Been using Live for a few years now with just a midi keyboard for control so I recently decided to buy a Korg Padkontrol and a Behringer BCR2000 to give me more control over recording in Live.
Now Live is great, it's all I use for making music, but I do have a little problem with it however.
What I want to do is have a VST instrument on a midi track, which is playing notes from a midi clip, AND be able to control the VSTi's various filters, etc. from my remote midi device (e.g. control a VST synth's cutoff filter from the Behringer BCR2000) AND be able to record all of this into a finished Arrangement.
So far the best way I've found of doing this is-
1) Place the chosen VSTi on a midi track (let's call it Track 1) and set the routing monitor to 'In', this enables the remote midi controller to operate the various knobs on the VSTi, you can also play the VSTi from a keyboard.
2) Create a 2nd midi track and send its midi output to the track containing the VSTi (track 1). If you recorded a midi clip on the first midi track now is the time to copy or move it to this track because otherwise you won't hear any notes being played by the VSTi on Track 1. If you haven't recorded a midi clip, containing the sequence of notes you want the VSTi to play, then now is the time to do it, in Track 2 of course.
3)What I would normally do now would be to get the layout of the song laid down in the Arrangement view. This saves me the hassle of trying to stop and start clips whilst also trying to control my VSTi's.
4) So, with the song structure laid out it is now time to overdub the control changes I want to record for my various VSTi's and/or VST effects. I did this by playing the song in the Arrangement view but also recording the control changes I will be sending to my VSTi on Track 1, e.g. press the 'Arm Recording Session' on Track 1 to begin recording midi CC values to it whilst the song you have created plays.
Then copy this clip from the Session into the Arrangement view to have it playing alongside the rest of the clips in the song.
Of course you could not bother with this stage and just have the song setup for a live performance with yourself tweaking to VSTi's knobs from your remote midi controller.
So to summarise-
1) Create 2 midi tracks; (1) with a VSTi on it and (2) to send a sequence of notes to (1).
2) Send midi output from track (2) to track (1)
3) Set track (1)'s routing monitor to 'In' to enable the VSTi's parameters to be controlled externally and recorded in Live.
I do hope I made myself clear, I've had to solid days working at this problem and if anyone out there has got any other ideas please feel free to jump in.
Now I've got to go and lie down.