Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
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I have a beta of ableton which is M1 native. I have not run any diagnostics but it runs well.
I can’t get past Bitwig’s non-native interface on the Mac. Menubar in the window toolbar!?! It’s like Java all over again.
Edit: is Bitwig the one with the weird menus, or am I mixing it up with something else?
I believe that it is in fact written in Java. It’s also extremely stable with (in my experience) significantly lower resource usage than Ableton.
I’m not in love with the UI, but the workflow is good, it’s a modulation beast and Driven By Moss is awesome.
I don't own Bitwig, so take this comment with that perspective, but as far as I can tell Bitwig is Java all over again. (From some digging around I did a bit ago, the UI portion at least is written in Java.)
I'm surprised you say that, Ableton and Reaper have been the most efficient DAWs for me. Has that changed with Ableton 11?
I haven’t used Reaper, though I’m aware that the hardware specs needed for running it can be very lean.
I should caveat by saying that the performance of Bitwig vs Ableton is an unscientific observation on my Mac Mini (2012, quad i7, 16gb ram, fusion drive). It was very easy to peg the cpu and get audio crackling/dropouts in Ableton 10/11 with the more complex patches from Phase Plant and Voltage Modular. I’ve been unable to observe the same in Bitwig 3.3, it’s astonishingly smooth on my decade old hardware.
Both using the same audio driver and buffer size?
I've done my last tests with Ableton Live 8 if I remember correctly and it was the DAW that I could run the most plugins simultaneously but who knows how things have changed...
Yeah, same settings across the board. I was surprised by the difference.
I find Ableton 11 very good in terms of CPU overhead. I'll always keep tabs on Bitwig as it has a talented team and their approach to modularity is enticing. But Ableton is my first love, and its Max integration, whilst heavier on the CPU has delivered so many essentials over the years, it's hard for any other DAW to take its place as my go-to.
Occasionally projects I'm working on require a more traditional linear DAW and Logic has always been my choice in those situations.
Bitwig Winter Special
https://www.bitwig.com/buy/
I dipped my toe into Bitwig when I started playing with MPE, I started with 8-track but found that too limiting (only 2 plugins allowed) and eventually bit the bullet and got the full version (Bitwig 3). I really liked it and used it a lot, but having already invested time and money in Live and especially once Live 11 added MPE I found myself gravitating back to Ableton. What I wished was that I'd just gone with the 16 track Bitwig as that would be adequate for my occasional forays.
My point being that I think Bitwig 16 track for $79 (down from $99) is good value and a good compromise for anyone who wants to try it as side-DAW. Unlimited plug-ins in this version.
I have the 8 track and am still figuring it out. An Ableton Live upgrade would cost me about $80 more. Probability is my main interest.
CM is currently giving out free codes to Bitwig 8-Track. Gets you a $40 discount right now on the upgrade to Studio.
https://futureplc.slgnt.eu/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=PbkPkgSxBj+FMGgdXiv3p3XkDYyA4VDAQDD8nyVGK5Fb9BW5yyvaVqouW4EluGxydIioemaldZBNf64KbS
So first off, question about the poll because I can’t remember what I voted: does the colour of the bar tell me my vote? Green for voted?
Secondly.... Bitwig is awesome. Amazing. Ridiculously fun to play with. I wish it were a plugin I could use inside Ableton.
+1
Bitwig since 1.0
I’ve got nothing against Live, my kid uses it and loves it. I bounce back and forth between Bitwig/FL Studio/Renoise. Horses for courses
Some fun:
I’m not at all polarised between Bitwig and Ableton but I’ve used Ableton since year dot so that will always be my goto. I love that you’ve got two teams with similar philosophies regarding DAW UX and breaking free of the linear approach of their forebears.
The thing that draws me most to the Ableton side of the street is Max for Live. I’ve collected and built so many unique devices over the years since it was first introduced to Live, using them is like muscle memory. The flipside to that coin is that Bitwigs modular environment has a native, less programmatic approach to creating many of those same utilities.
Happy to have both in my life.
Only until Monday
Save 25% on Live 11,
Upgrades and Packs
https://www.ableton.com/en/shop/
+1 on your approach, there are probably too many DAWs on my laptop (incudiing Live off and on, true on iPad too)
Wonderful tools all. was the thing that drew me to to Live except i don’t share your progamatic finess. Beautful tool, amazing team, with ethics too you may have heard sbout their many refussals of sketch investors offers
I’m intrigued by Bitwig, and might grab it just to get some experience with it, but the Push 2 is the massive, terrifying elephant in the room that makes me pick Ableton over everything else.
https://www.youtube.com/c/JürgenMoßgraber/videos
Yes, exactly. I’ll take drivenbymoss with the LPX over Ableton and a Push 2, with close to a $400 savings. If you already own a Push, it’s gravy cuz drivenbymoss supports it too.
Bitwig also doesn’t need the weird multichannel midi routing workarounds. You drop something on a track and it just works.
