# Cubase, VEPro - activating and hiding tracks



## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

Hi there, another one from me, sorry. I'm in the middle of building a new template, and am focussing on workflow enhancements at the minute.

I've creating a big template with every single one of my sampled instruments in it. I know the pros and cons, but this approach will work for me for now (as opposed to something more modular, for example).

I have everything loaded and deactivated in VE pro - everything is mapped and connected in Cubase. I'd like to be able to sync the track status of Cubase and VEpro, so if I activate a track (or tracks) then that track (or tracks) become active in the relevant VEpro instance. I've done a lot of googling, but can't find a way to get Cubase to transmit a CC message when enabled or disabled, which could then be mapped to VEpro in order to activate/deactivate the relevant instrument. Any suggestions? Happy to re-think this if there's a better way, and do feel free to ping video tutorials - I don't want spoon-feeding!

The other part of this is workflow is visibility. I'd like to create bunch of logical presets that only show active tracks (broken down into strings/winds/brass/etc) so I can quickly use a metagrid button to focus on only my 'active' string tracks, for example. Again, any video pointers greatly appreciated - I've found some things, but none of them are quite right for what I'm wanting to achieve.

Very grateful for any pointers.

Cheers

Mike


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

To transmit the CC message, I use an empty event at the beginning with just the CC value I want to send.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

Akarin said:


> To transmit the CC message, I use an empty event at the beginning with just the CC value I want to send.


Thanks, I’ve seen this approach used before - there’s nothing wrong with it at all (and is probably what I’ll end up gong with) I just wondered whether there were some really elegant way to (for example) select all my VSL Orchestral strings, activate them (with a macro or whatever)and simultaneously have them be included in a ‘visible’ view configuration in Cubase.


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> Thanks, I’ve seen this approach used before - there’s nothing wrong with it at all (and is probably what I’ll end up gong with) I just wondered whether there were some really elegant way to (for example) select all my VSL Orchestral strings, activate them (with a macro or whatever)and simultaneously have them be included in a ‘visible’ view configuration in Cubase.



This is doable with a PLE. 1) send the activation command and then the CC message. I'll look into it.


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

Akarin said:


> This is doable with a PLE. 1) send the activation command and then the CC message. I'll look into it.



Thé problem I see with this approach is when switching projects: the activation/deactivation would be reversed.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

Yeah, I figured it must be - I'm just going through the PLE now, and thought there must be a way to do this.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

Akarin said:


> Thé problem I see with this approach is when switching projects: the activation/deactivation would be reversed.


You could theoretically programme a 'deactivate all' before closing (or even possibly automated when closing) your current Cubase project?


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> You could theoretically programme a 'deactivate all' before closing (or even possibly automated when closing) your current Cubase project?



There are no separate VEPro commands for enable/disable, I believe. It's a toggle. It would just switch their states.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

Bugger, that's a shame...


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> Bugger, that's a shame...



I may be wrong on that one, though. But I haven't found any other way using separate commands.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

I thought that sending a CC value (I'm only just learning the VEpro so I could also be wrong) at 127 turned off the instance, and 0 turned it on - counterintuitively. I'll check when I'm back at my PC.


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> I thought that sending a CC value (I'm only just learning the VEpro so I could also be wrong) at 127 turned off the instance, and 0 turned it on - counterintuitively. I'll check when I'm back at my PC.



If it's something that simple and I overlooked it, I'll slam my fingers in the drawer! Please report back!


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

OK, don't do anything drastic, but I've just checked it, and have managed to activate and deactivate an instrument via CC99 (I just picked on at random). It seems consistent, but I've had VEpro for 4 days, so would strongly advise double-checking.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

CCX sent a value 0 activates an instrument, CCX sent at value 127 deactivates an instrument. Each instrument requires individual mapping, which is tedious, but it can be done.


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> CCX sent a value 0 activates an instrument, CCX sent at value 127 deactivates an instrument. Each instrument requires individual mapping, which is tedious, but it can be done.



That is really cool! I've tried with value at 10. First pass activates, second pass deactivates!


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

Ah yeah - I think anything other than a value of 0 or 127 might get messy. As I say - please double-check it (I'm still very much feeling my way with VEpro) but it does appear consistent. Happy to send an email to VSL support to clarify (I don't think it's mentioned in the manual - I just happened to stumble on it. I'm not sure that I've been able to make sure it's not simply operating as a toggle though, so as I say, please double-check everything I've said here.


