Hi! Thanks for all the great tips and videos. Here's a tip which you might find useful - If you would chose to use the VSTi quick controls (to control your VSTi parameters) instead of the track quick controls, you would be able to control multiple VSTi quick controls pages/layers. You cannot do that with the track quick controls (you are stuck to page 1 only)! You could leave the track quick controls unassigned and, when you need extra controls, you can assign them individually by clicking the "midi learn" on the vsti user interface. If you would chose to use the VSTi quick controls, and you would still like your hardware sliders to do the job, you just have to swap the track quick controls assignments with the VSTi ones (Studio setup -> Remote devices -> track quick controls/VSTI quick controls). But i suggest you to use the knobs to control the VSTi quick controls. And here's why. The sliders, when using the "pick-up" feature, you need to move them to the position where your VSTi parameters are set, and than they will start to edit those parameters. The knobs, at least on my midi keyboard (Akai MPK261) have a feature which helps them start editing the VSTi parameters as soon as i touch them. For this to work I just needed to change some settings inside my midi keyboard (to change the type of those knobs from "midi CC" to "INC/DEC 2") and also inside Cubase (to add the "Relative" flag). I've sent an e-mail to Greg Ondo from Yamaha/Steinberg and asked him if there is a way to assign key commands or midi cc to scroll through those VSTi pages/layers, and he replied: "I do not believe that this is possible at this moment, but i will pass it over as a recommendation for a feature update".
Thanks for your feedback! That's a really valid point concerning the pots, and there are definitely cases when a free-rotating pot is better than a slider. Personally, I like the visual solidity of the slider for most uses, and accept the inconvenience of having to "kick" them into life. There are certainly occasions when I switch to using pots though. I guess it comes down to personal practices and preferences, and I'll admit I change my mind on best usage like the wind :)
Thank you so much, that was very helpful I am really grateful to you, I didn't know how the Remote Control and Vst rack "pages" works!!!! thank you 1 million time 👍👍👍👍👍
One question please, If i select page 2 or something else from the VST rack ... now if i press "Get default QCs from plug-in" button to load page 2 or any page from VST rack on the right panel, does not work it always loads the page 1 controllers ..... Not what i chose! you said you can select any page from VST rack then load it to Quick Controls panel.... So.... what is my wrong?
That's not quite what I said - I said you can USE any of the other pages for your Quick Controls values, but Page 1 is always the one that maps to your Track QCs. As it happens, there IS a way to use alternative Pages as the Default Track QC settings - scroll down the conversation for this episode and you'll see a tip from Marian Music, in which you'll see that you can achieve the effect you're looking for using MIDI Channels and MIDI Tracks. There's no way to do it using Instrument Tracks though.
I can't believe I never used Quick Controls properly until I watched this video. Well, actually I can, because they're unintuitive as hell. Well, thank you for making it understandable to we common folk!
You're welcome, thanks for the feedback! I'll just mention that they received an overhaul in Cubase 12 (in a roundabout fashion, with the introduction of Midi Remote), so if you're thinking of moving to Cubase 12 you might want to check out this series: ua-cam.com/play/PL3P42Av427hx1sDmKWiv9dJi3nK1yG-cU.html where I discuss Midi Remote in detail
Hi, Thanks for the video. Things are a bit clearer. My biggest problem still persists : I want to control two synth cut-offs with one MIDI knob and one automation curve. I can play both if I use a MIDI send channel but I still cant get my MIDI Pot 01 to control the two vst knobs
@One Man And His Songs Just discovered something new. It is related to what you are saying @6:50 When you click that curvy arrow you can also get page 2 or any other vst quick controls page! To be able to do that you need to change the midi channel of that midi track. If you have midi channel 2, you will get page 2, and so on. But i think there are a few bugs. For this to work, if the instrument or effect you want to control was created using "Create Instrument Track" or "Create Effect Track", you have to create a new separate midi track and assign it to control that instrument/effect, than change the midi channel of that separate midi track and hit its curvy arrow. If you control the vst instrument or effect using the qc of the same midi track they are onto, it does not work... If you want to control an instrument that was created as a "Rack Instrument", you won't need to create a separate midi track. Changing the midi channel of the midi track which was created automatically when the "Rack Instrument" was created, then clicking on that curvy arrow, will change the vst qc page assigned to the track qc. Do you think these are bugs or am i missing something? Cubase 10.5.20 on Windows 10.
Nice! I didn't know that. I just tried it out and I agree it seems like it's a bug. Instrument Tracks appear to be "hard-wired" to Midi Channel 1, and always read the QC controls for Page 1, whereas Midi Channels read whatever Page corresponds to the equivalent Channel. I'll admit, I'm a complete barbarian when it comes to Midi Channels - I rarely venture past Channel 1, preferring instead to just create new instances if I want a different instrument! (One less thing to get confused by!) That's probably why I've not spotted the QC Page thing before. Now that I know this is how it works, I'll give some thought to whether I can incorporate it into my work flow.
Just a saying that my mother used to use, “The weakest of pencils is stronger than the strongest of memories-Write it down” So any complications that requires memory on my part, is in the notepad of any given track. Great video though well done
I'm not generally a believer in New Year's Resolutions, but I did make one this year - and it was just that... write down everything I intend to do the moment I think of it. All I need to do now is to remember to do it... ;)
Hi, this is a neat little trick. I was wondering if it's possible to assign custom key commands in Cubase to VST functions, for example assigning a certain key on the computer keyboard to switch a guitar effect on and off etc? If so, how? Thanks.
It's entirely VST dependent. If you can assign a midi command to the effect, then yes. The easiest way to find out is to put Track QCs into Learn mode and click the command you're trying to map. Cubase will either hear it or not. In some cases you need to "enable" automation in the VST control (Omnisphere is an example of this), in which case do that first.
Is there a way to override VST quick controls with track quick controls? I use synths like omnisphere and serum, and I have track quick controls on them which are linked to reverb insert effects. But every time I click on the vst to change something (e.g. clicking a new preset or changing the cuttoff filter or whatever) the track quick controls no longer work. I have to actually click off the vst in order for the track quick controls to work again which is quite annoying since I don't want to use vst quick controls at all. Only track quick controls. Thanks! Any help would be greatly appreciated! :D
I actually worked out how to do it. In case anyone was wondering, you need to use quick controls (Not Focus Quick Controls) which is what I was using. Since Quick Controls is only for tracks and focus quick controls is for the active window. Thanks anyway :D
@@OneManAndHisSongs thanks lot - please let me know. That helps me out a lot. Maybe it need some adjustments und the Maschine Software. Could unfortunately not figure it out…
as a former logic x user and ableton i can say this is a real nightmare...so much settings so complicated midi cc, i have tried everything and i still cant control the button i select on halion or any other vst...i hope steinberg will make it easier one day.....regards
Ah, Halion is another level entirely! I completely agree. I did a whole video on that, actually: see if it helps - ua-cam.com/video/R-gRxhFgLWY/v-deo.html
Hi! Thanks for all the great tips and videos. Here's a tip which you might find useful - If you would chose to use the VSTi quick controls (to control your VSTi parameters) instead of the track quick controls, you would be able to control multiple VSTi quick controls pages/layers. You cannot do that with the track quick controls (you are stuck to page 1 only)! You could leave the track quick controls unassigned and, when you need extra controls, you can assign them individually by clicking the "midi learn" on the vsti user interface.
If you would chose to use the VSTi quick controls, and you would still like your hardware sliders to do the job, you just have to swap the track quick controls assignments with the VSTi ones (Studio setup -> Remote devices -> track quick controls/VSTI quick controls).
But i suggest you to use the knobs to control the VSTi quick controls. And here's why. The sliders, when using the "pick-up" feature, you need to move them to the position where your VSTi parameters are set, and than they will start to edit those parameters. The knobs, at least on my midi keyboard (Akai MPK261) have a feature which helps them start editing the VSTi parameters as soon as i touch them. For this to work I just needed to change some settings inside my midi keyboard (to change the type of those knobs from "midi CC" to "INC/DEC 2") and also inside Cubase (to add the "Relative" flag).
I've sent an e-mail to Greg Ondo from Yamaha/Steinberg and asked him if there is a way to assign key commands or midi cc to scroll through those VSTi pages/layers, and he replied: "I do not believe that this is possible at this moment, but i will pass it over as a recommendation for a feature update".
Thanks for your feedback! That's a really valid point concerning the pots, and there are definitely cases when a free-rotating pot is better than a slider. Personally, I like the visual solidity of the slider for most uses, and accept the inconvenience of having to "kick" them into life. There are certainly occasions when I switch to using pots though.
I guess it comes down to personal practices and preferences, and I'll admit I change my mind on best usage like the wind :)
This is so good. Fundamental under-the-hood issues that are difficult to find and never explained well in manuals or by manufacturers. Thanks kindly!
You're very welcome, thanks for the feedback :)
Great !! Exactly what I was looking for ! Many thanks
You are welcome!
Thank you so much, that was very helpful
I am really grateful to you, I didn't know how the Remote Control and Vst rack "pages" works!!!! thank you 1 million time 👍👍👍👍👍
One question please, If i select page 2 or something else from the VST rack ... now if i press "Get default QCs from plug-in" button to load page 2 or any page from VST rack on the right panel, does not work
it always loads the page 1 controllers ..... Not what i chose! you said you can select any page from VST rack then load it to Quick Controls panel.... So.... what is my wrong?
That's not quite what I said - I said you can USE any of the other pages for your Quick Controls values, but Page 1 is always the one that maps to your Track QCs. As it happens, there IS a way to use alternative Pages as the Default Track QC settings - scroll down the conversation for this episode and you'll see a tip from Marian Music, in which you'll see that you can achieve the effect you're looking for using MIDI Channels and MIDI Tracks. There's no way to do it using Instrument Tracks though.
Thanks for the very informative and well laid out video!
You're welcome :)
Great stuff.
BTW, you can still get visual feedback for VST QCs if you use the top part of the VST Instrument window and click "QC".
Thanks for the feedback :)
Thank you very much!
You're welcome!
Cool, I'll set up mine same as yours.
I can't believe I never used Quick Controls properly until I watched this video. Well, actually I can, because they're unintuitive as hell. Well, thank you for making it understandable to we common folk!
You're welcome, thanks for the feedback! I'll just mention that they received an overhaul in Cubase 12 (in a roundabout fashion, with the introduction of Midi Remote), so if you're thinking of moving to Cubase 12 you might want to check out this series: ua-cam.com/play/PL3P42Av427hx1sDmKWiv9dJi3nK1yG-cU.html where I discuss Midi Remote in detail
Hi, Thanks for the video. Things are a bit clearer. My biggest problem still persists : I want to control two synth cut-offs with one MIDI knob and one automation curve. I can play both if I use a MIDI send channel but I still cant get my MIDI Pot 01 to control the two vst knobs
@One Man And His Songs Just discovered something new. It is related to what you are saying @6:50 When you click that curvy arrow you can also get page 2 or any other vst quick controls page!
To be able to do that you need to change the midi channel of that midi track. If you have midi channel 2, you will get page 2, and so on.
But i think there are a few bugs. For this to work, if the instrument or effect you want to control was created using "Create Instrument Track" or "Create Effect Track", you have to create a new separate midi track and assign it to control that instrument/effect, than change the midi channel of that separate midi track and hit its curvy arrow. If you control the vst instrument or effect using the qc of the same midi track they are onto, it does not work...
If you want to control an instrument that was created as a "Rack Instrument", you won't need to create a separate midi track. Changing the midi channel of the midi track which was created automatically when the "Rack Instrument" was created, then clicking on that curvy arrow, will change the vst qc page assigned to the track qc.
Do you think these are bugs or am i missing something? Cubase 10.5.20 on Windows 10.
Nice! I didn't know that. I just tried it out and I agree it seems like it's a bug. Instrument Tracks appear to be "hard-wired" to Midi Channel 1, and always read the QC controls for Page 1, whereas Midi Channels read whatever Page corresponds to the equivalent Channel. I'll admit, I'm a complete barbarian when it comes to Midi Channels - I rarely venture past Channel 1, preferring instead to just create new instances if I want a different instrument! (One less thing to get confused by!) That's probably why I've not spotted the QC Page thing before. Now that I know this is how it works, I'll give some thought to whether I can incorporate it into my work flow.
Just a saying that my mother used to use, “The weakest of pencils is stronger than the strongest of memories-Write it down” So any complications that requires memory on my part, is in the notepad of any given track. Great video though well done
I'm not generally a believer in New Year's Resolutions, but I did make one this year - and it was just that... write down everything I intend to do the moment I think of it. All I need to do now is to remember to do it... ;)
Hi, this is a neat little trick. I was wondering if it's possible to assign custom key commands in Cubase to VST functions, for example assigning a certain key on the computer keyboard to switch a guitar effect on and off etc? If so, how? Thanks.
It's entirely VST dependent. If you can assign a midi command to the effect, then yes. The easiest way to find out is to put Track QCs into Learn mode and click the command you're trying to map. Cubase will either hear it or not. In some cases you need to "enable" automation in the VST control (Omnisphere is an example of this), in which case do that first.
Is there a way to override VST quick controls with track quick controls? I use synths like omnisphere and serum, and I have track quick controls on them which are linked to reverb insert effects. But every time I click on the vst to change something (e.g. clicking a new preset or changing the cuttoff filter or whatever) the track quick controls no longer work. I have to actually click off the vst in order for the track quick controls to work again which is quite annoying since I don't want to use vst quick controls at all. Only track quick controls. Thanks! Any help would be greatly appreciated! :D
I actually worked out how to do it. In case anyone was wondering, you need to use quick controls (Not Focus Quick Controls) which is what I was using. Since Quick Controls is only for tracks and focus quick controls is for the active window. Thanks anyway :D
Very sorry I couldn't get the answer to you in time - yes that (very clunky) focus mechanism needs careful monitoring.
Can you show it for Maschine MK 3 please ? Assign the Quick Controls to the 8 Maschine poties. thx
That sounds like a reasonable subject for a video. I'll try to make time in the next couple of weeks to do that
@@OneManAndHisSongs thanks lot - please let me know. That helps me out a lot. Maybe it need some adjustments und the Maschine Software. Could unfortunately not figure it out…
on cubase 12 pro I don't have that button on the quick controls inspector to switch to vst QC
I think it was introduced in a patch update. I'm currently running 12.0.30
I like the KISS principle, Cubase complicated enough...easy getting lost.
I was always a bit bemused by the "stupid" part of that acronym: it's ironically redundant ;)
as a former logic x user and ableton i can say this is a real nightmare...so much settings so complicated midi cc, i have tried everything and i still cant control the button i select on halion or any other vst...i hope steinberg will make it easier one day.....regards
Ah, Halion is another level entirely! I completely agree. I did a whole video on that, actually: see if it helps - ua-cam.com/video/R-gRxhFgLWY/v-deo.html