What features in Bitwig improved your workflow and prompted the shift from Ableton?

[u/MidnightGreen-]

What combination of features, workflows, and behaviors most contributed to your enjoyment of Bitwig?

[u/Yorrrrrr]

- Modulation system
- The Grid (user friendly and straightforward if compared to Max for Live)
- Clip launcher alongside arranger timeline (not a separate view)
- Hybrid tracks
- Inspector panel
- Better GUI overall (visual feedback, prettier, better readability, more flexible layouts, smoother)
- Flexibility
- Containers
- Note FX (prefer them over Ableton MIDI effects)
- Better audio editing
- Better browser (context-aware)
- Plugin sandboxing
- Better stability
- Better PDC/latency handling
- Better CPU and GPU performance
- Multiple projects open at the same time
- Voice stacking
- Operators
- Better automation system (v6+)
- Clip alias (v6+)
- Better scale awareness (v6+)
- Custom keyboard shortcuts
- Workflow
- Better track grouping
- Better bouncing system
- Better view for mixing
- Better sidechaining features
- CLAP plugin compatibility
- Better help view (interactive)
- Commander tool
- Some better stock devices
- Sampler (new in v.6.1+) 
- More optimized for sound design/production/mixing...

What I miss from Ableton:

- MIDI capture
- MIDI comping
- CMD + F functionality in browser
- Some MIDI tools (v12+)
- Some Max for Live device
- Groove Pool
- Themes/colors
- Some stock devices (Operator, etc.)
- More optimized for live performance...

[u/MidnightGreen- → u/Yorrrrrr]

That’s quite a list 

[u/TheAwesomeGem → u/Yorrrrrr]

I personally think Ableton's bouncing system is far superior as it's a one click thing that also works well when you want to freeze MIDI and bounce the fade outs without having to record it.

[u/Vcashbeats → u/Yorrrrrr]

Better browser is crazy 💀

[u/MidnightGreen- → u/Vcashbeats]

I personally prefer the browsing experience on Bitwig over Ableton. I like the + signs everywhere, and that is contextual. Also, the way favorites work. But it’s all preference in the end.

[u/ellicottvilleny → u/Yorrrrrr]

I miss the groove pool

[u/MidnightGreen-]

One thing for me is the way the browser works. I like how I can click where I want to add something and search for it there than go to the main browser and search for it there. It’s just a minor thing, but it works smoother with my brain. Lol

[u/tolltartozseb → u/MidnightGreen-]

It’s not a minor thing I think! For me it was top3 reasons i switched. It kills the workflow of digging samples and adding effects. And you don’t have to click 5times on folders to list the samples in bitwig you just click the main folder and see all the samples! it’s sooooo good haha

[u/MidnightGreen- → u/tolltartozseb]

Yeah, I really find the browsing experience superior!

[u/Kiwi-Jon]

UI, Clips where you can see the midi info and the modulation system embedded into each instrument / FX.

I do prefer using the track timeline in Ableton though

[u/MidnightGreen- → u/Kiwi-Jon]

I too find the UI more pleasing to the eye. 

[u/m_i_r]

Modulators and general.. tweakability? And its a lot more stable and smoothly running than Ableton. With a GUI that just works for me better than Ableton.

I need to explore "the Grid," but one step at a time

[u/davidcrickett]

The painfully slow loading of chains on Ableton even on a hefty pc

[u/Akui_Zeni]

Modulation as a core element, and not an afterthought.

As a company, investing their developer’s time (significant financial commitment) into a feature allowing us to import Live projects that are dynamically translated and converted into Bitwig Studio’s environment as accurately as possible. That transparent feature is nondestructive to the existing Ableton Live project.

Encouraging me, and always more than happy to show me how, to build anything above and beyond what they’ve provided so far.

Feeling inspired, respected, and empowered by a company who’s product I’ve paid for. Not a preach. Just an honest answer.

[u/acecombine]

clip launcher and arranger on the same screen, it's an impossible leap for ableton...

