DAW GUIDE

MIDISketch in Bitwig Studio

There are two ways to use MIDISketch in Bitwig: as the track's instrument with your synth loaded inside it, or as MIDISketch MIDI FX in front of any instrument. With the CLAP, it can also play Bitwig's own devices like Polymer, and CLAP or VST3 synths after it, with every note bending on its own.

For // MIDISketch 0.9.10.1 and later

MIDISketch as the Instrument

The simplest way. MIDISketch is the track's instrument and your synth plays inside it. The VST3 and the CLAP both work.

1. Install MIDISketch from the download page. If Bitwig doesn't list it, rescan your plug-ins in Bitwig's settings.
2. In Bitwig's browser, find MIDISketch and drag it onto an Instrument Track.

   

3. Click the Synth button in MIDISketch's toolbar and load your synth, for example Vital, Serum 2 or Phase Plant.
4. For per-note bends, use an MPE synth: turn on its MPE and set its pitch bend range to 48.
   VitalSerum 2

   Vital

   On the Advanced tab, turn on MPE (bottom left) and set the bend range (bottom right) to 48.

   

   Serum 2

   Serum 2 ships with MPE on and a bend range of 48. To check, open its menu: MPE Enabled should be ticked and the MPE bend range at 48. To keep MPE on in every new Serum 2, tick MPE enabled by default under Global settings › MPE.

   

   Another synth? Setup for every synth MIDISketch knows →

5. The pill at the top of MIDISketch shows its bend range. It should read MPE: 48st.

   

   Synth stuck at another range? Set MIDISketch to match instead: settings gear › MIDI Settings... › MPE & PITCH › PITCH BEND. Clicking the pill opens the same tab.

   

6. Draw notes and pitch curves, and press play.

MIDISketch MIDI FX

MIDI FX is MIDISketch as a note effect. It goes first in the track's device chain and plays the instrument after it, with no second track and no routing. It only sends notes, so it has no synth inside and the parts that need audio are hidden.

Get It

MIDI FX comes with the MIDISketch installer, as a box you tick. It installs next to MIDISketch, not in place of it, and includes the CLAP.

Set It Up

1. On an Instrument Track, add MIDISketch MIDI FX first in the device chain. Take the CLAP: it keeps MPE, the VST3 doesn't.

   

2. Add your instrument after it: Polymer or another Bitwig device, or an MPE synth.
3. Turn on Per-note bends (below). For a VST3 MPE synth after it, also turn on Bitwig's Use MPE on its device and set PB Range to 48, with the synth's own MPE on.
4. Draw in MIDISketch MIDI FX and press play. The instrument after it plays every note.

Per-note Bends: Bitwig, CLAP and VST3 Synths

One switch in MIDISketch decides how it sends notes inside Bitwig. Turn it on, set up each VST3 MPE synth once, and every kind of instrument bends each note on its own. The switch is in the CLAP of MIDISketch and of MIDISketch MIDI FX, and only appears inside Bitwig.

What the Switch Does

The Setup That Works for Everything

1. Load the CLAP of MIDISketch or MIDISketch MIDI FX, with your instrument after it in the same chain.
2. Click the settings gear, open MIDI Settings..., go to the MIDI OUT tab and turn on Per-note bends under BITWIG.

   

   The same switch is in User Preferences... › GENERAL as Bitwig devices: per-note.

3. For each VST3 MPE synth after it, such as Pigments, Vital or Serum 2:
   • Select the synth's device in Bitwig.
   • In Bitwig's Inspector panel, turn on Use MPE.
   • Set PB Range to match MIDISketch: the MPE: 48st pill at the top of MIDISketch shows its range, 48 by default.
   • Turn on the synth's own MPE mode too, as always. Each synth's steps are on the synth setup page.
4. Bitwig's own devices, and CLAP synths with per-note expressions like Phase Plant, need nothing else.
5. Draw and press play. Each note bends on its own.

To play a device on another track, add a Note Receiver on that track and pick MIDISketch as its source. The first time MIDISketch opens in Bitwig, a one-time tip points to the switch.

Troubleshooting

Quick Tips

• As the instrument, the VST3 or the CLAP. For MIDI FX and Bitwig's own devices, the CLAP.
• MPE synths: bend range 48, so the pill reads MPE: 48st.
• Per-note bends on, plus Use MPE on every VST3 MPE synth, works for every instrument.
• Per-note bends turns MIDISketch's own synth off while it's on.
• Linux: put the CLAP .tar.gz in ~/.clap/. MIDI FX is for Windows and macOS.
• Use the Standalone app to sketch ideas without opening Bitwig.
• What MIDI FX is for, and which DAWs take it, is in the docs.

Guides for other DAWs

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