AT4 MIDI control

AmpliTube TONEX, AmpliTube 5, AmpliTube Custom Shop, AmpliTube Joe Satriani, AmpliTube Brian May, MESA/Boogie®,Orange™, Fender™, Hendrix™, Metal, AmpliTube SVX, and more for Mac/PC

AT4 MIDI control

Postby BobF3 » Sat Mar 16, 2019 5:27 pm

I'm able to use learn to get most things mapped, but MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL is conspicuously missing from the list of mappable controls. PLEASE tell me I'm missing something simple!

I really, really, really want a way to map/control this via a controller knob:

Image

Is this possible today?
BobF3
 
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 4:24 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby BobF3 » Mon Mar 18, 2019 12:39 am

I guess I didn't miss something simple
BobF3
 
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 4:24 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby stateofepicicity » Fri Mar 22, 2019 5:32 am

You can automate it as a VST in your DAW. Click AUTO in the bottom right corner, then, under Plug-in Parameters on the left, click Global, then Output Level, then Param 1: on the right, then Add. Output Level corresponds to the Master Knob. DAW automation gives you way more power with Amplitube than the MIDI menu alone. With the AUTO button combined with the MIDI button, you can automate every single aspect of Amplitube, as far as I know! Happy MIDIing!
stateofepicicity
 
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:03 am
Location: Han's Island, Disgraced by O'Hara's Treachery

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby doug@timberwoodsound.com » Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:50 pm

You can also map it in Amplitube, using the midi control menu. Open the midi control menu, click, control change, then global. Master volume is the last item in the list, highlight it, ckick learn, work you controller, and it should be mapped.
doug@timberwoodsound.com
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2018 6:01 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby BobF3 » Sat Mar 23, 2019 4:11 pm

doug@timberwoodsound.com wrote:You can also map it in Amplitube, using the midi control menu. Open the midi control menu, click, control change, then global. Master volume is the last item in the list, highlight it, ckick learn, work you controller, and it should be mapped.


Unfortunately, that isn't the case.
BobF3
 
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 4:24 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby BobF3 » Sat Mar 23, 2019 4:27 pm

stateofepicicity wrote:You can automate it as a VST in your DAW. Click AUTO in the bottom right corner, then, under Plug-in Parameters on the left, click Global, then Output Level, then Param 1: on the right, then Add. Output Level corresponds to the Master Knob. DAW automation gives you way more power with Amplitube than the MIDI menu alone. With the AUTO button combined with the MIDI button, you can automate every single aspect of Amplitube, as far as I know! Happy MIDIing!


Yes, this works. I would prefer straight up MIDI learn like the other controls, but this is workable with more clutter (automation lanes I won't be recording).

Thanks
BobF3
 
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 4:24 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby stateofepicicity » Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:15 pm

BobF3 wrote:more clutter (automation lanes I won't be recording)


I'm not sure how it is with other DAWs, but at least in Reaper you don't have to open automation lanes, and you don't have to deal with any clutter. Here's how I do it:

With the Amplitube VST window in focus in Reaper, you just click the gray Reaper Param button at the top right, then hover over FX parameter list, then hover over Parameter modulation/MIDI link, then select, e.g. Param 1, and a window will appear for that parameter.

Check the Link from MIDI or FX parameter checkbox.

Click (none) in the box immediately below.

Hover over MIDI.

Select your incoming MIDI signal (I have always just used a CC for this).

If you have the MIDI signal sent to your track, you'll actually see a green bar appear showing your signal. Play around extensively with the Baseline setting at the top as well as the Offset and Scale, and you can really do anything 7-bit MIDI will allow in Amplitube. I will often set one stomp to send, e.g., CC#0 with a value of 127, then another with CC#0 with a value of 0. But you can set a Note ON/OFF for a momentary (as opposed to latch) control of any parameter. Really, the options are unbelievably extensive. I also love to use Bome MIDI translator, because I think of weird setups and that allows even more powerful controls, although some of that can also be done with the no longer developed (but maybe still available) Insert PIZ Here MIDI control plugins, which I used before I ponied up for the Bome software.

To your point about the Learn feature, if you prefer that, simply select Learn under the Reaper FX Parameter list submenu.

This allows full automation without the extra clutter. Once your settings are set, you can close your Parameter Modulation/Link window to reduce visual clutter further. Just make sure you save this as its own Reaper project, because those automations will only be stored with that project, of course!

Furthermore, Reaper has available the free SWS Extensions, which include "Live Configs," which is another perfectly find option. I used that for a time but ended up just sticking with plain old parameter modulation/link in the end.

