Bitwig Spectral Suite: new effects tools for new sonic possibilities

By Connor EdneyOctober 5, 20228 mins read

Image Credit: Bitwig

The all-new Spectral Suite software by Bitwig includes four FX devices that unlock ‘a new level for mixing and sound design’.

Bitwig’s new Spectral Suite is the first add-on product for the company DAW Bitwig Studio. In addition to four FX devices, you’ll get 100+ presets and clips that showcase what you can do with the devices.

Spectral Suite for Bitwig Studio

The new audio FX tools in Spectral Suite allow you to explore the sonic possibilities in your sounds and mixes. Furthermore, they each use individual controls to focus on different musical elements such as loudness, harmonic content, transients, and frequency.

Now, you can make detailed tweaks and apply creative fine-tuning to each sound. In practice, Spectral Suite operates in the frequency domain and separates an input signal into hundreds of frequency bands for analysis.

Bitwig will do the math and “group related signals into channels”. Then, you can mix the channels in ways that feel right to you. You can do things like apply different effects to each channel, isolate the fundamental frequency and manipulate it, and so much more.

Additionally, the channels in each of the four devices in the Spectral Suite have the same structure too – Pre FX and Post FX chains, in addition to a Mix control allowing you to blend the dry signal in.

Transient Split

Transient Split allows you to separate percussive transients from tonal frequencies. As a result, you can isolate one or the other and mix them how you like.

Freq Split

Next, Frequency Split distributes a sound across four channels, with random delay
times and panning on each channel to create a spectral delay effect. Alternatively, you can use Bitwig’s modulators to shuffle through different effects on each channel.

Loud Split

The Loud Split device separates the quiet, mid, and loud elements within a sound. Now, you can increase the level of the softest parts of a sound and attenuate the loudest to transform the sound into unique tones.

Harmonic Split

Finally, Harmonic Split ‘spreads harmonics into two groups’ and ‘collects non-harmonics into a third
channel’. You can isolate the fundamental frequency, distort the even harmonics, and add a different effect to the odd frequencies in one plugin!

Outer Spectra Sound Package

You can take full advantage of spectral analysis with the accompanying sound package Outer Spectra.

You’ll find over 70 audio FX presets for Freq Split, Harmonic Split, Loud Split, and Transient Split, which you can load as audio FX and some even as synths with the spectral devices in the FX slots.

And you’ll find 75 clips and 57 audio files that ‘correspond to Outer Spectra’s audio
processors’ too.

This audio stretches over a broad range of musical styles including techno, live instrumental loops, basslines, pads, and beats.

You can load the presets and their corresponding clips and you’ll understand what each does. But you’ll also gain an understanding of what you can do with Bitwig’s spectral devices at the same time.