Shortcut to selecting controller number in Graphic Editor?

[c0mp0ser]

Hello,

In the graphical edit view, is there a way to quickly switch between Volume and Modulation for when i'm drawing data in with the pencil tool in the Graphic Editor?

I'm just looking for efficiency.. and having to keep going into the submenus to select between volume and modulation becomes inefficient after a while.

Any suggestions?
Thanks!

-MP

[Tim]

Wouldn't that be nice?

[c0mp0ser]

Yes, it most certainly would.

[Shooshie]

Hello,

In the graphical edit view, is there a way to quickly switch between Volume and Modulation for when i'm drawing data in with the pencil tool in the Graphic Editor?

I'm just looking for efficiency.. and having to keep going into the submenus to select between volume and modulation becomes inefficient after a while.

Any suggestions?
Thanks!

-MP

I don't know if this will help, but there are different ways of working with controller data. If you look at the first pop-up menu on the left (bottom of MIDI Edit Window) you will see three choices: dots, bars and lines. Try selecting "Lines." This enables you to work with controllers in a different way.

Tap the A key twice, and you select the regular cursor. With this, you can double-click on a controller and all edit points (icons, or dots) of its type will be selected. (actually, this works with any of the settings) Then you can work on its type with any of the tools except the pencil. But what makes it different when working with Lines is that you can click anywhere on a line and add an edit point to that line. You can also grab an edit point and move it, and the line follows it.

That goes for any controller. Click on its line, and you've added an edit point. Click on an edit point, and of course, you can delete that point. Or, just drag an edit point over others, and it will eliminate them as you drag. It's a different way of working, but you can get a lot of mileage out of your edits without ever using the pencil tool.

By the way, the control keys for the tools are:

A--Cursor (Marquee Tool)
R--Reshape Tool
P--Pencil Tool
I--Ibeam Tool
S--Scrub Tool
Z--Zoom Tool

Tap and hold the keys to access that tool temporarily, or tap twice to switch to that tool until you make another switch.

If you want to create Controllers from scratch, where there are none previously in that track, I know of no other way than to select the controller you want with the menus (or paste them in from another track). Considering there are 128 controller numbers, I don't see how they could provide us with keyboard equivalents for each, though it might be nice to have a few keys programmable for your most-used controllers.

One other helpful hint. Click on the vertical space to the left of the controller window, where the numerical units form a scale for the controllers. There are three settings, and you cycle through them by anywhere clicking on the scale. When using Lines, they are:

1) Pitch bend only
2) Controllers and Pitch Bend
3) Controllers Only

When using points or bars instead of lines, you also get Velocities in 2 and 3.

In my view, you can't get much better than what MOTU offers here. If you're really in need, you could use QuicKeys to set up a menu selection for the controllers you want, but if you're using the methods I've outlined above, you will not have to use the menu for more than one time per controller number per track. And you can always copy controllers from one track to another to further avoid having to use the pencil.

It's a different way of working, but you'll find most of the efficiency you're looking for if you just give it a try and get used to it.

Shooshie

[blue]

If you want to create Controllers from scratch, where there are none previously in that track, I know of no other way than to select the controller you want with the menus (or paste them in from another track). Considering there are 128 controller numbers, I don't see how they could provide us with keyboard equivalents for each, though it might be nice to have a few keys programmable for your most-used controllers.

I always thought it would be nice if MOTU supported contextual menus, so you could right-click anywhere in the editor and see a list of controllers to choose from. Also, it would be cool if you could set a preference for the default controller, so it's not freakin pitch bend! Who draws pitch bend?

[c0mp0ser]

Shooshie

Yeah, you mentioned quickkeys.. that may be a good option. I'll check that out. Thanks!

Yeah, the fact that it defaults to "pitch bend" is a bit annoying.

Look DP is an awesome product, and has it's flaws... Logic definately has it's share of flaws... This is an incredibly complex program and needs incredible manpower to make it all "perfect". Which is why anyone who pirates DP should be SHOT. Especially those who pirate and COMPLAIN about it's flaws!

-MP

[Macrozonaris]

Still no shortcut for controller numbers. For anyone who does a LOT of automation every day, this feature would speed up work dramatically. (Or am I stupid and haven't found it yet?)