# Tutorial No2 - Expression maps



## Ryan (Nov 2, 2016)

Made two videos today showing how I use expression maps inside of cubase. More videos will come. 

Tutorial No. 2M1 - Spitfire Audio (expression maps) 


Tutorial No. 2M2 - Different usage of expression maps 



Best
Ryan


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## Lassi Tani (Nov 2, 2016)

Awesome Ryan! Thanks for a great support


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## Musicam (Nov 2, 2016)

What is the function of The logical editor in Cubase?


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## devonmyles (Nov 2, 2016)

Thanks Ryan.
Only yesterday I decided to make a serious attempt at using expression maps.
Your videos look like they could be very useful for me.


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## DaddyO (Nov 2, 2016)

Ryan, great stuff.

I jumped right in experimenting with using "articulations" to do channel switching and it worked like a charm. It opens up the possibility of simplifying my Cubase template.

Example:

I already have my VE Pro set up with instances for each family (Winds, Brass, etc.). Then I have MIDI outputs for each subgroup, so under the Winds instance the first subgroup is Flutes using MIDI out 1. Within the subgroup Flutes are each of my specific instruments, each with their own unique channel. So my Piccolo is the Winds instance, MIDI out 1, channel 1. My VSL Flute 1 is on channel 2, etc.

Previously I set up a Winds folder in Cubase, then a subfolder for Flutes. Each flute instrument got its own track. When you take into account that I have Piccolo, Flute 1, Flute 2, Flutes a3, Alto Flute, and Bass Flute, that's 6 tracks.

But now I can set things up with just 3 tracks, one for each "Player." Floutist A, Floutist B, and Floutist C. Using Expression Maps any floutist can play any Flute instrument, and he can change instruments at will. In other words, I can treat it like real life. There's not six floutists in an orchestra, typically there are only 3.

Now, if I apply this same solution to every instrument in the orchestra I have cut my template track count in half!

I have only found two drawbacks so far.

First, in the Cubase Project window you get no visual feedback as to which instrument Floutist A is playing at any given time. You have to go to the Key Editor to see it.

Second, in order to keep your "Flutes" Expression Map listing from becoming impossibly long, you need to find a way to select at any given time both an instrument AND a real articulation (legato, sustained, trill, etc.). How does one avoid having to set up a separate map entry for each articulation for each instrument? If you have 6 articulations and 6 instrument you would need 36 Expression Map entries!

If there were a way to layer different Expression Map entries (layer 1 = instrument selection, layer 2 - articulation), and your Expression Map selection list had only 6 total items (kind of a mix and match setup), that would solve the problem. But I'm not sure Cubase has that capability. I know there are articulation Groups available, but my understanding is that you cannot mix and match between them. Am I correct on this?

EDITED TO ADD:

I now am reworking my VE Pro and VI Pro setup to correspond with what I am doing in Cubase as a result of your video. In VE Pro instances I am setting up "Players" instead of Instruments. In a Flutes folder I have Flute A, Flute B, and Flute C, each on their own channel. I have then set up a single VI Pro preset for "Flutes All" with separate, selectable matrices for each of the 6 Flute family instruments. Each matrix is set up identically, with any particular cell holding a particular articulation. The only thing that varies with each matrix is the instrument playing that articulation. This way any of the three "Players" can perform separately using whatever Flute instrument and articulation I select using the Cubase Expression map. And like with Cubase, in VE Pro I have cut my template in half!

I still need to figure out if it's possible to use Group layers to keep the Expression Map from becoming impossibly long.


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## Ryan (Nov 3, 2016)

DaddyO said:


> Ryan, great stuff.
> 
> I jumped right in experimenting with using "articulations" to do channel switching and it worked like a charm. It opens up the possibility of simplifying my Cubase template.
> 
> ...





Hi there!

Glad you found the information in the video useful. What you describe is what I've been doing for a long time.
I also think you could make a whole NI/kontakt instance with only the "flutes" with all patches on midi 1. Then making their own CC command or program change. Have you tried that out? That way you only change the midi channel 1 articulations. The you do the same for Flute 2 etc.

I haven't used the VE pro instance, so I can't speak for that usage.

Regarding the Expression Map listing: You need to make a one "general" expression map that corresponds well with the rest. That way you don't need 36 Expression Maps.

