Getting Around in The Grid

From this Bitwig Youtube video

Over 140 modules. Two types of grid: FX and Poly, FX for effects, Poly for poly synths.

Example: triangle→ar→out

• Grid uses pre-cord for things like auto connecting keyboards.
• Every patch cord is already stereo
• When highlighting an empty square in grid, we see global settings.

Module panel

• At the top is the module panel.
• To insert, drag and drop into signal port, to auto connect relevant patch cords.
• To replace, also drag and drop. This will often inherit settings from the replaced module.
• Also, right click shows list of similar modules to replace current one with.

Manual Patching

• Click and drag to create.
• Drag from dest to empty to delete.
• One out can go to many ins, but only one input.
• Double click and drag to move all cords out of a given output
• Many modules have a mod assign for wireless connections
• Modulator out equips any output with mod capability

Signal types:

• 5 port colours:
  • yellow for logic: 0,1
  • orange for pitch: [-1,1] -10..+10 octs (-10V..10V, 1V/oct)
  • purple for phase: [0,1]
  • red for general and audio
  • custom colours

Interactive Help

Interactive Help youtube video

On a module, click show help. The module in help can be manipulated live (it is the module in your patch).

Modular Concepts Basics

Modular Concepts Basics youtube video

We start with the default poly patch, which is a triangle oscillator and an AR envelope. There is a prechord (lower left) that automatically receives notes from the keyboard.

Two kinds of modulation signals:

1. Envelope
2. LFO

Modules:

1. AD has no sustain.
2. LFO has period waveform.
3. Oscilloscope

Easiest way to hear a modulation is to connect it to pitch input of osc.

Good practice is to make the apparent pitch is the same when modulated. Consider a square LFO giving us a trill.

Good use for LFO controlling pitch is vibrato, which works well with tri or sine shape. Vibrato is a small change in pitch, and around 6hz.

LFO can be unipolar or bipolar. For vibrato, click ± in lower right to make it bipolar, so the pitch oscillates around centre freq.

Now consider running the LFO through the AD amplifier. It has no sustain, so finishes before the vibrato does anything. That's not what we want. If we use an AR envelope instead, we have sustain (AR is ADSR with S=1 and Di is irrelevant). So this allows us to make a fade in vibrato.