Inaccurate Extract MIDI Automation

Cubase
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1

This would be a lot easier to follow if you downloaded the project file. It only includes Retrologue so should be easy to open.

After testing today, I found that the Extract MIDI Automation function in Cubase is highly inaccurate when you make it go faster than 1/16. I’ve done this by comparing various ways of automating the filter cutoff in Retrologue.

Track 1: I just use automation directly on the knob. Works fine here.
Track 2: I assign Filter Cutoff to CC 16 and draw the same automation into the MIDI clip. Still sounds fine.
Track 3: I extract the automation from the previously mentioned MIDI Clip to automation lane. Sounds horribly out of time, most noticeably at marker 1 onward. What’s supposed to be 1/64 just sounds like 1/8.
Track 4: This time I delete the previously extracted automation, and copy and paste the automation directly from track 1 here, so that there’re pretty lines and not just a bunch of dots. Still sounds horribly out of time towards the end.
Track 5: I merge the automation in track 4 back to MIDI clip and realize there’s obviously a problem here. As you can see, starting from bar 19, the actual MIDI information isn’t the same at all as what the automation in track 4 suggests. I think it’s safe to say this extract function is faulty somehow.

Please do your own test and see if this happens to you. I’m using C9.5 so I would be very interested to know if this still happens in 10.
retrologue automation test.rar (77 KB)

2

Hi,
I figure out the same problem! :cry: Since I’m usual to automate the midi parameters working with external synths I’ve discovered this problem believing it was related to my midi interface, so I recreated the same automation with some internals Vsti, and I’ve discovered that the problem was somehow correlated with cubase itself, and how the program manage the same midi informations coming out from these two different MIDI CC “sources”.
From the “CC Automation setup” you can decide how those two MIDI CC sources of data are combined, but after many experiments with various settings and with external and VSTi sources, I came out with the conclusion that at the moment, the only way to get precise “midi timing” automation is using throught the midi parts (so with those uncomfortable points to edit :blush: ), and not with the automation midi tracks that would be very handy if only it worked well, at least if you need sharp and tight automation variations that would stay in sync with the song time.

Anyway (only for the VSTi),if you automate the parameter directly on the knobs (so without using midi CC to make variations on the synth) those problems won’t exist and the synth response is sharp, perfectly reflecting the automation curve shape!

here my post with your same issue! at the moment I’ve no solution to address the problem. :question:
Bye.

3

I’ve sent a support request and will keep you updated on what they say.