All instruments should have pop out editors

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chimp_spanner
Posts: 2908
Joined: 06 Mar 2015

29 Apr 2019

So I was discussing some feature wishlist stuff over at KVR. I was also working on some big-ish projects over the weekend and I realise that asides from my number one requested feature - folder tracks - one thing that really slows me down is the constant switching between views. I'm always jumping between the rack, mixer and sequencer, having to hunt down devices and expand them and that's quite a big workflow killer for me. So my suggestion is this;

Clicking the thumbnail for a device in the sequencer should open a pop out editor window. This is for racks, not just VST. And it should display the mix channel and instrument panel. This would allow you to change the level, add/edit effects and make changes to the patch all without leaving the sequencer. Shift (or cmd or whatever) clicking the icon would navigate you to the device in rack view.

For audio tracks, it would show you the audio track device and its inserts also.

It'd be great to be able to do this from the mix console as well. Maybe a third button in addition to SEQ and RACK.

Being able to make quick adjustments without jumping between views would speed things up so much for me. And it'd be more in line with the traditional DAW experience, where you can edit inserts and tweak patches from any view. Not just the rack. What do you guys think? It wouldn't be any more paradigm breaking than the introduction of VST in my opinion.

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Loque
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Joined: 28 Dec 2015

29 Apr 2019

Uhh....i hate that pop-out thing for VSTs...i whish i could turn that off.

Tbh, i was mostly impressed with workflow and UI by Ableton Live in the last 10 years. Never had a GUI which was so smooth and fast to work with. You can easily have the most important stuff in the sequencer, quickly change a track and change instrument and FX settings. Very good. Always worked incredible fast on a tiny monitor.

Devices i only need to pop out when building the sound or fx chains. After that i rarely need to touch them again.
Reason12, Win10

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chimp_spanner
Posts: 2908
Joined: 06 Mar 2015

29 Apr 2019

Loque wrote:
29 Apr 2019
Uhh....i hate that pop-out thing for VSTs...i whish i could turn that off.

Tbh, i was mostly impressed with workflow and UI by Ableton Live in the last 10 years. Never had a GUI which was so smooth and fast to work with. You can easily have the most important stuff in the sequencer, quickly change a track and change instrument and FX settings. Very good. Always worked incredible fast on a tiny monitor.

Devices i only need to pop out when building the sound or fx chains. After that i rarely need to touch them again.
I guess I'm coming at it from a Cubase perspective. You can jump to the instrument editor from the sequencer or mixer views. With Reason it's different because I find myself having to "go" to the device, like it's a physical location. End up doing a lot of scrolling and mousing around, looking at things I don't need to see just to get to the thing I do need to see.

So I dunno maybe it's just me but if I'm working on my arrangement or editing notes, and a sound isn't working for me, I should be able to just call up the front panel for that instrument, change it, continue editing. Rather than either splitting the screen (which most instruments are too big to fit into) or leaving the sequencer, finding the device, expanding it, making the change, going back to the sequencer.

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Jackjackdaw
Posts: 1400
Joined: 12 Jan 2019

29 Apr 2019

I dont get on with the Reason sequencer at all or the SSL mixer either. I use Reason for creating instruments, sound design and beats. In those areas it shines and I am mostly working in the rack. If I was going to do big projects with loads of tracks, production work or a band or something I would much prefer to use Cubase.

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chimp_spanner
Posts: 2908
Joined: 06 Mar 2015

29 Apr 2019

Jackjackdaw wrote:
29 Apr 2019
I dont get on with the Reason sequencer at all or the SSL mixer either. I use Reason for creating instruments, sound design and beats. In those areas it shines and I am mostly working in the rack. If I was going to do big projects with loads of tracks, production work or a band or something I would much prefer to use Cubase.
Generally I don't have any big problems with the sequencer. I really like the automation. Even without curves, the fact that every parameter has a static value makes it SO much easier to automate with than Cubase. Pattern tracks are great as well. Love all that.

Of course there are some things it badly needs. Small things like MIDI note chase. Note preview when nudging with the arrows. Shift + nudge modifier for octave jumps.

If it got that, plus the aforementioned folders I could work a lot more efficiently. I get confused kinda easily with bigger projects as it is.

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guitfnky
Posts: 4408
Joined: 19 Jan 2015

29 Apr 2019

love this idea. the only tweak I’d make would be that I’d prefer the Cmd/Ctrl+click binding to open the pop-out window, instead of the other way around. I’d prefer to keep it the way it is when you just click the track icon (not pressing a key)—I think that should still take you to the device in the Rack. a lot of people like myself use separate monitors—a single click, with nothing else is the way to go, for me.
I write good music for good people

https://slowrobot.bandcamp.com/

antic604

20 May 2019

chimp_spanner wrote:
29 Apr 2019
I guess I'm coming at it from a Cubase perspective. You can jump to the instrument editor from the sequencer or mixer views. With Reason it's different because I find myself having to "go" to the device, like it's a physical location. End up doing a lot of scrolling and mousing around, looking at things I don't need to see just to get to the thing I do need to see.
You know that since 10.2 you can double click on the thumbnail of the device on the sequencer track's header and it will take you right to the device? And obviously every Mix Channel has Seq and Mix buttons to go back to where you came from.

The moment REs are detached from the Rack I'm out of here. I actually want it the other way around - ability to have VST interfaces embedded into the Rack (user specified, because some would look weird due to format).

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guitfnky
Posts: 4408
Joined: 19 Jan 2015

20 May 2019

I don’t think anyone is suggesting breaking the rack as it works today (i.e. devices remain where they are in the rack, as you have them set up). but it would be useful to be able to pull up a device’s front panel from anywhere without having to navigate to the rack to do it. it’d be great for making quick tweaks, which would be a huge time saver when you’re nearing the end of a mix and that’s 90% of what you’re doing.
I write good music for good people

https://slowrobot.bandcamp.com/

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