changing vst presets w/o mouse during performance

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:23 am

how do you assign note/cc data to presets in a softsynth like fabfilter twin? so that, in a live situation you won't have to poke em with your mouse?

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:38 pm

organizing em in banks and recall with a button maybe?

what i wanna do that i'll use maybe 10 synth presets through the show and like 6 delay presets and tweak the hell outta them, as devices themselves are mapped properly. so i just wanna map each preset i'll use in the devices to a controller or buttons so that i have my little bank here and just push a button to get the patch i want.

any ideas? i doubt if anyone here would browse vst presets onstage, so obviously there should be a way around. please help

3rdordertrauma · Post by **3rdordertrauma** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:02 pm

You could make a rack, create a device chain for each of the presets you need. Reveal the chain selector area, right click and select distribute ranges equally. Now you could assign the chain selector to a knob on your controller, then you could dial up the presets you need. This way could be hard to actually get the dial on the preset you want, especially if you had lots of em in one rack and the selection regions get small. But it might work for what you need.

This is why I'd love to be able to specify as many regions of the chain selector as you deem necessary to midi notes.

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:48 pm

thanks, well to take advantage of your advice i'd obviously need to flip through the 'device chain' section of TFM))

so okay that goes for the cc controller. should be fine for delays i beleive.

however, with synths you have to be really exact - just push da button and get back to play in a flash. we can of course move the presets out of the vst presets folder and replace the with the presets for the show and then maybe use the program change button somehow?

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:50 pm

but what do we do with vsts that consist of a single dll file?

3rdordertrauma · Post by **3rdordertrauma** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 4:36 am

OK I maybe have a better solution for you. It still involves the chain selector so yeah if you haven't already, a read through the manual would probably be beneficial.

So it goes like this.. hope I can make this make sense first time through.

Create a midi track, drop in the vst of your choice and turn it into a rack.

Once you have a rack make as many chains as you need presets, go ahead and setup those presets on each chain however you like. Keep in mind each chain can be much more than just a vst preset in can be an entire chain of FX that you will switch to.

Reveal the chain selector, right click as before and select distribute ranges equally.

Now in the clip slots make as many midi clips as you have chains. Each midi clip will act as a dummy clip and contain a sort of static automation for selecting which ever instrument chain. Hope I'm making sense.

There is already a preassigned parameter to control the device chain selector in the clip envelopes, so no need to assign that to a CC.

All you need to do is assign each clip to a midi note (if you have spare ones available and want top fire them off quickly), or alternatively you could use 3 buttons. One to the scene up, one to scene down and one to the tracks global play. This way you could toggle through your presets (which are really just dummy automation clips named after the presets) with the up and down arrows and then fire or set the preset with play button. Three buttons could handle as many presets as you like.

Did that make sense..

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 7:29 am

absolutely! this is great, cuz we also can map the clips to qwerty keys! many thanks!

3rdordertrauma · Post by **3rdordertrauma** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 11:34 am

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 11:58 pm

****All you need to do is assign each clip to a midi note (if you have spare ones available and want top fire them off quickly), or alternatively you could use 3 buttons. One to the scene up, one to scene down and one to the tracks global play. This way you could toggle through your presets (which are really just dummy automation clips named after the presets) with the up and down arrows and then fire or set the preset with play button. Three buttons could handle as many presets as you like.****

just got my hands on this, the manual is very clear on racks and chains.
no problem navigating through clips&scenes either...

but unfortunately, i couldn't quite figure how to set these dummy clips to toggle the chains...

the search on this has been completely fruitless.
and this looks like it should be the most obvious...

PLZ HLP!

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:02 am

***Each midi clip will act as a dummy clip and contain a sort of static automation for selecting which ever instrument chain.***

"a sort of static automation" - this should defenitely mean something i'm not aware of yet

metastatik · Post by **metastatik** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:52 am

My bad.

3rdordertrauma · Post by **3rdordertrauma** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:47 am

Download this example... I hope it helps clarify a bit. If thats not really what you are trying to do let me know. Use the 'Q' --> 'P' keys on your keyboard to trigger the different presets (dummies clips with static chain select automation + i've added some other simple automaton to send A just for example of other uses for the dummies clips... but don't stop there!). I've used standard Impulse presets so you shouldn't have any trouble loading them or anything. And of course those clips could be assign & triggered by midi messages instead of keyboard keys. And as I said before this could be done with only 3 buttons too... if you'd like me to alter the example to demonstrate that too just let me know.

Cheers,
3OT
www.defeq.com

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:19 am

I got it

it's just the matter of creating clip envelopes in the Instrument Rack -> Chain Selector, unique to each dummy. so that these envelopes take over that Chain Selector position!
B R I L L I A N T

also, you can choose Instrument Rack in the MIDI TO routings when sending the Carrier signal track to the Rack/Modulator track and then setting its monitor to Auto. This way, the Rack track won't pick any other midi except for that in the Carrier track.

3OT, thank you so very much for opening my eyes with this little example you did for me!!

mooncaine · Post by **mooncaine** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 8:27 pm

Excellent! Looks like it's time for me to learn what a dummy clip is, and how to use 'em.

Don't explain here -- I don't want to waste anyone's time -- but if you could point me to a link or two that you think is the best explanation of dummy clips, I'd be grateful, folks.

4.33 · Post by **4.33** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:35 pm

probably in the tips&tricks wiki?
haven't read that myself, but to my understanding dummies are just blank midi clips, no note data, only envelopes.
and these envelopes can modulate whatever is on that midi track.
also that midi track can be routed to modulate effects on audio tracks,

in our case it is the chain selector position, which has been perfectly illustrated by 3rdordertrauma's set