BitWig vs Cubase Pro 10 (Q1 2019)

[MegaPixel]

BitWig 2.5 (I hear Q2 2019 v3 is out) vs Cubase Pro 10...

I know this probably get's asked a lot but I'm caught between the 2...

First thing I would like to mention is that I come from a FLStudio background...

I've got trial versions of Bitwig and Cubase LE XE ME PE PDF JPG installed and the first thing I think of is, well that piano roll really sucks. Many a person in many a forum for many a year has been posting about FLStudio's piano roll editor being one of the best that they have used, and I tend to agree. Ableton's, bitwig's and cubase's really do suck in comparison even though FLStudio's piano roll editor could be improved upon in many ways, none of them seem to want make something as good as or better... If bitwig had FLStudio's piano roll there would be no question about it I would have bought it already, but it doesn't...

It comes down to the following (might be more? you tell me):

BitWig 2.x
+1. Nice organisation
+1. Has that alternate pattern storage thing (scenes / clips) (same as abelton but better)
-1. Piano Roll is worse than Cubase Pro 10's

Cubase Pro 10
+1. Nice organisation
??? Does it have pattern storage (scenes / clips) like BitWig? Not sure? Uses something else?
+1. Nicer piano roll than BitWig's


So dilemma, score is 1 v a possible 1 or 3...

Is Cubase better in other ways than BitWig? Is it worth learning the mammoth that is cubase or to have an easier time with BitWig?

I spend most of my time with patterns rather than audio clips, but when it comes to patterns that start before the bar or after the bar, FLStudio falls short, especially the pattern editor as it can't be done in that and you have to start joining things up or creating test patterns which are off time to test / record playback, so moving away from FLStudio patterns is much needed to a timeline based workflow.



What are your thoughts on BitWig (2.x/3) vs Cubase Pro 10.x?
Which would you recommend / buy?

[Spencer Maddox]

Cubase 10 is better then Bitwig 3 because the number 10 > 3 and therefore better.
At the end of the day None of these compare with FL 20.

[bbreakz]

I'm on mac and FL just released a new beta which has FL Studio as a vsti...
I've been using Bitwig with Fl Studio vsti this week and I forgot how much I missed FL's piano roll.

I moved to mac a couple of years ago. If you like FL you can use the vsti in either Bitwig or Cubase as an alternative.
Hopefully Bitwig will have some type of step sequencer/pattern or alias copies in the future.

[MegaPixel]

Nice, didn't know you could do that, ye I do love using FL's piano roll.

But which would you recommend? And do you know if cubase has scene/clips in some form like bitwig and abelton has?

[bbreakz]

Nice, didn't know you could do that, ye I do love using FL's piano roll.

But which would you recommend? And do you know if cubase has scene/clips in some form like bitwig and abelton has?

I have both but still trying to decide myself Cubase doesn't have scenes or clips like Bitwig/Ableton though

[MegaPixel]

I've come to a conclusion...

I'm not moving from FLStudio till either Cubase or BitWig get a decent piano roll editor...

Cubase's Piano Roll Editor is shait but BitWig's is even worse, and I spend a lot of time in the piano roll editor...

Whichever one gets there first will get my purchase.

[Reefius]

In the long run Cubase is cheaper than Bitwig because of Bitwig's hilarious 'subscription' cost of $169 per year if you want to keep receiving the latest updates.
Cubase full version updates are $100 every 2 year and a .5 update at $50 in the other years, which brings it to an average of $75 per year to stay updated.

[MegaPixel]

Bitwig's hilarious 'subscription' cost of $169 per year

Yes I agree with that, I emailed them asking about crossgrade and they said they don't do anything like that like cubase does, I then emailed them about any discounts instead of a crossgrade, but no reply. Ableton however have offered me a 30% discount once I give them proof of an FLStudio purchase.

I have Ableton Live Lite installed and am not too fussed with it, the piano roll is better than BitWigs (only just) but I feel cubase still wins out of bitwig, cubase and abelton, but nothing comes near to FLStudios piano roll editor sadly...

[simmo75]

I’ve always been a mac user and have never tried Fruity Loops. I’m pretty tempted to demo it now.
Cubase 10 and Ableton Live 10 are really good DAWs.

[MegaPixel]

I’m pretty tempted to demo it now.

Give the demo a download, v20 saw some quite nice improvements, still classic fruity however but that Piano Roll Editor is just awesome, by no means perfect as it could be improved on in many ways but it's light years ahead of anything else out there (I don't see why as it's not exactly the most complicated thing to program in a DAW).

[NeoKortex88]

Logic?

[Anlon]

I’ve been demoing FL Studio and Cubase for the past few weeks and while I prefer Cubase as a whole, the FLS piano roll is just so much better. So I bought a "used" Cubase Elements license for only $20 and FLS Fruity for £85 and now use FLS inside Cubase. So for £100, I got the best of both worlds and I’m very happy.
AFAIK, if you own FL Producer or Signature you get a pretty good deal on the full Cubase.

[MegaPixel]

cubase vs bitwig?

[Kongru]

I don't think you can directly compare Bitwig to Cubase as they cater to different mindsets. Cubase is very much the traditional linear DAW with extra features for composers and songwriters, whereas Bitwig is more for experimental types and people that want a modular workflow, perhaps people that primarily use external synths.

[MegaPixel]

Cubase is very much the traditional linear DAW with extra features for composers and songwriters, whereas Bitwig is more for experimental types and people that want a modular workflow, perhaps people that primarily use external synths.

I'm very much a mass pattern with many variations based composer rather than a linear timeline composer. This is probably why I choose FLStudio first but when things build up (which happens quickly) it gets really messy and numbs the whole creative process for me.

I’ve been demoing FL Studio and Cubase for the past few weeks and while I prefer Cubase as a whole, the FLS piano roll is just so much better. So I bought a "used" Cubase Elements license for only $20 and FLS Fruity for £85 and now use FLS inside Cubase. So for £100, I got the best of both worlds and I’m very happy.
AFAIK, if you own FL Producer or Signature you get a pretty good deal on the full Cubase.

This sounds interesting. I might try this with Bitwig, no idea how to get that working, but let the fun begin