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## stigc56 (Feb 6, 2019)

Why not take a look at these videos made by Guy Rowland:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtBlIrl__YxIEjuZs8vHU1g


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> Ah yeah - I think anything other than a value of 0 or 127 might get messy. As I say - please double-check it (I'm still very much feeling my way with VEpro) but it does appear consistent. Happy to send an email to VSL support to clarify (I don't think it's mentioned in the manual - I just happened to stumble on it. I'm not sure that I've been able to make sure it's not simply operating as a toggle though, so as I say, please double-check everything I've said here.



Just tried it... and it works! This is great. Will integrate this into a PLE that I can trigger from TouchOSC!


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

Good stuff! Would be really interested to see what you do with the PLE and this.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

stigc56 said:


> Why not take a look at these videos made by Guy Rowland:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtBlIrl__YxIEjuZs8vHU1g


Yup, they’re great, but I don’t think (unless I’ve overlooked something) he covers the PLE. I’ll check again though, thank you


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> Good stuff! Would be really interested to see what you do with the PLE and this.



It's just a way to send the CC using a keyboard shortcut. I can then trigger it from TouchOSC. I'll still use the setting event at the beginning of my tracks.


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## stigc56 (Feb 6, 2019)

No, but he suggest that you move the enable/disable feature to VEPro, which kind of makes sense, because you don't have to deal with the flaky enable/disable feature in Cubase. Then you can switch projects and keep the state of the instrument. Or do I misunderstand you?


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 6, 2019)

stigc56 said:


> No, but he suggest that you move the enable/disable feature to VEPro, which kind of makes sense, because you don't have to deal with the flaky enable/disable feature in Cubase. Then you can switch projects and keep the state of the instrument. Or do I misunderstand you?


No, you got it perfectly! I’m just looking at a way of enabling/disabling stuff directly from Cubase and simultaneously making enabled/activated tracks visible in Cubase.


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

stigc56 said:


> No, but he suggest that you move the enable/disable feature to VEPro, which kind of makes sense, because you don't have to deal with the flaky enable/disable feature in Cubase. Then you can switch projects and keep the state of the instrument. Or do I misunderstand you?



Which makes sense. I'm (and the OP) looking for a way to have the correct VIs enabled and disabled when switching projects.


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## Mishabou (Feb 6, 2019)

My DAW/VEP pro portable rig is set up as followed (quite similar to what you're trying to achieve).

Cubase or PT (Master machine) runs a big template connected to 2 x slaves in Unpreserved mode (lock off). This way all VEP pro instruments state, routing, etc are saved within the DAW, I never need to access the slaves unless I want to fiddle with Kontakt or Play.

I have two simple buttons on an iPad running Metagrid to Enable/Disable the instruments in the DAW and VEP.

You can easily use this method to Enable/disable several tracks at once if you wish.


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

Mishabou said:


> My DAW/VEP pro portable rig is set up as followed (quite similar to what you're trying to achieve).
> 
> Cubase or PT (Master machine) runs a big template connected to 2 x slaves in Unpreserved mode (lock off). This way all VEP pro instruments state, routing, etc are saved within the DAW, I never need to access the slaves unless I want to fiddle with Kontakt or Play.
> 
> ...



I have a similar setup but would like to take it one step further. Say that you have Project A with 60 VEPro tracks. Project B has 49 VEPro tracks, some the same, some not. I want that the appropriate tracks get enabled/disabled upon switching project without having to do it manually (Metagrid or else). 

So far, having a "disable" event at the beginning of each track and an "enable" event on the respective tracks at the start of each project is the (not so beautiful) solution to this. Looking for a more elegant way, though. 

But true: for enabling tracks or groups on the fly, keyboard shortcuts or Metagrid or TouchOSC is the way to go.


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## Mishabou (Feb 6, 2019)

Akarin said:


> I have a similar setup but would like to take it one step further. Say that you have Project A with 60 VEPro tracks. Project B has 49 VEPro tracks, some the same, some not. I want that the appropriate tracks get enabled/disabled upon switching project without having to do it manually (Metagrid or else).
> 
> But true: for enabling tracks or groups on the fly, keyboard shortcuts or Metagrid or TouchOSC is the way to go.



I can easily switch from project to project as you described, where each has different tracks enabled/disabled, no need to do anything manually in Metagrid. Also no need for Disable event at the beginning of the tracks or enable event on respective tracks either.


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## Akarin (Feb 6, 2019)

Mishabou said:


> I can easily switch from project to project as you described, where each has different tracks enabled/disabled, no need to do anything manually in Metagrid. Also no need for Disable event at the beginning of the tracks or enable event on respective tracks either.



Interesting! How do uneeded VIs get disabled then?


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## Mishabou (Feb 6, 2019)

My portable rig has 1800 disable VEP pro instrument tracks. I enable / disable them as needed. So on my iPad, I have one button to enable track(s), a second to disable track(s) and finally a third to disable all unneeded VIs and show only tracks with data.

