Repurposing Rack Instruments+combining w/ Modulators = Reaktor like playground 🛝

[awesomeaudio]

I’ve always defaulted to using Instruments Tracks since they are released

Instrument Tracks sort of replaced Rack Instruments from my understanding, and are likely kept in the program for the sake of old project compatibility.

But maybe they could be reinvented, and repurposed while maintaining backwards compatibility.

What if Rack Instruments become more of a virtual patching playground where users can:

a.) Use multiple VSTi Instruments as one instrument

b.) Combined with new Modulators

c.) Combined with old (and perhaps new) MIDI Plugins.

One Rack Instrument = One Virtual Playground.

A user can have multiple Rack Instruments, and perhaps Rack Instruments could even communicate/daisy-chain with one another.

This gives users the creative potential to “build their own instrument” beyond the parameters that are given in any one VSTi.

Using an expanded Modulator Edit Window as a mockup:

Rack Instruments sort of become the back and side walls of your studio, where you have some extra synths and modular all patched up in your own way.

[Paul_J]

Love that idea…

Since the new modulators, they really have the framework in place to make a full modular system. If anything, Halion by itself should be like that. So you could take the Halion engine and turn it into a more modular system. It’s just the Halion GUI needs a lot of work to turn it into something more streamlined and a lot less cumbersome/clunky.

Take Halion and turn it into something like Bitwig The grid, Element, FL Studio Patcher, or like your example…something like that. At least as the foundation.

[awesomeaudio]

Yes… All the components are here, they just need their potential to be fully exploited. Even Modulators as they are, are a bit limited because there is no cross-track communication. They can only communicate within the track they are inserted…

hence my other FR, Global/Project Modulators:

Global/Project Modulators (Currently, Modulators don’t have cross track routing?) - Cubase - Steinberg Forums

and better more “modularesque” UI

Modulators - Unfolded View + Patch Cables/Colour Coding + Free Organize in Full Window - Cubase - Steinberg Forums

The idea of using Halion is interesting… I would maybe shy away from that for a couple reasons - UI needs/current UI development path is fairly set in already, and secondly - the amount of quality control to maintain both Halion and something as expanse as this all as one thing. ie, “if one thing breaks, it all breaks”

There’s also the possibility of this new Rack Instrument idea, being able to host 3rd party plugins internally… Which Steinberg wouldn’t want to do with Halion.

I think also, having all this contained within VST format would be less flexible than something that is just coded from the ground up and integrated into Cubase.

Besides… you could just put Halion into this thing.

[awesomeaudio]

I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING

This could also act as a Steinberg native ‘Audio Gridder’ type processing/server offload wrapper as well for VSTi Instruments. So if people end up building a super complex CPU heavy FX Matrix chain - then they could offload the process for just that FX Matrix insert locally to an isolated CPU thread, or to a server.

This whole idea is also kind of similar to my idea for a Steinberg native plugin chain wrapper:

Integrated native plugin Chainer Insert (Steinberg official “wrapper”/Insert expander) - FX MATRIX - Cubase - Steinberg Forums