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Value Readout

Bitwig Platform

Value Readout module panel in Bitwig Grid
Value Readout in Bitwig Grid 6.0.6.

A stereo numerical monitor that interprets Grid signals as raw values, decibels, semitone pitch, or pitch frequency.

What it does

Value Readout displays the current left and right signal values without requiring audio monitoring or an oscilloscope. Its Unit mode translates the same raw cable value into the domain most useful for the patch: plain number, amplitude dB, note/semitone pitch, or note/frequency.

Controls and ports

Control Label Official description
mode Display Unit [1, dB, st, Hz] The unit used to display the signal. Either raw signal values (1), decibel levels (dB), note pitch and semitones (st), or note pitch and frequency in Hertz (Hz).

Practical uses

  • Measure constants, math boundaries, envelopes, random values, and stereo lane differences while documenting module behavior.
  • Switch to st or Hz to inspect pitch cables in musical units instead of their normalized raw representation.

Things to know

  • Raw Bitwig pitch uses C3 = 0, 0.1 per octave, and 1/120 per semitone; a raw value of 1 is therefore ten octaves, not one semitone.
  • The display changes interpretation only and should not change the incoming cable value.
  • Decibel display requires a magnitude convention near zero and for negative signals; exact formatting and floor need measurement.
  • Fast or audio-rate signals are visually sampled, so the shown number is not every processed sample.

Technical details

No Nitro implementation has been confirmed for this visible module. The behavior is described conservatively from module metadata and editorial research.

Raw mode displays x. Pitch/semitone interpretation uses semitones_from_C3 = 120*x, while frequency interpretation under A440 is f = 261.625565*2^(10*x) Hz. A conventional amplitude display would use 20*log10(abs(x)), with zero mapped to a display floor or negative infinity, but Bitwig's exact signed and zero policy is not recovered. The automatic Scale Steps candidate is unrelated and rejected.

Open questions

  • Measure UI sampling/averaging, precision, rounding, dB floor and negative values, pitch spelling, A440/reference settings, stereo behavior, NaN/infinity/signed zero, and through behavior if present.

Version and sources

Checked against Bitwig Studio 6.0.6. This page combines Bitwig's module metadata, the existing Grid course and guides, and Nitro analysis where the mapping is strong enough to support a technical statement.

Return to Bitwig Grid Modules or the Grid Modules course lesson.

Also matches: Bitwig Value Readout module, Bitwig Grid Value Readout, Value Readout Grid module