MIDI Features?

Seems to me the state of MIDI manipulation has been the same in CB for years … and years. OK chord tracks are cool, granted.

The Logical Editor is powerful but how about some creative tools? The Arpeggitor has been written about in many posts… but how about some generative, interactive processing? I fondly remember the INteractive Phrase Synthesiser from way back. ( Not a synth but a means to process, modulate and play MIDI Phrases … the notes and the Spaces in between !)

Maybe some intelligent Harmony tools … Composition aids … or just evolve the existing MIDI effects.

The focus now seems very engineering driven … inserts, automation, side chaining, a giant console on the screen/s. Don’t get me wrong that’s great but I’d love SB to remember the users who would like a paintbrush to go along with the hammer. ( metaphorically speaking…).

I agree 100%. So many changes and new audio plugins so why have midi plugins been neglected for decades? How about combining midi effects with audio such as the innovate Arpology?

+1 Below are some suggestions I made in the Cubase 8 forum a while ago in regards to adding more performance features to the Chord Pad section…

The Chord Pad module has so many possibilities like:

Adding a programmable arp w/ user presets (the chords from the pads would feed notes to the arp or you could turn the chords off and use the arp by itself). I realize this can be with a separate arp, but why not combine the features for the sake of better workflow.

Adding a programmable strum/chord pattern and strum/chord roll speed w/ user presets

Assigning midi phrases to a pad (allow a different phrase on each pad or transpose one pattern across all of the pads) w/ user presets. Allow drag and drop of phrases from the arranger window. Essentially making this a midi phrase sampler. I realize we have the ability to assign a midi phrase in the player section, but sometimes it would better to create something new than to search for something that fits the project.

Allow for more complex/two hand chords in the Chord Assistant

Allow the Chord Pad section to expanded in size to see these new performance features with the option to hide them instead of the current layout that you have to click into different tabs. Similar to how you can show/hide features in the other windows. I don’t like switching between back and forth between the chord and player view and the chord pad preset should be visible at all times. These items would not take up much screen real estate and would make the workflow much better.

A complaint I posted about the arpegiator is that when you drop a part into it, it makes all velocities the same thus sucking the life out of them.

The phrase synth :laughing:

Most of these tools are really tacky,just like most off the included content.
I don’t feel a lot of people still want that “band in a box” / magix type preset phrase sound.
Now what about polyrythms? Or a more robust Cirklon type step sequencer plugin.

I never said that?!? I said included… you might like cthulhu, does exactly what you want

Ignorance is bliss. I assume your Christmas will be very happy.

I wasn’t familiar with the Cirklon sequencer, but I went and checked it out. This is what I imagined when I said I wanted a programmable arp. I want something that offers more than the standard arp plugins provide.

And in reference to the velocities on imported phrases, I agree that the velocity values should be maintained to keep the dynamics intact.

compositional aids

in presonus S1 there is a feature in the midi editor that allows you to select a scale then highlights on the piano roll the notes in that scale … this is such an awesome feature for people who are theory illiterate like myself… i use S1’s midi editor to write midi tracks then import them into cubase when i need melodic dependant content

Arpology also is a programmable, although it comes with high quality samples, you can drag and drop the midi patterns (which you can fully customize or build from scratch) to your DAW.