Feature Request - Channel strip view

Steinberg Lounge
#1

Hi,

Here’s a feature request which would help my mixing workflow:

I’d like a ‘Channel Strip View’ option which displays only opened plugins of the current selected channel. I.e I’d like each channel to remember it’s opened plugins (and their positions etc) and when I swap channels I’d like to see the old ones closed and the new channel (previously opened) plugins displayed.

This would then allow me to have a kind of channel strip view for each channel, such that as I move through the mixer channels I get to see my choice of plugins for each channel. Note that it would be important to see only some of the plugins, for example no point in seeing Melodyne on a vocal track each time, just need the EQ and compressor.

And here’s specifically why I’d like this feature - currently when I’m mixing I spend a lot of time jumping between tracks tweaking plugins. I’m constantly opening and closing the same plugins, say guitar/vocal/bass EQ/compressors, but I haven’t got that much screen space that I can leave them all open at once and in view. Also quite often I edit the wrong plugin instance (of same plugin type) because I’ve swapped channel but left the previous channel plugin in view - doubly annoying because there’s no undo on plugin tweaks of course.

In fact, I thought many years back there was a button to open all plugins of a channel but I haven’t seen it for quite a while. Perhaps some buttons, key commands and macros could achieve this sort of behaviour?

Mike.

#2

Hi Mike,

Macros and key commands could definitely help make things easier but I believe this is an age old problem insofar as the DAW is concerned. I have no idea about other sequencers but in a similar way this situation also exists with instruments on the rack, eg if there are multiple instances of the same instrument they each appear as they were last left (maybe that is ok for a large monitor but choice here would be good).

As an example more directly related, we find the inspector open on different sections of the channel “strip” depending on how each channel was last left; specifically regarding audio tracks of course but the situation is compounded when MIDI channels are interspersed throughout and to a smaller extent instrument channels, group tracks and so on.

What I suggest is to harmonize the situation on the rack first (Chris B. has made mention that there are improvements coming at a later time in this area), then move onto the inspector and finally introduce a modular approach to signal processing whether internal, ie “inside” cubase’s own channel strip which can be interchangeable with 3rd party stuff, withstanding GUI variations and in this way a more consistent workflow may be achieved even if one must resort to pop-out windows.

#3

Hey Mike

CTRL + ALT + SHIFT and then click on the E button, will open all the plugins.
CTRL + SHIFT and then click on the E button, will close all the plugins.
(This works everywhere you see a E button - channel strip, inspector, tracks, -)

:wink:

Best
Bo

#4

Yes, excellent info, thanks!

But alas, this isn’t really the whole story is it, because the Shift-Alt-E click doesn’t actually display the channel editor, which I’d say is an oversight because it is as important as a plugin - e.g. it has EQ etc. So, I’m left with clicking the E button then Alt-Shift clicking too just to see the whole channel plus inserts.

Anyway, building on that, a good addition for Steinberg would be to put the Alt-Shift combo onto clicking any plugin E button so that all plugins can be opened easier. This click combo doesn’t currently do anything after all.

Also I need to encourage Steinberg to add a shortcut command for these E button things so I can introduce them into a next/prev channel macro…

Also then I need to encourage Steinberg to add ‘open those which were open last time’ feature too.

Good points about the Inspector too. That is a kind of channel strip, and indeed, I use that for fader and pan changes, and I guess I could also use quick controls too. I’m after swift visibility of imporant plugins though and quick controls are fine but they don’t show me the plugin GUI which can be important - even though the ears come first.

Mike.

#5

Aloha G, and +1
{’-’}