All this is done within the DAW, in my case, CB or PT. I hardly ever need to access the slaves unless I want to edit some parameters in Kontakt or Play.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 7, 2019)

OK, so here's how I eventually decided to do this (should anyone still possess the will to live). I'm still setting it up, and have run into some trouble, but it's working ok now:

1. I have programmed two macros in Metagrid - 
first - Enable track, pause 1 second, CC127 value 0, channel 1
second - CC127, value 127, channel 2, pause 1 second, Disable track

It works great. You don't have to worry about the project being out of sync with your VEpro - while it's not flawless 2-way sync you're still only ever sending the relevant enable/disable command to VEpro - it's annoying that Enable/Disable tracks in Cubase is a toggle, but it is what it is...

Now, this is great for instruments on channel 1, but obviously we run into trouble with anything that's on channels 2-16, so...

2. I inserted local MIDI modifiers on subsequent MIDI tracks in Cubase, and simply mapped the controller data from channel 1 to the other channels. Tedious at first, but you can either set transformer presets or track presets depending on your own preference.

Seems to be working ok so far. Posted just in case it's useful. 

Cheers

Mike


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Feb 7, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> I thought that sending a CC value (I'm only just learning the VEpro so I could also be wrong) at 127 turned off the instance, and 0 turned it on - counterintuitively. I'll check when I'm back at my PC.


This is exactly what I do using CC9 127 for on and 0 for off
It works perfectly using the PLE and a preset called CTP Auto Recall that I made

I can share the file once I get in


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## Mishabou (Feb 7, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> OK, so here's how I eventually decided to do this (should anyone still possess the will to live). I'm still setting it up, and have run into some trouble, but it's working ok now:
> 
> 1. I have programmed two macros in Metagrid -
> first - Enable track, pause 1 second, CC127 value 0, channel 1
> ...




In Metagrid i have everything sent on channel 1 and it works for all my VEP pro instruments (including the ones on channels 2, 3, 4...etc) as long as you have the right track selected in CB.

I'm not in front of my rig right now, will get back...


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## Mishabou (Feb 7, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> Now, this is great for instruments on channel 1, but obviously we run into trouble with anything that's on channels 2-16, so...
> 
> 2. I inserted local MIDI modifiers on subsequent MIDI tracks in Cubase, and simply mapped the controller data from channel 1 to the other channels. Tedious at first, but you can either set transformer presets or track presets depending on your own preference.
> 
> ...



I just checked my set up and as mentioned in my last message, Metagrid is always sending on Channel 1. This works with any VEP pro instruments even if they are not on channel 1.

I believe when you Enable / Disable on Metagrid, it sends the proper CC value set in your cue but the port / channel gets re-route to the one set your CB's selected track. Everything should work without needing to set any modifiers.

On a side note, when you hit Disable, do you notice the track's meter jumping ? Trying figure out how to avoid this so I don't have to insert a pause, otherwise the meter get stuck when the track disable. More a cosmetic annoyance than anything.


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 8, 2019)

Mishabou said:


> I just checked my set up and as mentioned in my last message, Metagrid is always sending on Channel 1. This works with any VEP pro instruments even if they are not on channel 1.
> 
> I believe when you Enable / Disable on Metagrid, it sends the proper CC value set in your cue but the port / channel gets re-route to the one set your CB's selected track. Everything should work without needing to set any modifiers.
> 
> On a side note, when you hit Disable, do you notice the track's meter jumping ? Trying figure out how to avoid this so I don't have to insert a pause, otherwise the meter get stuck when the track disable. More a cosmetic annoyance than anything.


Hmm, that's interesting - it wasn't working for me without modifiers. I'm still going through everything and setting it up, so I'll report back.

The meters also get stuck for me, yes. Doesn't seem to cause any problems, so I'm concentrating on the overall setup first - I might get round to fixing that if I can face it - currently in automation mapping hell. The absence of a copy/paste function in the VEpro is, well, let's go with 'annoying'...


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## EmmCeeSq (Feb 8, 2019)

EmmCeeSq said:


> Hmm, that's interesting - it wasn't working for me without modifiers. I'm still going through everything and setting it up, so I'll report back.
> 
> The meters also get stuck for me, yes. Doesn't seem to cause any problems, so I'm concentrating on the overall setup first - I might get round to fixing that if I can face it - currently in automation mapping hell. The absence of a copy/paste function in the VEpro is, well, let's go with 'annoying'...


OK, so today (and slightly infuratingly) it does work without MIDI modifiers. That was not yesterday's behaviour. Learning curve and all that.

On the plus side, I now know how to use the MIDI modifier tool, so swings and roundabouts...


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