The Device Panel does not share the same limits. It only has visual space limitations. It’s also poorly designed to compared to QCs. In my screenshot, I created 12 knobs to control parameters in UVI’s Falcon VST. I also have a separate device panel with faders.
I mention this because I know some folks have expressed the need/interest in having more than 8 params available for QCs. For electronic music this can be pretty relevant. I bring this up just as a reminder/ping to those who need more visual parameter options.
How do you use the Device Panel?
I’m not entirely sure. It’s been brought to my attention that it wasn’t originally designed for this purpose. It was designed to be an interface for MIDI hardware. It just happens to be that it also works with your VSTs. I think I know the basics of how to use it at the moment.
I’m also making this post because I think Steinberg has a great feature hidden here.
If Device Panels allow you to create custom knobs (and faders!) why not just focus on that instead of QCs?
But… Why not taking advantage of the MIDI Remote, and the Instrument and Inserts Viewer entities where we can have as many parameters per bank as we want?
Fair point. I think the handiness of the QCs is that you only visibly see it on relevant tracks and it could only show parameters relevant to that track. The same rules can apply to device panels.
Also, to my understanding, the MIDI Remote expects you to set it up alongside a MIDI port. The QCs and Device Panel don’t care whether or not the parameters are assigned to any specific MIDI port. So you don’t have to engage in those steps.
I use the MIDI remote as well. I’ve created a custom script for Push 2 and almost for Push 3 but it’s clearly meant for hardware interfaces. It seems to function as a partial replacement for Device Panels. However, I think some Device Panel features need to considered. OR better yet, they can take some of MIDI remote features and just replace the Device Panel with some of those features.
QCs are a fundamentally different thing. Much like the MIDI Remote and the Generic Remote, they’re a bi-directional translation layer between MIDI messages and VST Automation messages.
The device panel just sends MIDI (to whatever the MIDI or instrument track connects to.
And there’s no 8 parameter limit of MIDI messaging to plugins. So I can already control more than 8 parameters via a hardware controller, if I simply send the MIDI messages straight to the plugins. I don’t need the device panel for that.
So I guess I’m not understanding what value the device panel would add to plugins?
I think you’re right - the device panel appears to be able to send/receive VST Automation parameters - and those tend to be bi-directional by default.
That is interesting and something I didn’t realize was possible with Device Panels.
However I still don’t understand the added value. The Quick Controls are intended to be a simple way to connect plugin parameters from an external hardware controller.
How do you connect the Device Panel to a MIDI hardware controller?
EDIT:
p.s. I can understand the use case of Device Panels for creating an alternative/minimalistic UI for plugins.
But I was always under the impression that the common complaint about only having only 8 Quick Control parameters was pretty much in the context of hardware MIDI control enthusiasts, and not so much in the context of alternative plugin UI enthusiasts.
I would think that alternative plugin UI enthusiasts would quickly reach for 3rd party tools like plugin wrappers or chainers. And that’s because those would generally be a lot easier to create and maintain than the obviously ancient Cubase Device Panels and also would open more creative opportunities, like making macro controls, which allow a single virtual parameter to control multiple plugin parameters, and/or scale and/or reverse parameters and such. And once you go down that road you’re not far from creating aggregate synths and/or aggregate fx devices, which will definitely lead you towards plugin chainers.
And for the “minimalist” enthusiast arguably 8 parameters are mostly enough - otherwise might as well use the regular plugin UI?
Just an example about why 8 QC aren’t enough for a lot of of plug-ins/VSTis : a Hammond B3 ‘clone’ has 9 drawbars, and often 18. Add this with the Leslie controls, the percs, vibrato, etc. We should have at least 4 banks of 8 QC, at least for the VST ones for these to be truely useful.
So, I’m watching this thread with interest, as I completely forgot that the device panels were there and could be useful for this : something to test, obviously.
Yep, as I have two MIDI controllers, one of them with exactly the 9 faders that could be used as drawbars. This is one of the reasons why, and since years, I’ve been hoping that more QC would be added.
In the meantime, I tried to set this with the Generic Remote implementation : a clumsy and not so reliable solution. I gave up using the MIDI Remote, or rather, I set two of them for strictly controlling some Cubase functions : transport, zoom, nudge, etc. The QC are much more easy to set, but sadly, there aren’t enough of them…
I remember when the RCE appeared in Cubase (circa Cubase 7, I think) and never got how it was working. Maybe I should give it a go again, as I almost forgot its existence, even before the MIDI Remote was implemented.
So, thanks for the suggestion, but I see an issue, here : let’s say I go from an instrument track to another one with a different VSTi. How the RCE knows that the change has been done ? From what I see, each time we select an instrument/MIDI track, we also have to change the corresponding layout in it, unless we are able to link a given layout to its corresponding VSTi…
The RCE is not involved in this process. You can setup using the RCE the parameters as suggested by @Nico5 and it’s all set. Then, whenever you change track, the MIDI Remote will see the change and adapt to the parameters of the plugin in this track.
Thanks for the precision. A question, though : how does the MIDI Remote definition knows which VSTi is involved ? I guess that we have to create a layout in the RCE for each of our instruments, hoping that the MIDI Remote will recognized each of them…
@cubic13 If you search the forums you’ll find several threads where @m.c and others have meticulously described the process of setting up a hardware controller using MIDI Remote and the Remote Control Editor.
The process is not that complicated.
As a side note, RCE mappings are available not only for VSTi’s but VSTfx as well.
Faced any issue? Anyway, this is off topic.
