X-Touch (+Extender) MIDI Remote Script (MCU mode)

Hi @GPnicolett,
I think I get what you mean. Sadly, I’m struggling to come up with a straight-forward way to implement such a thing. I guess you’ll have to use VCA faders or temporarily link multiple channels’ volumes in the mix console :confused:

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Thank you for the update @bjoluc!

I have registered over at github and am ready to collaborate there (I have followed you there) Let me know what next steps of how I can help, what you need me to do next, where I can download the next revision to test, etc :+1:

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No worries, thanks for the quick response. But your script CAN see the VCA’s in Cubase right? So if I wanted to group busses using VCA faders and bank over to those, I’m good?

I might just be used to Console 1 Fader’s implementation where it can only “See” audio and busses, and can’t interact with VCA faders.

Right :+1:

I’m thinking about getting an X-touch Extender to use as standalone, which should be possible. However, for this to work it will be absolutely crucial to navigate and select channels/banks inside the Cubase mixer and for the Extender to follow automatically (auto banking / track follow), since the Extender doesn’t have any buttons for navigating channels/banks (how does that even work since it is advertised as being able to use as a standalone device).
My question is: would that work with this script?
Thank you in advance.

Hey, this is interesting! Can anyone provide a usability video on YouTube? Would love to get a little more insight!

Would it be possible to port the script to …let’s say… a behringer wing console? Especially the track color coding is very intriguing!

Thanks!

HI @bjoluc ,
playing with the mapping assistant, I accidentally changed the function of the “inst” button (top right) and I can’t go back!

I deleted your .js file, downloaded it again, reloaded it in the dedicated folder and restarted my pc and cubase… but now it won’t come back! It remains the last function I assigned! How is it possible?..

Is there a way to go back to your original function?
I hope so, thanks!

I’m not the OP, but i think the answer to your question is this-

when you override a script with custom mapping, it creates a JSON file with the overrides (it doesnt modify the script)

there is a directory called User Settings in your user script folder with that file - delete it and see what happens

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Thanks 1000 @swinginguitar
Resolved!
Perfect information!

Thanks @swinginguitar! :100:

Hi @Ruben_V,
I just tried this and it works nicely :slight_smile: The MIDI Remote comes with “auto banking” out of the box, so that’s not a problem. However, the most impactful limitation of an extender-only setup is that the encoders will always control Pan, unless you use the mapping assistant to add more mapping pages. With an X-Touch main unit, you would use the “Encoder Assign” buttons to switch between various assignments. Apart from that, the extender-only approach seems to be surprisingly useful while saving a lot of desk space! Go for it, i’d say! :grin:

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Oohh very interesting, thank you!
I read that the lack of “auto banking” is one of the big limitations of the Mackie Control protocol, but if it does work with your MIDI remote script that’s just great!

So just to be sure: if you select a channel in the Cubase mixer, say channel 43, while the Extender is on channels 1-8 / bank 1, it will automatically switch to channel 43, as part of 41-48 / bank 6 ?

I’ll be controlling many other things with a Stream Deck and MP Midi Controller, so all I need really is some nice motorized faders that don’t take up too much space.

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Hi @bjoluc and hello all, congratulations for this useful script!

I would like to ask if it is also possible to add VST Quick Controls to the Inst key.

Currently the Inst key cycles through:
1 - Track Quick Controls,
2 - Gate,
3 - Compressor,
4 - Tools,
5 - Saturator,
6 - Limiter…

Could it also include VST Instrument Quick Controls (selected track)?

Example:
1 - Track Quick Controls,
2 - VST Quick Controls,
3 - Gate,
4 - Compressor,
5 - Tools,
6 - Saturator,
7 - Limiter.

Thank you

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You name it :+1:

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Sweet, then there’s nothing holding me back to get the Extender!

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There is one German walk-through video on YouTube by @Cubase-Erklaerbaer, if German works for you. The video was made for script version 1.3 – I have improved some things since then, so you might want to check out the changelog on GitHub for a list of what has changed since then.

That seems doable at a first glance, according to the “WING DAW Control” documentation. Creating an accurate device surface, however, would require providing a Cubase-specific WING DAW preset. I don’t own a WING, so it would take (a lot of?) your help to make this work. Also, X-Touch color support in MCU mode is a recent addition by Behringer (only supported in the latest X-Touch firmware), so I’m not quite sure if the WING even supports colors via MCU.

