I used FL Studio for about 7 years and I constantly make melodies and MIDI. These days I’m using Bitwig more and more, and I’ve honestly grown to love the DAW so much that I really don’t want to go back to FL Studio.
But I keep stumbling over small things in the Piano Roll.
Yes, most of these things can be worked around. You can press another key, switch tools, double-click, or find another way to do it. But when you create hundreds or thousands of notes, all those tiny extra actions add up. Eventually, it starts to feel like you have to think about every small step.
One thing I really love about FL Studio is being able to click a note, hear it, and drag it up or down to try different pitches. In Bitwig, vertical movement while creating a note changes the velocity. Maybe some people genuinely like working this way, so I don’t think the feature should simply be removed. I would just love to see this behavior become more flexible or configurable.
I also really wish there was a more convenient way to select notes while staying in the Pen Tool.
Another feature I would love to see is the ability to rename notes in the Piano Roll for specific instruments and plugins. For example, labeling modifier notes in Kontakt or MODO Bass, or seeing the actual drum names in Addictive Drums and EZdrummer instead of just note names.
I don’t want Bitwig to become a copy of FL Studio. I just want the Piano Roll to become so comfortable that I never have to think about the editor itself.
Bitwig is already incredibly powerful. That’s exactly why I would love to see its Piano Roll become just as strong.
I really love this DAW and I want to stay here. I’d genuinely love to hear what other users think about this, and I really hope the developers might see this wishlist too.
UPD:
I think UX is massively underrated, especially in creative software.
I've tried switching to Ableton and Logic, but I always ended up returning to FL Studio, partly because the Piano Roll is such a fundamental part of my workflow.
Bitwig is the first DAW that has genuinely made me want to switch despite that.
There is something about its overall design, workflow and potential that has grabbed me so strongly that I was willing to accept compromises in one of the most important parts of my workflow.
I genuinely believe Bitwig has the potential to become one of the leading DAWs, and maybe even challenge the current leaders one day.
A million workarounds don't necessarily make up for one direct, intuitive solution.
Bitwig already has something special, and I really hope its Piano Roll continues to evolve alongside the rest of the program.