I've moaned a few times about various things bugging me, so wanted to just put them in one place, as it's usually been on the back of someone elses thread, and not utilizing the forum dedicated to such things.
Here goes. (ILL PUT THEM IN THIS MAIN LIST NOW AS IT'S EASIER TO READ)
#1 Double clicking the playlist track selectoR should not only to open up attached plugin, but also select pattern connected to it - cant tell you how many times i've recorded minutes worth of notes and automation only for it to be recorded into another pattern. Which means tedious copy and pasting of notes, and automations. - Currently you need to double click track, and then click the pattern too. Would love a way around this, as i forget about 50% of the time.... slow learner maybe?
#2 Recording mod wheel automation - This doesn't work unless the plugin is open when using "over ride global link or omni" So what happens is this, you double click playlist track to choose say.. trombones, the midi out opens up (or BRSO), or whatever you are using, you then need to click the playlist again, to set where you want to start playing/recording from. Hit play and record.... oh no, plugin window is unfocused, need to select it again.... This is a bit annoying ,again easily forgettable, head down recording, only to find that nothing has recorded, and you spend minutes. The notes record, but the automation didn't. Somehow changing this behaviour would be sweet. The order of clicks is so specific and unfree.
#3 Naming -. PAtterns don't name with the channel/mixer track. Having to do it twice
#4 Colour of automation clip isn't related to that of the parent instrument track.
#5 Ability to collapse groups of mixer tracks. