automation of plug-in presets

[Dan Worley]

This may not work in your particular situation, I don't know, but if it's for an audio track:

• Duplicate the take.
  
  Select the first time range in the track and go to Audio > Apply Plug-in (Option P).
  
  Choose the plug-in and preset and apply it (yes, actually apply it).
  
  Select the next time range and apply the next preset.
  
  And so on.
  
  Select All on that track and apply the crossfades in one go (control F).

I think you'll find this is actually faster than setting up automation, but you do need to make decisions. <gasp>

Apply Plug-in is one of the great forgotten features.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

It's kind of a dead horse for me - for the reasons Mike H. states.

The o/p has this idea that changing presets in a plug 50 or 60 times in a sequence is a good idea (it's not). I suggest (again) that the o/p rethink his/her project. I suspect that whatever the "concept" is, it has a simple and elegant solution. Until I get a concrete statement on the "why" I'll not give the "how" or the thread another bit of thought.

[FMiguelez]

The o/p has this idea that changing presets in a plug 50 or 60 times in a sequence is a good idea (it's not).

Respectfully, I disagree.
Perhaps 60 tracks is a bit extreme, but I can think of a couple of situations where doing that might be just the ticket. For instance, for mastering a custom music library, where you can have many short pieces, this could be done very effectively.
The manual has a case study detailing precisely this workflow.

Unfortunately having multiple tracks or plug-in instances is not an option here since I need to have many presets to go between, app. 40 presets.
Having a plug-in with about 25 parameters makes it very inefficient to have to automate and change all those parameters instead of just being able to load a preset.

I fail to see what the problem is. Look at that section of the manual I mentioned (I think it's in the snapshots section).

Basically, leave the Automation Setup window opened. Select the range of one soundbite (or any region). Tweak to taste. Then, simply take an all-parameter snapshot for this region only (look at the options offered by the snapshot command). Go to the next section and repeat...

Doing this with a combination of enabling and disabling plug-in automation is key (via the Automation Setup window). This way, no matter how many parameters there are, each section will be automated and played correctly.
Changing any setting is as easy as placing the cursor anywhere in between previously taken automation points, optionally disabling automation, tweaking, and retaking the snapshot. Bam! Done in 0.5 seconds with shortcuts.

Putting markers at the beginning of each of these sections would expedite navigation enormously (this can be done very quickly too!)

You normally wouldn't need to edit any of these parameters individually, if that's what worries you. You can treat all this as "brute" sections of automation which can be set very precisely with this coarse method.

Also, Dan's suggested workflow sounds interesting too. You should definitely try doing that as well.

I do agree with MLC that you need to tell us what you're trying to do if you want useful help...

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I also suggested snapshots in my first response. I'm not being judgmental in saying this is an ill conceived concept, I'm being practical. Mastering a custom library of short pieces (using your example and not knowing the o/p's actual intent) is, IMO, done with multiple chunks.

[mikehalloran]

Can't help solve the problem if we don't really know what it is.

And we don't.

[stephentayler]

I would personally just record to another track, stop, change preset, drop in, carry on.

New audio can be crossfaded to prevent any clicks or sudden changes, and you can always go back and modify later….

Cheers!

SWT

[ToBeJazz]

Hi all, and many thanks for your answers, somehow the "Notify me when a reply is posted" stopped working, that's why I'm late going back here, sorry...

Firstly, it seems we all can agree on that it is in fact not possible to automate plug in presets. I'm sure there're different workarounds depending on what one want to do. I'm doubt there's a workaround for what I'm trying to achieve though.

I'm on an unusual path of how I'm using DP. Essentially I'm using DP as a audio play through for my guitar without ever being in play or recording mode. I have a MIDI foot controller where I send program change into Bidule and then process the MIDI there and send it to DP where the MIDI signal chooses a DP marker to go to. The program changes 0-127 from the foot controller corresponds to bar and marker 0-127 in DP. At every bar/marker I have the mixing board set up differently - it's like having synth patches that I can recall through one foot controller stamp, but I'm using an acoustic guitar instead. I want to have plug in presets so that I can reuse them through multiple bars/marker and it would be far more easier to be able to just recall a plug in preset when I want to use it again, rather than having to fiddle around to get the 10+ parameters right every time I want to reuse a plug in setting - but it seems this is the only way to go until MOTU incorporates the automate plug in preset feature.

[reedster]

What is it in DP that you must have that can't be done in Bidule alone? I guess MAS plugs?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Sequencing?

[Dan Worley]

Hi all, and many thanks for your answers, somehow the "Notify me when a reply is posted" stopped working, that's why I'm late going back here, sorry...

Firstly, it seems we all can agree on that it is in fact not possible to automate plug in presets. I'm sure there're different workarounds depending on what one want to do. I'm doubt there's a workaround for what I'm trying to achieve though.

I'm on an unusual path of how I'm using DP. Essentially I'm using DP as a audio play through for my guitar without ever being in play or recording mode. I have a MIDI foot controller where I send program change into Bidule and then process the MIDI there and send it to DP where the MIDI signal chooses a DP marker to go to. The program changes 0-127 from the foot controller corresponds to bar and marker 0-127 in DP. At every bar/marker I have the mixing board set up differently - it's like having synth patches that I can recall through one foot controller stamp, but I'm using an acoustic guitar instead. I want to have plug in presets so that I can reuse them through multiple bars/marker and it would be far more easier to be able to just recall a plug in preset when I want to use it again, rather than having to fiddle around to get the 10+ parameters right every time I want to reuse a plug in setting - but it seems this is the only way to go until MOTU incorporates the automate plug in preset feature.

Select a preset and a time range and take a snapshot.

Edit: To be more clear:

Select a preset and a time range and a track and take a snapshot with Selected Range, Selected Tracks, All Data types in the Effects Window.

Repeat as needed.

[ToBeJazz]

Select a preset and a time range and take a snapshot.

Yeah, that's it. But you don't have the ability the change the "preset" at only one place and it will change in all "instances" of that "preset" - which means you have to go through many places in the sequence to look for where it needs to be changed and that will be a very inefficient way to deal with it all.

[Dan Worley]

Select a preset and a time range and take a snapshot.

Yeah, that's it. But you don't have the ability the change the "preset" at only one place and it will change in all "instances" of that "preset" - which means you have to go through many places in the sequence to look for where it needs to be changed and that will be a very inefficient way to deal with it all.

Sorry, I don't follow. It doesn't write the preset, it writes the parameters.

[ToBeJazz]

Sorry, I don't follow. It doesn't write the preset, it writes the parameters.

I know, I was using "preset" with quotes meaning writing parameters...

[Prime Mover]

Hate to say this, but maybe you'd be better off using MainStage. I can't really see DP being the perfect guitar live performance rig. It certainly isn't the greatest keyboard rig. Not designed from the ground up for this kinda stuff, MS is. Only $30.

[ToBeJazz]

MainStage is unfortunately not an option for me since it can't do everything I'm looking for to do...