If you’re willing to try this, a first step would be to use the X-Touch script as-is with the devices: ["main", "extender", "extender"] configuration. To do so, one needs to manually add a device surface in the MIDI remote lower pane (+ button) and assign the appropriate ports. If colors are not supported yet, I don’t think a custom MIDI Remote script (and WING DAW preset) is worth the effort yet, given the WING’s flexible approach of assigning buttons to arbitrary MCU functions…

I didn’t know the difference between Track Quick Controls and VST Quick Controls. Reading the manual, I realized there are also Focus Quick Controls which cover VST (=Instrument), Plugin, and Track quick controls.

Now I’m unsure what’s best:

  • Add VST parameters to the first or second page of the “Inst” encoder assign button like you suggested @Danix78? Then anyone not manually assigning Track Quick Controls might be confused by two seemingly identical pages.
  • Integrate Focus Quick Controls somewhere? The concept feels very intuitive and would avoid having to switch between the “Plug-In” and “Inst” assignments. Then again, there are only 8 quick controls, while the current Plug-In assignment can page through all plugin parameters that are assigned in the Remote Control Editor and also follows plugin focus, so replacing “Plug-IN” with Focus Quick Controls doesn’t seem right. The benefit of the current “Inst” button assignment is that one doesn’t have to bring up the instrument UI to control its parameters, so replacing “Inst” with Focus Quick Controls doesn’t feel right either.
  • There’s a “Track” assignment button. It seems reasonable to use one of its pages for Track QCs and assign VST QCs to the first “Inst” encoder assignment instead of Track QCs? Maybe the first assignment is confusing because it differs quite a lot from the default MCU use, so I think I’d go for the last assignment (number 4) then.

I’m leaning towards the last solution. It requires Track QC power-users to press the “Track” button three times once in a while, but I think that’s reasonable given that anyone not using Track QCs can just continue using the “Inst” assignment for VST QCs . While Focus Quick Controls are a nice concept, we already have more advanced (=more than 8 plugin parameters controllable + no plugin UI focus required for controlling instrument parameters) control via the “Plug-In” and “Inst” encoder assign buttons, so I think we should not shift everything to mouse focus by switching to Focus QCs.

@Danix78 Would

“Track”: Monitor, PreGain, Phase, Track Quick Controls
“Inst”: VST instrument controls, Gate, …

work for you?

While we are all discussing possible mods, here’s one:

There is another script on the forum (“native mode”), and I noticed in that one the visibility preset buttons actually toggle which track types are visible on the XT, such as midi, audio, inst, etc.

It looks like this is being accomplished via a sub page are for each view, that otherwise replicates the general behavior on each, if that makes sense.

I looked into a way to do this on your script, but it seems from the outside looking in that it would be difficult to add (i’m not familiar with TS and polyfills and such)

Anyway, in absence of setfollowvisibility(), what do you think about such a feature? Its likely a matter of calling .include() for a given view/subpage…?

Okay, thanks man!
And actually, now that I see how deeply your script integrates the x-touch into Cubase, I might just go with that one. You created some awesome piece of work here! Congratulations!

Is there any update from Steinberg regarding the visibility mirroring? Having the controller follow the Cubase mixer is kinda crucial.

My ideal workflow would be having the x-touch show all channels, and having the extender show only the busses. Then, when I select a bus and use the visibility agent „ show channels that are connected to the first selected channel“ I’d like to have all these channels spread across both controllers. So, is it possible to have only the extender showing the busses, or VCAs, but when using this visibility agent remove the track type filter?

And since I’m at it… would it be possible to hard-map this specific visibility agent to a double press of the track select buttons?

Furthermore, is it somehow possible to use the mixer function „zone left“ and „zone right“, which locks the selected channels either to the left or the right side of the board? And maybe have it mapped to „shift channel left and right“?

Thanks in advance!

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Excellent @bjoluc !
Wise choice!

Now yes!.. Very useful “extra” functions!

Focus Quick Control is a useful “extra-extra” function… perhaps F1 (or F8 or… ) of the X-Touch?.. at the User’s choice?.. I don’t know.

You have done a very useful job for many people!
My coffee arrives on GitHub!

PS
On GitHub you report the following for MCU:
“Although there are exactly 8 push encoders, there is no encoder assignment for VST Quick controls”
But… Shift + Master = VST QC
This may be useful for further information: MC Protocol and Quick Controls: 2 Questions

Thanks again for your attention!

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