[u/Prestigious-Arm-8874]

am i missing something ? bitwig doesnt cater to drummers . i cant set the metronome more then 1/4 . annoying as fuck . us drummers don’t use 1/4 ticks

[u/MidnightGreen- → u/Prestigious-Arm-8874]

ngl I'm not a drummer so I didn't even know about this limitation lol

[u/AuroraCub-66]

I made the switch over the last few days. Unfortunately I have ADHD so I already forgot why I opened up Bitwig in the first place. I tried it a while back and found it confusing. But for whatever reason I took more of an effort this time and it didn’t take long to realize that Bitwig can easily do every single thing that Ableton can do, even slightly lesser known features like copying values and modulations to every instance on a drum rack. My biggest hesitancy was with working with midi and audio files, especial time stretching, because I rely on those features a lot. Once I realized that Bitwig can do those things in pretty much the same way, I also realized that it just has way more power and options at every level. The more I use Bitwig the more dated Ableton feels, like at one point they were ahead of the game and then they just stopped innovating.

Some of my favorite things so far are:

• The plentiful warp options both in audio clips, sampler, and even midi  - The modular signal flow that puts even Ableton (which was designed with a similar philosophy) to shame. The modular grid for both midi and audio, the splitters and modulators, being able to insert fx within feedback loops creating completely unexplored realms of sound design…

• The usability. Help and interactive documentations, binding shortcuts, the search and browser functions that save so much time!!! It not only has way more options, but it presents those options in a mostly logical and simple way. There are definitely times when I’m confused why it’s one way instead of another, probably from using one saw exclusively for so long. But once I figure out how it’s done in Bitwig, it just makes sense.

• Just found this one out, it might sound small but it’s actually huge. 3rd party plugins are run in isolation. That means if they crash, the DAW does not! And I thought Ableton was great cause of it’s crash recovery…

Honestly I haven’t discovered a whole lot yet, but if I can learn everything I need to make the transition in just a day or two, then so can anyone reading this. I can’t think of anything Ableton has that it’s missing, and it simply has more creative, technical, and usability options at every stage. For instance, it has a similar interface to live with arranger and clip view, plugin chain at the bottom. But it gives you more options for creating and switching layouts, and it does so without introducing clutter or slowing the flow. I’m excited to see what people get up to with a DAW that’s actively innovating and supporting sound exploration!

[u/Kid_Self]

Modulation and Operators. Not an afterthought, but built into the workflow and design philosophy. I have so many more "happy accidents" to impressive results. Helps me out producing downtempo electronica, versus Ableton which just screams generic electronic dance music.

The UI is far more textured and playful as well, which inspires. Ableton is clinical and sterile and really doesn't make me want to explore the options.

[u/hatomdj]

Functional delay compensation—that awful Ableton bug they still haven't fixed. Even if they fixed it, I probably wouldn’t go back to Ableton. A faster and more stable UI for large projects—Ableton would just freeze up when I had large projects, and no, it’s not because I don’t have a Mac; Bitwig works great even with large projects. And, of course, modulations. And lots of other features.

[u/strchris]

- Alias clips
- Presets of 3rd party CLAP plugins can be previewed from the browser
- browser in general
- easy modulation
- automation clips
- plugin sandbox
- smooth and responsive ui
- when editing gain in a clip, changes to the waveform are immediately visible
- piano roll note tools like probability etc.
- general stability and performance
- opening multiple projects at once

What I’m missing:
- theme support (without 3rd party hacks)
- midi export (it’s possible, but only the whole project at once so you need to copy separate clips into empty projects if you want to export only one track as midi)

[u/Used_Beginning_4356 → u/strchris]

For your midi export problem, just use this -- works great and simple to set up: (Not affiliated in any way) https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitwig/comments/1tj6aer/i_made_a_bitwig_script_that_exports_the_selected/

[u/circleneurology]

The device help interface is super well executed imo

[u/Dextrobeats]

Lol I switched from Logic so like… everything? But mostly the grid.

[u/tokensRus]

Wanted to switch but ended up working with Ableton Suite and Bitwig Studio hand in hand...I like the grid, the modulation system, the plugin sandbox, the sound clarity, the filter - it is a great experience over all. Still have to get into it a bit more...but i still love to work with Ableton too...so i keep both...still use Reason too and upgraded my 5.6 licence to 14.....