So glad you got to cut your template. I've been doing it since 2009 

Best
Ryan


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## DaddyO (Nov 3, 2016)

Ryan said:


> Hi there!
> 
> Glad you found the information in the video useful. What you describe is what I've been doing for a long time.
> I also think you could make a whole NI/kontakt instance with only the "flutes" with all patches on midi 1. Then making their own CC command or program change. Have you tried that out? That way you only change the midi channel 1 articulations. The you do the same for Flute 2 etc.
> ...



Thanks, Ryan.

I'm going to have to figure out how to better represent what I'm talking about with regard to "36 Expression Maps."

Unless I'm missing something, you can "match" (or stack) articulations, but you cannot "mix" them. If you want to use Expression Maps for both selecting instruments and selecting articulations, with a single EM articulation listing you can select a particular Oboe (Group 1) and stack on it a staccato articulation (Group 2). But if you want to put put that same staccato on a Flute, you'll need a separate listing for each combination (Oboe staccato or Flute staccato). If you use EM's for instrument selection, you can't select an instrument, maintain it's selection, but switch to a different articulation without a separate listing that includes that combination of instrument and articulation.

Again, maybe there's something about this I don't know or understand. I'm happy to be instructed how with 6 instruments and 6 articulations you can have just 12 entries in your EM and mix and match them in 36 combinations. If you can, I'd be delighted.

I should add that I use VI Pro as my sampler. Perhaps that has something to do with it. I indeed use "general expression maps," one for Winds (Woodwinds and Brass) and one for Strings. In my VI Pro setup, all Winds share the same cell locations (row and column within a matrix) for articulations. The Strings are all consistent with each other as well.

Hope I'm making myself more clear and not more confusing!

Thanks again for your posts and your help.

[EDITED TO ADD:]

Rereading my post I think I see where I was confusing. When I said you would need 36 Expression Maps I didn't mean 36 maps but 36 mappings within the Map. Sorry for any confusion I caused. 

Last night I tested and confirmed the problem I meant. If you select both instruments (X) and articulations (Y) using an EM you will need X times Y number of listings within your EM. This makes the EM unwieldey.

I'll have to consider how to overcome this problem.

Thanks again, Ryan.


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## DaddyO (Nov 4, 2016)

DaddyO said:


> ...
> I have only found two drawbacks so far.
> 
> First, in the Cubase Project window you get no visual feedback as to which instrument Floutist A is playing at any given time. You have to go to the Key Editor to see it.
> ...



I found a solution for the first problem, the lack of visual feedback in the Cubase Project window as to what instrument is being played on a given track at a given time.

Cubase uses MIDI parts on a track to contain MIDI events. I didn't know you could change the name of a MIDI part by Showing the Info Pane (SHIFT + F2, check the Info Pane box), selecting the MIDI part, then editing the name of the part in the Info Pane.


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## Ryan (Nov 15, 2016)

DaddyO said:


> I found a solution for the first problem, the lack of visual feedback in the Cubase Project window as to what instrument is being played on a given track at a given time.
> 
> Cubase uses MIDI parts on a track to contain MIDI events. I didn't know you could change the name of a MIDI part by Showing the Info Pane (SHIFT + F2, check the Info Pane box), selecting the MIDI part, then editing the name of the part in the Info Pane.



Hi, great! I was going to tell you that. Glad you found a solution for the first problem. Have you worked more on this setup since last time?

Sorry for the late answer/reply. Been very busy lately. 

Best
Ryan


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## DaddyO (Nov 16, 2016)

Ryan said:


> Hi, great! I was going to tell you that. Glad you found a solution for the first problem. Have you worked more on this setup since last time?
> 
> Sorry for the late answer/reply. Been very busy lately.
> 
> ...



Ryan, thanks. I've had some chance to work further on this setup, but testing has proven it's not possible to overcome the second problem because of limitations in the Cubase Expression Maps system. Too bad, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It was worth a try. Maybe some day (I'm not holding my breath), Cubase will further develop the EM system.


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## Ryan (Nov 20, 2016)

DaddyO said:


> Ryan, thanks. I've had some chance to work further on this setup, but testing has proven it's not possible to overcome the second problem because of limitations in the Cubase Expression Maps system. Too bad, but that's the way it goes sometimes. It was worth a try. Maybe some day (I'm not holding my breath), Cubase will further develop the EM system.



To bad.. Lets cross our fingers for a future update


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