Summary: Is there a way to set the tempo to a specific value and/or to tap tempo via MIDI?
I’m hoping to use Cubase for live performance, hosting instruments for my keyboard rig, as well as for studio work. I’ll be using software called Bome’s MIDI Translator that will process incoming MIDI data from my keyboard and a controller and pass MIDI data to Cubase. All the sounds I’ll play live will be samples loaded into NI Kontakt; I’ll occasionally need to play back an audio or MIDI track to provide backing parts as well.
I know how to set up most of the control I need to have over Cubase (solo a particular track, unsolo another track, and start/stop playback). As far as playing live sounds and audio backing tracks, I’m set.
In order to play back MIDI backing tracks, I need to set the tempo in Cubase. Is there a way to send a MIDI message to Cubase that sets the tempo? If so, how would I do that?
I also run my electric piano sounds through NI Guitar Rig. Some of the effects I use, such as delay, are dependent on the tempo, and the natural way to do that is to tap the tempo. I know I can turn off the sync-to-host feature in Guitar Rig and assign a MIDI control to its tap tempo, but it’d be nice to tap tempo for the host, so that if I want to launch an audio or MIDI clip at a specific time (and not just play back a track along with the entire song the band’s playing), I can make sure I’m in sync with the band. They generally don’t play to a click track unless there’s pre-recorded parts I’m launching, so while forcing them to always play to a click is an option, it’s better to only do that when necessary.
In case someone tries to suggest it, opening up the tap tempo dialog and hitting the spacebar a few times isn’t an option. If I need to adjust in the middle of the song, I don’t have the luxury of taking my hands off the keyboard and messing with Cubase dialogs; I want to tap with a footpedal.
And yes, I know that Cubase isn’t really designed as a live performance host. I’m on Windows and don’t have the money or need to buy a Mac, so my other choices have been Live (less stable than Cubase; last time I used it live, it blew away everything I had loaded into Kontakt when I loaded the project so I had to reload it all manually), Reason (rock-solid, but the sounds aren’t as good as my Kontakt samples), Cantabile (solid but does bizarre things with routing multiple outputs from plugins), NI Kore (really buggy plus discontinued), and Brainspawn Forte (far too many crashes for me to trust i on stage).