"Elevate" VST control to rack panel

This forum is for discussing Reason. Questions, answers, ideas, and opinions... all apply.
Post Reply
groggy1
Posts: 466
Joined: 10 Jun 2015

18 Nov 2018

You know those buttons at the top of the VST Window?
Keep Open
Automate
Remote
Screenshot


I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if there was a button called "Elevate to rack panel", that would be similar to "Automate", except instead of adding a new late to automate a particular VST knob, it would:
Add a new knob to the front panel of the VST *in the rack*?

I.e. let me pick the top 5 controls I want to create a knob for, so that I can stop opening the VST floating-window at all.
And of course, let me drag that button around the front panel to place it how I want. :)
And let me switch between knob, slider, and button.



So the flow would be:
1) Open the VST's floating window
2) Click on "Elevate to rack panel"
3) Click on the VST knob you want to automate/control
4) Close the VST floating window - you now see an additional knob on the VST's rack
5) That knob is now very similar to one of the Combinator knobs, in that it can be automated itself by right-clicking on it
6) You can right-click on the knob to change it to a slider or button. You can also customize the position of the knob by entering some sort of "edit" mode
7) You can save presets of these layouts, and share them with friends. So over time, there would be a great library of "VST face-panels" out there, with basic controls for the particular VST



Thoughts?

(Edited to fix a typo)

User avatar
joeyluck
Moderator
Posts: 11029
Joined: 15 Jan 2015

18 Nov 2018

Yes I've been wanting this since the beginning :)
Well not the UI flexibility you describe of being able to add and move widgets, but that would certainly be cool if it could be implemented. I think many folks would expect that from the Combinator at least if it were possible.

I think there could be a few knobs on the front of the VST device in the Rack, automatically assigned to parameters, and assignable via a dropdown menu (in addition to the way you describe). Just one parameter per knob to keep it simple and allow for drop down menus being possible (And then leave Combinators for getting creative with multi-parameter assignments).

groggy1
Posts: 466
Joined: 10 Jun 2015

19 Nov 2018

joeyluck wrote:
18 Nov 2018
Yes I've been wanting this since the beginning :)
Well not the UI flexibility you describe of being able to add and move widgets, but that would certainly be cool if it could be implemented. I think many folks would expect that from the Combinator at least if it were possible.

I think there could be a few knobs on the front of the VST device in the Rack, automatically assigned to parameters, and assignable via a dropdown menu (in addition to the way you describe). Just one parameter per knob to keep it simple and allow for drop down menus being possible (And then leave Combinators for getting creative with multi-parameter assignments).
Agreed that we've always wanted knobs on the VST panel. I just thought it would be cool to do from within the VST floating window by clicking on the VST knob itself (instead of having to pick from a dropdown - since some VSTs have hundreds of automate-able parameters, so a dropdown list can get unwieldy)

User avatar
joeyluck
Moderator
Posts: 11029
Joined: 15 Jan 2015

19 Nov 2018

groggy1 wrote:
19 Nov 2018
joeyluck wrote:
18 Nov 2018
Yes I've been wanting this since the beginning :)
Well not the UI flexibility you describe of being able to add and move widgets, but that would certainly be cool if it could be implemented. I think many folks would expect that from the Combinator at least if it were possible.

I think there could be a few knobs on the front of the VST device in the Rack, automatically assigned to parameters, and assignable via a dropdown menu (in addition to the way you describe). Just one parameter per knob to keep it simple and allow for drop down menus being possible (And then leave Combinators for getting creative with multi-parameter assignments).
Agreed that we've always wanted knobs on the VST panel. I just thought it would be cool to do from within the VST floating window by clicking on the VST knob itself (instead of having to pick from a dropdown - since some VSTs have hundreds of automate-able parameters, so a dropdown list can get unwieldy)
Oh certainly! I like the idea of having both :)

My idea came from the necessity of having to open a VST to adjust a single parameter, such as cutoff. Or even just a few parameters. And I think popular parameters could be assigned by default.

The idea of the dropdown menus would be so you wouldn't have to open the interface and partially move outside of the Rack to make a few adjustments without juggling a floating window. Would work sort of like in GarageBand's "smart controls" (and other DAWs I suppose probably have similar features). It would make it feel more cohesive with other devices in the rack.

But yes, having an approach from either side of the interface, and the flexibility to choose parameters to control from the front panel would be great.

And perhaps building on your idea, it could be incorporated with the Automate function. Whereas when a user assigns automation to a VST parameter, a knob for it then also appears on the front panel of the VST device in the rack. And if say only 4 or so can fit, it is either the most recently added or there can be pages.

I just want knobs on the front of the device. Feels like a missed opportunity in making VST devices more cohesive in the Reason world and feeling like they fit better in the rack with access to control something from the Reason rack without having to dive into VST.

Some folks might point out that you can use the CV programmer and the Learn function and then adjust the Base Value... It also has dropdown menus... But it's just not the same, it's another unnecessary level to open, and trying to automate/record it this way (hitting record and adjusting the base value) causes glitches on my end.

groggy1
Posts: 466
Joined: 10 Jun 2015

19 Nov 2018

joeyluck wrote:
19 Nov 2018
And perhaps building on your idea, it could be incorporated with the Automate function. Whereas when a user assigns automation to a VST parameter, a knob for it then also appears on the front panel of the VST device in the rack. And if say only 4 or so can fit, it is either the most recently added or there can be pages.

That would be nice (i.e. no need for a separate button, it would just be part of enabling automation on a parameter) - I like it!

mashers
Posts: 435
Joined: 05 Nov 2018

20 Nov 2018

You could put the VST in a Combinator and then assign the knobs to parameters of the VST.

Post Reply
  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests