When I have automation write enabled on a track, I can use the mouse to record automation without issue.
I have the parameter mapped to a little AKAI LPD8 MIDI controller by using “MIDI learn” but it doesn’t record. It moves it just fine, but the data just doesn’t record anything.
Back in Cubase 7 and 8 I never had this issue. I could plug in any MIDI controller, do “MIDI learn” on anything and it would Just Work ™ every single time.
Here’s a YouTube video I uploaded showing what I’m talking about (no sound.)
I’m moving the cutoff parameter with the mouse which records fine. But when I do it with the knob (which is mapped to cutoff) you can see it moving but Cubase doesn’t record anything.
Any help is appreciated, I can’t record anything in real-time right now as a result of this and it’s a big blocker.
Hi,
It seems, the plug-in doesn’t handle the automation correctly in this case.
I woul recommend to use (Focus) Quick Control instead of MIDI assignment in this case.
I should note this happens with all VSTs from all manufacturers.
Quick Control has numerous problems for me:
First, no matter what I change assignments to, as soon as the VST interface is touched the Quick Controls revert to their defaults. For example Massive has “Add Sub Osc” to QC1 by default. I change it to Filter Cutoff 1. I turn a knob or change a setting in the VST and it completely resets to Add Sub Osc.
Secondly, even after being configured using the mapping assistant, etc. the knob just simply does not do anything to the VST. One can see the mapping clearly set to QC1, which is set in the VST but it doesn’t work.
I haven’t had a problem with MIDI interfaces like since the 1990s so you can imagine my frustration 
Video example of knob mapped to QC1 not interacting with the interface, but mouse working OK https://youtu.be/yoxqR5z8KM4
If this is an issue with my hardware I’ll toss it and get something else, I just want to know if this is a Cubase problem or not.
EDIT: Making a little bit of progress, I have to completely ignore the Quick Controls in the channel settings on the left, it does not sync with the Quick Controls in the VST itself and it confuses Cubase, looks like I uncovered a bug.
Overall not happy that I’m forced to used Quick Controls.
Just to follow up I’ve done some more digging into my problems to refine/reproduce the issues:
This is relegated to knobs/sliders/dials. Keys themselves are fine.
- MIDI CC that is sent any way other than via thru Quick Controls does not record, per my original post. The MIDI input shows activity, the knobs even move in the VST and you can hear it and see the bar move in the automation track, but Cubase does not record the data. This happens with all MIDI controllers I’ve tried, and every VST from different manufacturers (Roland, NI, etc.) Quick Controls are the ONLY way I can automate anything using hardware.
- Quick Controls are out-of-sync between the QC panel in the channel and the QC panel in the instrument. If I change Quick Control 1 in the channel to be something other than what is in the global QC panel in the instrument, what the knob controls is different when the track is selected vs. the VST instance focused. That might be by design to allow for per-instance controls but it gets confusing very fast, as if you focus the instrument window your knobs are controlling completely different things.
- Quick Controls glitch out with multiple instances of a VST. I loaded a JUNO-106 and set the QC on knob 1 to be cutoff. I loaded a second instance of the JUNO-106 and set the QC on knob 1 to be resonance. Both worked per-instance, but when I clicked back and forth the second instance Quick Controls reverted to those of the first instance.
So, being forced to use Quick Control not only removes the ability to have unique per-instance controls in general, it also disallows me to have per-instance QC controls. And it’s very glitchy in general.
For me this is a really big step down. I used to be able to have, for example, 4 instances of a VST loaded, and for each one could have its own mappings via “Learn MIDI CC”, which no longer seems possible.
Any thoughts or tips? Very confused.
Still hoping for a solution to this. It’s bad enough for my workflow that it may make me shift over to using Ableton Live.
I’d like to upgrade to Cubase 13 but want to know if this still persists. Being forced to use Quick Control or nothing is extremely limiting. Most VSTs have a very large number of knobs, and it’s common to need per-instance control that can’t be replicated with a single mapping in Quick Control.
Hi,
Double-check the Preferences > MIDI > MIDI Filters. By default only SysEx filter is enabled for both Record and Thru.
There are 3 types of Quick Controls in Cubase: Track-, Instrument- and Focus Quick Controls. Are you sure, you are using only one concept?
Thanks for the reply, Martin, I’ll give it a shot.
I haven’t noticed your topic back in January.
I’d like to say something regarding the video in your initial post.
When I assign a MIDI controller directly to a plugin parameter then Cubase will only record the midi controller into a midi part. It will not reach the automation lane.
Example for directly assigning a midi controller to a plugin parameter
So, if you can change the value of the automation lane’s parameter with a MIDI knob you must have assigned the knob to some sort of indirect control in Cubase. Maybe Generic Remote, maybe MIDI Remote Control?
It would be essential to know how and where you assigned that midi knob.
@Johnny_Moneto I assigned it by simply right-clicking on the knob in the VSTi interface, selecting “MIDI Learn” and then turning the desired knob. This is how I’ve done it for ~15 years. When I finally moved from Cubase 7 to 12 the behavior is what I get in the video.
Doing things this way is desired for me because I often want different things mapped to different knobs for each VST instance or patch. Some VSTi have several hundred knobs, and when I’m writing recording I just want to be able to “jam” on the parameters on-the-fly without needing to create entire surface editor mappings every permutation.
I’m going to look in more detail at my old Cubase 7 configuration but was hoping to get some insight without having to strip everything down and compare.
I appreciate the reply, any info is helpful.
Hmmm… as I said I cannot reproduce the behaviour in your video. When I use MIDI learn on the VSTi interface directly the value of the automation lane does not change it all (and therefore does not write automation).
I do not own Massive. Could you use Retrologue instead, as we both have that? Can you take a screenshot of where exactly you would map a knob/fader of your keyboard to the plugin?
I try to reproduce what happens on your machine.
