UPDATE: Turns out you can’t automate or use quick controls with device panels. This makes the feature pretty useless. This make Ableton Live much more tempting since I plan to use analog synths more in the future and I haven’t had issues with Max for Live. I can get all controllers cheap or free.
This is sequel to post where I told how Softube could make Modular more usable with couple simple fixes that shouldn’t take more than two weeks. These changes should be easier. At least if it doesn’t require upgrades. Before I go into them little bit background. I like Softube Modular and Cubase’s Device Panels for most parts but both have usability issues. Device Panels are Cubase Pro feature which lets you create control panels for hardware synths and treat them like VST instruments for the most parts but we get into that. You can list these instruments among VSTs. When you drop them to track you get audio routings done automatically and can use it almost like VST. It should be like VST but I will get to that.
I don’t know what is correct term for this functionality. It could be Midi Device something. Device Panel is the thing you use for controlling external instrument and that is where usability issues are. Other way to get this functionality is to have midi and VST sending midi message to external synth on one track and taking audio from synth to another track. That is harder to set up and two tracks is more than one track. Having everything on one track makes everything easier. You can get this on Ableton Live with simple Max4Live midi control. Don’t know how you do it in other DAWs. I had midi and VST on one track and taking audio to other track solution for DSI Tetra. November seems to be my make Device Panels month. So I did panel for Tetra because having everything on one track makes everything easier. Had made device panels for other synths about year ago. Have made couple Max4Live controllers when I still used Live.
Device panels haven’t got any attention for ages. I am one of probably four people around the world who cares about them. Manual refers to PDF but doesn’t give links to it. It is not complicated to get something that works. It is harder if you want something more complicated. There is a reason why you can’t find Device Panels as easily as Max4Live devices. It is hard to get them to state where you want to share them and if you get them to that state I don’t know how to export single device panel.. If you haven’t tried doing one yourself you don’t understand why someone made Device Panel like they did. Some of the blame goes to synth manufacturers' and their midi implementations but those don’t cause similar problems in Max4Live.
I won’t go into everything wrong. I don’t have high hopes everything will ever be fixed. I can still make not pretty but usable device panels. What I go into should be easy to fix and would make creating and using Device Panels easier. You create functionality by adding controls and connecting parameters to them. Parameters set minimum and maximum values and which messages it sends to external synth. You can copy and paste controllers as much as you want. But you can’t copy parameters. You can only create or remove parameters. It shouldn’t be hard to add one button which copies selected parameter. You can have parameters with same names so it doesn’t even have to change name. Just create a copy.
Now you have to create default parameter with default values. You have to change control type every time. With Tetra I use NRPN but I have to change to it with each parameter. In this case about 90 times. It isn’t easy with CC either because you have to select correct CC from dropdown where all CCs doesn’t have number. Letting me copy parameters would give message type and default values correctly and I only need to change name and NRPN number. Much faster and I wouldn’t get temptation to write angry blog post.
What I told earlier is annoying only when you create Device Panel. Bigger problem happens when you use it and don’t know couple things. Device Panel’s setting are not saved when you save the project and device panel snapshots don’t send all parameters to synth. This makes snapshots pretty much usable. At current state you should not select preset options. It will replace bank and program selection by something completely useless. Required functionality make this work is already there. You can save snapshots and when you load snapshot some of its values are sent to external synth. But not all. I don’t know how it is defined what values are sent.
We should be given easy option to send them when we want. Cubase should save current settings to project and sent them to synth when you open project. When Device Panels were created usability wasn’t the most important thing. I found one version of PDF I mentioned before. It is dated to 7th of January 2009. Whole thing still looks the same as in that PDF. Document helped with aligning controls which help making better looking panels. But it didn’t help with everything. For example I still don’t know how to make control which gives values between 0 and 127 with certain number of steps. I assume I should make control with maximum value of number of steps - 1 and multiply control’s value. It works in Control Parameter Assignment but not in panel. Like there is a bug or something.
I would be happy with Device Panels if these three things were fixed. They don’t look too sexy like in picture above but they are extremely useful. My educated guess is fixing there three things I mentioned here wouldn’t take too much time. Someone just have to give these some priority.
I am currently trying to find out way to save sounds so that I get correct sound from synth when I reopen project. Currently testing possibility to save synth preset on track and have Cubase send program change message when I open synth. In this way it is good device panels don’t send values to synth when you open project or device panel. I hope it doesn’t send. This requires making device panel again because it looks like I can’t change preset mode afterwards or add more channels or change anything I selected when I created panel first time. Makes me reconsider Ableton Live where this works better and you can find controller for most of synths.