down below what
[00:08:34] you think uh also leave a like subscription of course and um see you next time thanks for watching bye