# What's the big deal about VST expression map ?



## vudoo (Mar 26, 2015)

I've been using Protools HD since the TDM era and contemplating adding Logic Pro X or Cubase Pro 8 as my composition tool so i bought Cubase Pro 8 and Logic Pro X last week. I have a few questions about the VST expression map.

I'm i missing anything or VST expression map is simply different articulations that are pre-mapped in CB 8 for a particular VI ? If this is the case then what's the big deal ? i mean we could simply achieve articulation switching by entering or playing the proper notes, usually found on the lowest octave of a 88 key controller.

I don't use any CB soundest, mostly 3rd party. This means no pre-mapped VST expression. In such case, do you guys manually map out all the articulations for your VIs ? Any tutorial on hoe to do this ? Does this speed up your workflow ?

On a positive note, CB pro 8 has been extremely snappy and reliable on my nMP 6 cores. I really dig the new ''less cluttered'' interface, the old lay out looks like mine craft for audio….


----------



## Lannister (Mar 26, 2015)

That's kind of the problem with Expression Maps. Most 3rd party's don't support/provide them with their libraries.


On that note,

Is it a licensable product/tech, like VST, or is it proprietry? The actual file format of the expression maps is just plaintext xml.

I can't help but think it would be supported more if other DAW's implemented it.


----------



## Softmo06004 (Mar 26, 2015)

Expression Map is done for all VST instruments. The major difference is that the keyswitch is sent in continuous way whereas normally keyswitch requires that they are played before notes to get the right articulation. You can edit them in all editors ( score, key edit...). You can make your own expression map for all your vst instruments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCXgbDhW1Jk

In Logic, you can buy the Logic Toolkit Pro (http://www.audiogrocery.com/a.g_toolkit_pro.htm).

best ( sorry for my english.


----------



## Stiltzkin (Mar 26, 2015)

Helps that when you use VST you don't have the note visible in the midi.

Good for sending it on to someone else if they wanted to take a look at the midi.


----------



## CDNmusic (Mar 26, 2015)

Another advantage is that using expression maps you can for example open one instance of kontakt and load say 6 different articulation patches for your instrument, each assigned to its own midi channel. 

Then using the expression map you can switch between this articulations while still using only one track. 

Basically you can turn an instrument with multiple articulations but no keyswitches to one with keyswitches. Pretty handy for those occasions when you don't want/need different articulations on their own track. 

See this good tutorial by The Darris for explanation https://youtu.be/NNTNNhXrsxs?t=7m51s


----------



## chimuelo (Mar 26, 2015)

So software is finally catching up to my Physis K4 Master MIDI Controller then...

Awesome I might consider using it someday.


----------



## kdm (Mar 26, 2015)

The biggest advantage of Exp Maps is setting up your own keyswitch map, triggering from a single key set (C-2 up for me), assigning that to midi channels with appropriate labeling and having an articulation lane in the Key Editor to edit, swap, or change key switches by label at will instead of remembering your key switch assignments.

You can use this to redirect key switches, customize what label appears in the Key Editor (i.e. it doesn't have to correspond to a preset "legato" or "staccato" with the given notation symbol, unless you need perfect notation mapping - you can define your own to simply work as a label in the Articulation lane in the Key Editor for faster visual feedback when editing). 

That works with any library when using key switches instead of separate midi tracks per articulation. I switched from a large template of one-track per articulation, to a key switch template for this reason alone. It took some time to define all of my custom Exp Map setups for each library and instrument, but it saves me a lot of time on the back end during a score.


----------



## Mahlon (Mar 26, 2015)

vudoo @ Thu Mar 26 said:


> I've been using Protools HD since the TDM era and contemplating adding Logic Pro X or Cubase Pro 8 as my composition tool so i bought Cubase Pro 8 and Logic Pro X last week. I have a few questions about the VST expression map.
> 
> I'm i missing anything or VST expression map is simply different articulations that are pre-mapped in CB 8 for a particular VI ? If this is the case then what's the big deal ? i mean we could simply achieve articulation switching by entering or playing the proper notes, usually found on the lowest octave of a 88 key controller.
> 
> ...



Expression Maps are clearer than keyswitch notes, to me. And less scrolling around up and down to find out which keyswitched note belongs to which melodic note. I map all my own. Not hard once you do it -- but it is a little time consuming if you're doing the whole standard orchestra with many libraries, though you can reuse one EM as a base template for others of similar type.

I think it helps workflow, and yeah for me speeds it up.

Many tutorials out there on it. Once you get the concept, it's easy-peasy. 

Mahlon


----------



## rgames (Mar 26, 2015)

Expression maps are one of two major improvements to my workflow over the past ten years (the other is SSDs).

They're most useful if you come from a traditional notation background because they allow you think in traditional musical terms like stacc, pizz, fp, etc. If you're like most composers, you use a bunch of different libraries with a bunch of different articulation mappings. With expression maps, you define the mapping for each traditional musical term for each library, so you never have to remember whether one library uses CC or keyswitch or velocity or whatever: it's always stacc or pizz or fp or whatever.

