I’m having an issue with Focus Quick Controls in Cubase while using Kontakt ( or any other VST Instrument), and I am not sure if there is a dierct solution to this. Here’s what’s happening:
Assigning Quick Controls:
I assign the 8 Focus Quick Controls to various parameters within a Kontakt library.
Saving the Setup:
I’ve saved it as a track preset and/or as a VST instrument preset in Cubase.
Switching Libraries: When I switch to another Kontakt instance with a different library, I adjust the Focus Quick Controls for the new library and save it as a new VSTI preset or/and track Preset in hope to keep all the settings the same including the Focus Quick Controls from the VSTI.
Recalling Presets: When I return to the original preset, the Kontakt parameters recall correctly, but the Focus Quick Control assignments do not. They revert to the settings from the last used preset.
I observed that Focus Quick Controls are globally linked to the instrument rather than being specific to each library or preset. This global linkage means any changes to the Quick Controls affect all presets universally, which isn’t ideal.
Question: Does anyone know of a way to link Focus Quick Controls specifically to individual presets rather than the VST Instrument ?
I’m looking for a solution where these controls recall correctly with each preset without needing to set up multiple tracks in a template as potential solution.
Thank you all.
Quick note: By Focus Quick Controls I refer to the Quick Controls inside VST Instrument , not the Track Quick Controls.
It is quite unfortunate . I’ve experimented with using two different tracks, assigning different Instrument Quick Controls to each track for separate Kontakt instances. For example, in the first Kontakt library, I might set the controls to adjust the volume of four different layers and use other knobs for effects like distortion drive and reverb mix. For the second library, I aim to control different parameters, which makes sense since they are from different libraries with unique controls, although using Kontakt.
Unfortunately, adjusting the Quick Controls for the second library disrupts the settings of the first library.
This limitation is disappointing as it significantly restricts the flexibility and functionality of using Quick controls across multiple Kontakt libraries within a single project.
Thank you so much for pointing out that solution. It is indeed an option, and I tried it. It is stable for my use case, unlike the instrument Quick Controls. However, there is a small downside: it is limited to only 8 Quick Controls, whereas instrument Quick Controls can be set up to 128. Obviously, I don’t use all 128, but I might go up to 16-32 sometimes.
In the ambient music I produce, having many controls in a single Kontakt instance allows me to automate a lot of elements, refining my textures and soundscapes along the musical journey. I assign these controls to MIDI controllers to manage the Quick Controls effectively. By the way, the instrument Quick Controls are relatively stable when controlled via mouse. However, as soon as you start moving your MIDI controller knobs assigned to these controls, stability issues arise. I’m not sure if this is a bug or something else.
Still, thanks for pointing out that solution. For now, I might go with it and create various “selected track Quick Controls” presets.
Yes, we’re opening the MIDI Remote Manager if you want to control the 128 instrument Quick Controls via a MIDI controller. However, if you don’t want to use a MIDI controller for the 128 Quick Controls, you don’t need to go to the MIDI Remote Manager. Just start from step 4 from my previous comment.
So, you can completely omit the MIDI Remote Mapping part and still access 128 instrument Quick Controls with the mouse. This confirms what I said about being able to go up to 128 Quick Controls. Essentially, the MIDI Remote Manager part was only mentioned because I assigned those controls to my MIDI controller.
In summary:
If you’re using a MIDI controller, follow all the steps.
If you’re using the mouse, start from step 4 to control up to 128 Quick Controls.
“The VST Quick Controls allow you to remote-control a VST instrument from within the VST Instruments window.”
This description fits what we are doing when we open the remote editor within the instrument/VST and configure the parameters we want to control. When we switch to the generic editor, we have exactly what is described in the Quick Controls definition—a section where you control the most important parameters assembled in one place. This is just like the 8 Quick Controls, but expanded to include more than 8 in one place.
If those are not called Quick Controls, then what is the correct terminology for these controls shown together in the generic editor?
Thanks for the clarification, Martin. The term I was missing is “Plug-in controls.”
So as you said:
8 Track Quick Controls
8 VST Quick Controls
8 Focus Quick Controls
For the thing I wasn’t calling correctly:
Plug-in controls can go up to 20 pages, where each page has 8 controls (= total of 160). But within the MIDI Remote mapping, you can control up to 128 of these.
In MIDI Remote, the parameter setup is capped at 128. I can’t enter a value higher than 128, which is why I mentioned the limit. When I try to input a value above 128, it defaults back to 128.
