Overview
Polymer is a synth built into Bitwig Studio, added in version 3.3 in October 2020 along with a Wavetable oscillator module for the Grid, Bitwig’s modular environment. Polymer is a simplified Grid patch: you pick an oscillator, a filter and an envelope, and right-clicking the device converts it into a fully editable Poly Grid patch. Wavetable is one of Polymer’s oscillator choices, and it’s the same module you can place in any Grid patch.
The Wavetable module plays a table and moves through it with its Index control. By default it interpolates between the frames in the loaded file for smooth transitions, and there’s an option to turn that off so only the frames actually in the file play. A Harmonic Phases option can process the loaded table, and its Original mode leaves the file’s values untouched.
Because the module lives in the Grid, its inputs are stereo, including the table index. The left and right channels can read different parts of the same table at once, which gives a wide sound from a single oscillator. Bitwig shipped 139 wavetables in five categories with 3.3, and clicking the oscillator’s display opens a browser that previews tables side by side.
Wavetables on the Bitwig Polymer and Grid Wavetable
Bitwig’s release notes for 3.3 say the Wavetable module reads any Surge-format .wt file, as well as Serum-compatible and WaveEdit-compatible WAV files. A Serum-compatible WAV is one with 2048-sample frames and a clm chunk marking the frame size. A WaveEdit file is a bank of 64 waves at 256 samples each. Bitwig’s documentation doesn’t give a maximum frame count or say how it handles other frame sizes, so WaveStack sticks to the Serum layout it does describe.
WaveStack’s Bitwig Polymer / Grid target writes a mono WAV with 2048-sample frames and a clm chunk, up to 256 frames. Tables at other frame sizes are resampled to 2048, longer tables have frames picked evenly down to 256, and a 2D grid or 3D volume is flattened to one row, with a warning in Export. If you’d rather keep a table’s original frame size, the Surge XT target writes a .wt file, which Bitwig also reads.
WaveEdit banks come from Synthesis Technology’s WaveEdit editor for its E352 and E370 modules. WaveStack has a separate E352 / E370 target that writes that layout, 64 waves of 256 samples at 16-bit, so a bank made for the modules can be loaded in Bitwig as well.
Bitwig doesn’t name a fixed wavetable folder in its release notes. The simplest approach is to keep your tables in one folder that Bitwig’s browser can see and link the same folder in WaveStack’s Export, so every new export lands there.
Specifications
| File types | Surge .wt; Serum- and WaveEdit-compatible WAV |
|---|---|
| WaveStack writes | WAV, 2048 samples per frame, clm chunk, up to 256 frames |
| Frame size detection | .wt header or clm chunk |
| Frame interpolation | On by default; can be turned off |
| Table index input | Stereo (left and right can read different frames) |
| Introduced | Bitwig Studio 3.3 |
From WaveStack to the Bitwig Polymer and Grid Wavetable
- Build or open a table in WaveStack.
- Press ⌘E and choose Bitwig Polymer / Grid as what the table is for.
- Under Save to, link the folder where you keep your Bitwig wavetables, or choose a location.
- Export. WaveStack writes a 2048-sample WAV with a clm chunk.
- In Bitwig Studio, add Polymer to a track and set its oscillator to Wavetable, or add a Wavetable module to a Grid patch.
- Click the oscillator’s display to open the wavetable browser and load the file.
- Turn Index, or modulate it, to move through the table. Feed it a stereo signal to read two positions at once.
Frequently asked questions
How do I load my own wavetables into Bitwig Polymer?
Set Polymer’s oscillator to Wavetable, then click the oscillator display to open the wavetable browser and load your file. Bitwig reads Surge .wt files and Serum- or WaveEdit-compatible WAVs. WaveStack’s Bitwig Polymer / Grid target writes a Serum-style WAV, 2048 samples per frame with a clm chunk, so it loads with the right frame size. Keep your tables in one folder and link it in WaveStack’s Export so new tables land in the same place.
What’s the difference between Polymer and the Grid Wavetable module?
They use the same oscillator. Polymer is a ready-made synth with one oscillator, one filter and one envelope, and Wavetable is one of its oscillator choices. The Grid’s Wavetable module is that oscillator on its own, so you can patch it however you like. Right-clicking Polymer converts it into an editable Poly Grid patch. Both read the same files, so one export from WaveStack works in either.
Can Bitwig play 2D wavetables?
Not directly. The Wavetable module has one index into a single line of frames, though its stereo inputs let the left and right channels read different positions. In the Grid you could build your own crossfade between two Wavetable modules, each loaded with a different row. WaveStack flattens a 2D grid to one row for the Bitwig target and warns you. To keep the grid itself, also export with the WaveStack & Strata target, which stores the shape in a wt3d chunk.
Why does my wavetable sound wrong in Bitwig?
Check how the file marks its frame size. A WAV without a clm chunk, or one at a frame size Bitwig doesn’t expect, can be cut into frames at the wrong points, which sounds buzzy or shifts the pitch. Bitwig’s release notes only describe Serum- and WaveEdit-compatible WAVs and Surge .wt files. Re-export from WaveStack with the Bitwig target to get a tagged 2048-sample WAV, or with the Surge XT target to get a .wt file. Also check the interpolation option: with it off, only the frames actually in the file play, so a short table steps between shapes.