Macro to control presets in external instruments.

[MC2]

Is it possible to generate such a macro, which would allow to manage presets of specific external instruments (to begin with about switching presets and banks)? What I mean is a situation in which instead of sending several MIDI messages, I select for myself in S1 from a list a specific preset from a specific instrument by name (of course I understand that I have to do the assignment of the preset number to the name beforehand).

I have several instruments (modules) both older (Yamaha TG-33) and quite modern (Hydrasynth, Deepmind, Gaia) that I would like to be able to intuitively control directly from Studio One.

The next step was to modify “live” some of the instrument's operating parameters, of course, to the extent that the MIDI control implemented in it allows.
I have some “prostheses” in the form of external programs, but they do not provide the possibility to save all the actions in the S1 session, which is quite troublesome in the long run.
How do I go about solving the problem? Any idea?

 

[Crossinger]

Hi,

I don’t know if this might help you somehow, but I remember this reply by Lukas:

Post in thread 'Dragging MIDI file onto track - v4 vs v7'
https://studiooneforum.com/threads/dragging-midi-file-onto-track-v4-vs-v7.152/post-1334

 

[Lukas]

I'll just copy my post from the other thread:

==

If you're looking for a way to easily select your favorite presets on your keyboard or synth, I’d recommend considering another solution: In Studio One 5.2, we introduced a feature called Sound Variations. I was slightly involved in the development of this feature at the time, and while it was primarily intended as an articulatio switching system, I specifically advocated for the ability to send both program changes and bank changes to external hardware. This makes it possible to use Sound Variations as a preset manager for external instruments.

Here’s a short video that explains the feature in more detail:

Switch Patches in Your Hardware Synths & Samplers with Sound Variations | PreSonus Studio One

Did you know that you can easily manage and switch patches of your hardware synths, workstations or sound modules in Studio One? Say goodbye to the tedious t...

youtu.be

You can either convert different preset list formats (Cubase, Cakewalk) or create them yourself:



Once a preset list is added, you can conveniently use the Sound Variations lane in the Note Editor to insert preset changes:



Personally, I use Sound Variations a lot to select patches on my electric pianos and synths, either via keyboard shortcuts or toolbar buttons. You can easily set up the preset lists/keyboard shortcuts/macros yourself, and I think it’s a pretty convenient workflow. At least, we’ve received a lot of positive feedback on this feature over the years, especially from media composers.

You can find more Sound Variation tutorials in this thread:

Sound Variations - Tutorials

Sound Variations is Studio One's articulation management system. It's very powerful and considered as the easiest-to-use system on the market. Here is a selection of video on Sound Variations: https://youtu.be/ewBDjiy1Z5U https://youtu.be/4eDL_VfpVsY https://youtu.be/g1f2uk8kZLA...

studiooneforum.com

I hope this helps!

 

[MC2]

Thank you @Lukas for your guidance. I think this is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. It will be interesting to see how this solution will work with old synths and Drumbrute drum machine. In general, I think that such an approach to the subject would still be worthwhile to be able to complement with the transmission and editing of SysEx commands and then it would probably be complete, because you could save both the preset selection and the settings of the timbre itself.
But for a start, even the ability to use preset selection is a huge convenience. Especially as after a long time you want to return to a session.

 

[Lukas]

In general, I think that such an approach to the subject would still be worthwhile to be able to complement with the transmission and editing of SysEx commands and then it would probably be complete, because you could save both the preset selection and the settings of the timbre itself.

That's true. So far, Studio One does not support SysEx on editing level so this isn't an option currently.

 

[ianaeillo]

That's true. So far, Studio One does not support SysEx on editing level so this isn't an option currently.

While we're on this subject, is it possible to send incremental program / preset changes through S1 with an external controller? I've been trying to figure this out but I can't seem to find out how..

As in, I have an external midi controller, I send a program change + message to S1, it relays that message to a piece of external hardware.

 

[Crossinger]

As in, I have an external midi controller, I send a program change + message to S1, it relays that message to a piece of external hardware.

Does it have to be THRU S1? As long as you don‘t want to record these messages in S1: the MIDI drivers on Mac are multi client capable, so it‘s perfectly fine to connect controller and external hardware directly outside the DAW, e.g. with MidiPipe. I do this quite often.

MidiPipe

 

[ianaeillo]

Does it have to be THRU S1? As long as you don‘t want to record these messages in S1: the MIDI drivers on Mac are multi client capable, so it‘s perfectly fine to connect controller and external hardware directly outside the DAW, e.g. with MidiPipe. I do this quite often.

MidiPipe

OH MY GOD. I always did this routing through Motu host software but recent releases have been screwing with my outboard stuff so lately I’ve just been doing it with my DAWs. This is a game changer and a lifesaver for me and I’ll Venmo you beer/coffee money right now for your help.