Putting all arts on one track can be done without expression maps but you still have to remember which keyswitch is stacc and which is pizz, or maybe it's a CC in a different library.

With expression maps it doesn't matter how many arts are on one track or which library you're using because it's all the same pizz or stacc or fp. The art identifier appears in its own lane in the MIDI editor so regardless of which library you're using you know exactly which articulation is selected.

Expression maps allow you to think musically, not technically.

They also have the added advantage of making it easy to double parts: you can drag a LASS viola line to a VSL clarinet line and the expression maps automatically take care of the different handling of articulation changes. Likewise, expression maps don't cause problems when transposing.

Again, if you don't come from a traditional notation background or you don't use a lot of different playing styles then they're less valuable. But if you're writing for full orchestra and like the look of a traditional score then they're a huge help.

rgames


----------



## vudoo (Mar 26, 2015)

> They also have the added advantage of making it easy to double parts: you can drag a LASS viola line to a VSL clarinet line and the expression maps automatically take care of the different handling of articulation changes.



In order for this to work, all your mapping must be the same, correct ? meaning, let say long legato - Lane 1, staccato - lane 2...for both instruments[/b]. But what happen when you use a clarinet library that does not have the staccato articulation, do you leave the lane 2 empty in its expression map ? Thx


----------



## rgames (Mar 26, 2015)

vudoo @ Thu Mar 26 said:


> > They also have the added advantage of making it easy to double parts: you can drag a LASS viola line to a VSL clarinet line and the expression maps automatically take care of the different handling of articulation changes.
> 
> 
> 
> In order for this to work, all your mapping must be the same, correct ? meaning, let say long legato - Lane 1, staccato - lane 2...for both instruments[/b]. But what happen when you use a clarinet library that does not have the staccato articulation, do you leave the lane 2 empty in its expression map ? Thx


That's partially correct - if the articulation exists in one library but not the other then you need to manually set a different artic in the expression map lane (unless it defaults to the correct one). It doesn't matter which lane it uses. Of course, if the library you're copying to doesn't have the same artic then you have to change the artic whether or not you set up expression maps, so it makes no difference in that case.

Given that a huge percentage of markings are legato and staccato, and the fact that pretty much every library has those artics, that covers a lot of ground. Plus, you still have the advantage that you don't have to remember whether the desired articulation is a CC or keyswitch in the other library - it's still just pizz or whatever in the expression map lane. Again, instead of memorizing hundreds of keyswitches across dozens of libraries, you just think in musical terms like stacc, pizz, fp, etc.

rgames


----------



## A.G (Mar 26, 2015)

The Articulation Mapping are very specific for each Multi-Articulation Instrument. There are thousands of modern Multi-Articulation Instruments offered on the market. There are two standards at this time: the Cubase Expression Maps and the Logic X AG Articulations Maps. Both offer similar assignments with the difference that the AG Logic Maps are TBA based while the Cubase are RBA based. Unfortunately the Multi-Articulation library developers do not produce such factory maps for those standards (there are a few ones for Cubase). The only way is the MAPS SHARING system which requires next conditions:
*1.* The Multi-Articulation Instrument owners must create Maps if they want to have a sharing community. You can create one or two Maps which is quite enough per user.
*2.* If the Maps are Multi-Timbral then you have to make a MULTI Preset of that Instrument. For example if you have loaded several Instruments in Kontakt you have to save that as a MULTI preset.
*3.* Finally you share the Map + the correspondent Instrument MULTI preset, or only the Map if it is designed for a single Instrument.
*4.* The target user must own the correspondent Software Instrument(s).
It is a good idea to provide some text instructions about the user Map specifics such as: Articulation Names abbreviations, Articulations On the Fly, KS Velocity sensitivities (if any) etc. This "extra" info can be placed as a helper tag on top of the Map Text document (AG Logic Maps only).

I'll do my best to make a detail video "Cubase Expression Maps vs AG Logic Maps" after the upcoming Logic AM-Extra PRO 3.0 release, where I'll focus on verious scenarios and how to prepare Maps for sharing.
Best,
Ivan


----------



## SimonCharlesHanna (Mar 26, 2015)

Hey i have a Q about expression mapping - I use vsl and use 2 layers of keyswitching...Am I able to set up expression maps somehow with this?

ie - C0 for legato and then say D1 for expressive legato?

Thx for the help!


----------



## trumpoz (Mar 26, 2015)

SimonCharlesHanna @ Fri Mar 27 said:


> Hey i have a Q about expression mapping - I use vsl and use 2 layers of keyswitching...Am I able to set up expression maps somehow with this?
> 
> ie - C0 for legato and then say D1 for expressive legato?
> 
> Thx for the help!



Yes you are - there is a field for 1st keyswitch and a field for 2nd keyswitch (i'm not at my DAW atm).


----------

