Super easy midi learn manager

[kortezzzz]

This schematic tries to solve the pain of building an automation manager for the learned knobs in your synths. There were few methods around, but non of them was elegant and easy to implement. Here, I'm actually using 2 preset managers with different link names and its work in the DAW as long as the automation preset manager is set to 1 program only and load "banks" (or in FS language "all programs"). I know that some afraid to add an additional preset manager in there VSTI schematic, but I don't see a problem with it. You are welcome to download, test and comment.

Cheers!

[trogluddite]

It's certainly a very neat system, and the separate binding saving/loading worked well for me. However, the DAW project behaviour wasn't what I expected (though I'm not sure if I should have expected it!) In Reaper, saving a project doesn't store the bindings; the main parameter values are restored when loading the project, but the bindings are always whatever the VST was exported from FS with. Like I say, I'm not sure if that's the behaviour that you (or anyone else) would expect, and the binding save/load does make it less of an annoyance to me than it might otherwise be (I've never been quite satisfied with any of my own MIDI binding systems for the same reason.)

[kortezzzz]

Well, the main idea behind the system was to completely disconnecting the communication between the DAW and the automation preset manager. The logic behind that is that the user in most cases needs the same automation control settings on every single preset. So loading a"general automation settings" from a file which remains with every single preset seemed more practical to me. All the user has to do then is to load a matching automation text bank when the vst is opened in the DAW. I also personally think that its a lot more helpful in situations where users have more than one midi controller.

[trogluddite]

Yes, I agree; given the limitations of VST, it's probably the best compromise - it's pretty much what I've done in my plugins in the past (though by rather less elegant means!). I've always wished that VST's could have separate DAW preset sections for "per-patch" data and "per-plugin-instance" data for this kind of situation, so I was just getting greedy when I saw there were two preset managers!

[kortezzzz]

Well, why not?.. As long as there are no conflicts inside the DAW and everything works, why shouldn't we use it this way for any kind of data? I think we can. Indeed, the communication between all those additional P-Ms and the DAW should be stopped to make it work correctly, but other than that, I doubt if there are more limitations to deal with. In that case, the P-M becomes nothing but... a kind of an advanced text array file system

[adamszabo]

The way I solved it is that my synth creates a text file with the name of the parameters and corresponding midi cc. No need to save it in a preset

[kortezzzz]

Adam, how did you sum up all these parameters into a big text array that saved to a file? I guess you separated the graphics from the rest of the schematic so it was easier to route out all those numbers to an array builder with a remote links?

[trogluddite]

@kortezzzz
Re: having two preset managers - how does the DAW know which preset manager to link to; it is just whichever is first placed in the schematic, or do you set up the bindings one in some special way? The need for only a single wireless receiver at the control end is certainly the big advantage, IMHO; it should make adapting the system to other "drop-in" controls, regardless of module level, much easier, I think.

[kortezzzz]

I guess that the key is to add to the schematic your main preset manager first. The additional should be limited to 1 preset only and their text file primitive's "curr" input (current) should be set to false ( all programs). The DAW will ignore them.

As you said, trog, the single wireless transmitter\receiver that communicates with every underground "P" link and also collects data from it makes a huge difference here. This method saves time and hassle. I've spent almost 3 day on my previous project just to pull out those parameters out of the knobs to save them into a text array. Now, I did the same thing in 20 minutes. From scratch...

[adamszabo]

@kortezz, its very easy, I just send each name of the parameter to an array. They are all empty strings by default but when a cc is assigned it appears in the array. So lets say this will be the text file:

Osc Pitch 1 = 12
Filter Cutoff = 34

and so on. Then when the synth loads every parameter uses the find string method to match its name and if its found it assigns the number after the equal sign and the knob is assigned. When you do an un learn you obviously replace the string with an empty one the the string is gone.