You can, e.g., set a CC to control the gain knob on your amp, and with the Baseline, Offset, and Scale knobs set to the correct settings, you can set the gain knob to go from one setting to another without switching presets. Of course this will work with most any parameter on any VST, but I've just found it really fun and useful with Amplitube. Especially since latency is a factor with switching presets, if you're just going back and forth between two amps, e.g., you can use this kind of automation for switching with zero perceptible latency by assigned a CC, e.g., to mute one amp while unmuting the other, where you've used the Number 2, 4, 6, or 7 Signal Routing setup in Amplitube. And of course, if you mainly like to switch between pedals, this is the way to do it with zero perceptible latency, again by avoiding preset switching. Since Amplitube has every pedal and amp model open in your preset constantly, there is no audible click, and it really is as good as it gets for guitar tone MIDI control, in my experience, not just in Amplitube, but in any guitar amp sim.

Enjoy!
stateofepicicity
 
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:03 am
Location: Han's Island, Disgraced by O'Hara's Treachery

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby BobF3 » Wed Mar 27, 2019 3:24 pm

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Unless I'm missing something, using automation binds controls to a specific amp globally. For example, with a Supersonic in the Amp A slot I can set up all of the knobs for control via automation, but when I select a Soldano in Amp A, I have to redo the automation for it.

Secondarily, in my DAW -Studio One, hardware controls have to be learned in Control Link before they can be used for automation. Then, once set in Control Link, that control's data will never be able to pass thru the input of a track.

My current compromise is to use automation for Output Level (global, thankfully) and AT's MIDI Learn to get controls mapped on a preset basis.

In a perfect world, every control presented in the AT UI would be able to be learned via AT on a preset basis.

BTW, I'm using an X Touch Mini bought specifically for AT. Having the single fader mapped via Control Link for global AT Output Level is working fine, BUT ... this inconsistency creates a level of complexity that seems to be unnecessary.

Thanks again for sharing. I'm off and running.

NP It would be really nice if AT could learn controls for an amp that would follow the amp regardless of which preset it is part of. This would be especially nice in the case of existing presets. Let's say I already have 17 presets based on Soldano 100. Would be great to learn the controls for the amp and have them automatically apply to all of the presets.
BobF3
 
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 4:24 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby gdavis1767 » Wed Mar 27, 2019 6:05 pm

I don't understand why they subtracted function like this with an upgrade, and I don't understand why they would deny stand alone users access to parameters that are enabled for inside a DAW use.

As smart as the people who program this stuff are.... this reasons to me to be intentional.

As a stand alone version live gig user am really disappointed that I can no longer have a rotary knob controller at hand for changing volume, treble, etc, and a foot device with buttons for toggling stomp boxes, or channel switching or tuning. Now it is only one. WHY? It was there in version 3. I thought version releases were supposed to reflect progress. This is the opposite.

FIX it please, IK!
gdavis1767
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 1:24 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby stateofepicicity » Wed Mar 27, 2019 9:43 pm

Interesting point about the inability to bind all available MIDI mapping to presets and / or amps. Perhaps part of the issue is simply the age of the software. Since Amplitube predates any other amp sim, it might be that it simply was not envisioned by the designers to be used in the myriad of ways it is used today. I recommend placing a request in the new feature request thread:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=19889" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Perhaps an alternative would be to save each set of mappings as a separate session in Studio One. I'm not at all familiar with that DAW, but I would post in a Studio One forum to see if there's a way to do that, for each session to contain a different set of mappings. With Reaper you can set up automation differently per session, and you can open many sessions at once then switch between them simply by clicking on the one you want.

If you do find Studio One doesn't do what you need, I do recommend downloading and experimenting with Reaper instead; it's inexpensive and very capable. You can map as much as you wanted in a single session and bind it only to that session. It would not follow between Amplitube presets, so a way to work within the limitations of Amplitube would be to have several instances of Amplitube running at once, and to switch between them using automation. Anyway, hopefully you can find a way to do this in Studio One since you're already familiar with it, but there is a way to do what you're wanting, even though it would be much much simpler if Amplitube provided MIDI mapping of every parameter within presets.
stateofepicicity
 
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:03 am
Location: Han's Island, Disgraced by O'Hara's Treachery

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby BobF3 » Thu Mar 28, 2019 1:25 am

While there are a few things Reaper does better, I actually moved from Reaper to Studio One and couldn't be happier.

Having used several DAWs over the years, it's obvious that there isn't a single one of them that is superior in all ways. Studio One works for me. There is a lot to like about Reaper, I just don't have the self control required to keep from spending my time tweaking everything just so - LOL!
BobF3
 
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 4:24 pm

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby stateofepicicity » Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:39 am

That's cool. I totally understand. Than I guess the big question to consider is which is best for live use for total automation, and you'd be best to answer that question. Best of luck! :-)
stateofepicicity
 
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:03 am
Location: Han's Island, Disgraced by O'Hara's Treachery

Re: AT4 MIDI control

Postby BobF3 » Thu Mar 28, 2019 1:53 pm

stateofepicicity wrote:That's cool. I totally understand. Than I guess the big question to consider is which is best for live use for total automation, and you'd be best to answer that question. Best of luck! :-)


I would be the LAST person you would want to provide guidance for live use ;)
BobF3
 
Posts: 127
Joined: Fri May 29, 2015 4:24 pm


Return to AmpliTube Guitar Amp & FX modeling

cron