It’s not Ableton, but it’s less than half the price and probably 90% as capable. I’ve heard Bitwig was started by ex-Ableton employees, makes sense they’re located blocks from each other in Berlin.
Glad to find this thread, and hopefully revive it…
Background: I was a DAW user, Cubase and then Logic Pro. Switched to 100% iPad and haven’t looked back.
Never tried Ableton or Bitwig until recently I was looking at Akai Force videos (GAS) and stumbled upon some videos of the Push2. Loved the design, the workflow… One thing leads to another and ended up trying Bitwig.
Ableton is great, no doubt. But Bitwig feels so much more fun and inmediate. Loving Drambo and modular approach, I felt at home in no time.
There’s little details in Bitwig like the preset management which I find a lot better than Ableton’s. The out-of-the-box modulation in Bitwig, and The Grid!.
I used the Moses script to control Bitwig with my Launchkey mini Mk3, and it’s amazing!. Of course it’s quite limited because of the tiny size and few controls. But it’s already surprisingly fun.
I know Ableton has better audio fx and instruments, but it somehow feels more “traditional” desktop, whereas Bitwig feels more fun and new…
BUT I don’t want to go back to mouse and keyboard. If Im considering giving the desktop a chance again it’d be with a controller-based approach. That’s my only doubt… Push2 is so well integrated that you hardly have to look at the screen. I’ve seen videos of the Moses script for the push on Bitwig and it’s outstanding, but. Not quite like the Ableton-Push2 combo, is it?.
What would be the best controller for Bitwig?. I’m even thinking of getting a used Push1 to try out, as the screen doesn’t make such a difference. Can’t edit audio with it on Bitwig… Or maybe one of those Akai controllers?.
I wouldn't be surprised to see push 3 this year either.
Yeah man, we’re to have fun!. I’d be nice to be here to make money as well but definately not the case 😂
Bitwig feels more fun, BUT I’m afraid it requires more mouse action and looking at the screen than the Ableton/Push2 combo. That’s the catch… from what I’ve seen with the Push2 and Ableton you could put a blanket over the computer screen and still get things done.
How do you feel about the fall of Constantinople?
Years ago I started with ProTracker on Amiga, switched to PC (Cubase) and also used several MPC’s: the 60MkI, 2000XL, 1000 (that one sucked) and recently for a short while the MPC One. When my (more serious) interest in music production came back after 18 years of silence I was in doubt between Ableton and Bitwig. I installed demo’s from both but “clicked” the best with Bitwig. The interface, ease of use and modular aspect gave me more “fun” then Ableton. With that said I would still would like to see some added functionality: easier basic audio editing with the option to export the audiofile and AU support being two of them. Through the years Ableton garnered quite some users and that reflects in its functionality, like Danny Wolfers “ Vintage Sampler Simulator”. Within Bitwig we have the Grid that enables you to build your own devices (synths, effects, modulators and MIDI generators) but there isn’t a lot to find for that. I also would like to see some more interface options for the Grid, making it more customizable.
With controllers I have less experience, I’ve got an TR-8S that I can use but that wouldn’t go as deep as the Novation stuff. Just some dedicated buttons for standard transport and some freely assignable knobs, buttons, faders duplicated by some sort of page function would be enough to please us all.
i love ableton, been using it for many years, but i have had so many issues with crashing , freezing etc in the latest updates, im seriously considering moving full time to bitwig. I use both now, but bitwig mostly just for fun / sound design.
I tried it out today for the first time and the stability is really nice. I have a frustrating time with ableton sometimes cos I have an older computer but Bitwig was holding up nicely.
As far as I know, the main advantage of the Push 2 is that you can edit samples on the Push using its screen. But using it as an instrument and DAW controller I don't see a substantial improvement except for the bigger screen. Given that it still costs 3-4 times more than the Push 1, I think it's a fair compromise to get the Push 1 and wait for the Push 3.
I played around with a Push 2 at my local music store. TBH, the audio editor is okay to do some basics like fades, adjust gain, move the sample start, etc. But some serious audio editing is much better with a mouse on a computer. I would not really like to do that on hardware, too. Why should I prefer menu diving and buttons with many meanings over a right click and a context menu? Even the largest screen on a hardware device is still much smaller than a monitor. For me it's more important to develop muscle memory for recording, mixing and performing. But that's my stance on it.
I find the AKAI Force way too expensive. I also have a secondhand AKAI MPC 40 mkII which is also a really cool DAW controller for Live and Bitwig but it sucks as an instrument.
I’d have to learn Ableton to really compare- (i have Lite 11.0 the license that comes with a lot of ios apps like TriqTraq and iKaosssilator and others)
My son wont use anything else, so i try it occasionally, but don’t put the time in.
Ive had Bitwig since 1.0, and know it a bit better.
I thought it was so cool with touch functionality, and everything else that i ultimately found a reconditioned Surface Pro 3 that the software demo-ed on when released.
It still runs well on the Surface Pro 3…
Now at 4.84 (or 4.48?) Im very pleased i put the time in. Drambo + BM3 +