Hi,
I am loving the midi remote feature in C12 and it does ALMOST everything I need. Let me explain what I am looking for.
In a nutshell, more quick controls would solve my problem. I have a Midi Fighter Twister (MFT) and have mapped a lot of C12 controls there and it mostly works well. My problem comes to plugins. I use the quick controls for most plugins but the plugin I use by far the most is a channel strip that has HP/LP filters, gate, compressor and eq. I would like to map the controls of this plugin to one bank of my MFT. I figured out I could do this but it will not remember those settings globally, only in the current project. It is not reasonable to have to re-map the settings for every project. Is there a way for the midi remote to remember this or somehow save and load the settings for this plugin in each project? Frankly, if you could just add more quick controls as needed, that would solve my problem. Quick control settings get saved globally, which is what I need for this plugin but 8 of them is not nearly enough. I need like 32 of them.
Am I missing something or is there a way to solve this issue?
Hey skijumptoes,
Thanks for the response. I did all of that and it was not working correctly, but I just fooled around with it some more and I think I got it working. Itâs a bit quirky for my liking. First off, I donât like how you have to actually select the track before the mapping will move over to the plugin of a different channel. You donât have to do that with Quick Controls. Quick Controls will automatically take over on the plugin with âfocusâ. This doesnât seem like a bit deal but now, every time I want to open that plugin on a different track, I have to move my mouse down, away from the inserts, click the new track and move back up. Doing this over and over and sometimes forgetting to do so is annoying. Ideally, it would work like QCs and just take over on the plugin in âfocusâ or last clicked on.
Secondly, I assigned all the plugin parameters when the plugin was in the first insert slot. The controls will not work if the plugin is in a different plugin slot. I may have to put the plugin in slot 2 or 3 and re-map so I have wiggle room to add a plugin or two before the channel strip plugin in the few cases where I need to do so.
All in all, its a fairly good implementation once you figure out the caveats and workarounds. If Steinberg could address these couple of issues (i.e. no need to click the track with the plugin and have the mapping work on any insert) I think it would be great.
If you or anyone else has any more thoughts, I would love to hear them.
What I do is leave the plugin windows open and have a button assigned to swap between plugin windows - You donât need to change tracks or anything then, as when you focus on any plugin on any track the âFocusedâ quick controls will automatically focus on.
There are some additional options for how the quick controls focus at the top of the MIDI Remote panel, have you tried changing those to see if thereâs a better one for you? Thereâs 3 options in there from memory.
Instead of mapping to focus quick controls you can still map to the track controls too, theyâre in the mapping assistant if you search them out - try to put them on their own page and see if that works for you.
Also, the AI knob is quite a handy mapping, where you gain control over the element your mouse is hovering over. I donât know if thatâs of any benefit to you?
That was my fear, I hadnât tried it beyond instruments yet. So very sad to hear this is the case.
This really is in an unfinished state, donât know what else to say on the matter, but weâll all be hoping it improves over the coming months.
The most basic concept and starting block for plugin control shouldâve been the ability to map per plugin. But this ânewâ system is just piggy backing on the old one and itâs limits already showing through. Itâs frustrating if you want to map beyond 8 parameters, or dare move a plugin to a different slot.
Not a clue if theyâre going to corner themselves or have a solution to such problems. We certainly wonât know of any timescales.
I donât think I worded that the best. What I was trying to say is when using mapping of a specific plugin on my MFT, AND NOT USING QCs, is when I have to click on a track in order for the MFT to start editing the next track/ plugin. Clicking on the plugin itself WILL NOT change the mapped controls to the MFT. I wish is DID work like the QC where, as you said, I can just open/ click on a new plugin window and the mapping of the MFT would move over the plugin âin focus.â Having this functionality as well as being able to put the mapped plugin in any insert slot and still have the plugin working would be of great help. Itâs not a totally deal breaker but, for me, this would be a massive improvement for my workflow.
Yes, I did understand that. To me itâs just part of the same problem and that the âfocusedâ quick controls should offer any number of controls that matches your available hardware controls for plugins and a paging system to cater for smaller controllers.
But already theyâve limited themselves to 8 fixed controls - and thatâs it.
If you use Studio One or any number of DAWâs (Ableton, Bitwig, REAPER +Extensions etc), itâs exactly how they operate. Youâd expect a new MIDI Remote would offer that as the core concepts but itâs just a bolt-on to what was there.
Itâs clear that the primary goal was very simple mappings using a pretty graphical interface that could be used as a sales tool.
Thereâs been no evidential thought to mapping plugins in their entirety, mapping to plugins on a class level, no thought to paging within a plugin, no thought extending beyond 8 quick controls, no thought for the wider scope of encoder types, no thought to to encoder speeds/acceleration, no thought to jog wheel style controls where clockwise/anticlockwise can be mapped to different functions.
Awful management if they were omitted, and awful management if they were missed, sadly.
Thereâs already a disconnect between what you can map via the API, and what you can map via the Mapping Assistant - itâs really disjointed and Iâm left with zero belief this gets anywhere near where it needs to be.
I see what you are saying now. It sounds like you are more midi literate than I am but, yes, I agree that this new MR can still be improved upon. I am about 90% satisfied with it for my particular needs but realize others need much more than I do.
I have considered trying out a new DAW such as Studio One and I have used Reaper a little in the past since we were tied to a dongle and I regularly work between two locations. I forgot the dongle regularly and it was super frustrating. I have been using Cubase since the first âSXâ so I have a 20-year history or so using it. Switching would be hard and frustrating but could be worth it. There is a lot in Cubase that other DAWs donât have but I am sure it could be worked around. One thing I REALLY wish Cbase would implement is how Studio One handles an open plugin window. I love that there are tabs at the top of the GUI for all the plugins on that track. Itâs so easy to make tweaks to a track without having to open, close, and move around to various windows. Plus I can have access to multiple plugins on a couple of tracks at the same time again, without window confetti all over the place.
Anyway, thanks for the responses. Itâs appreciated.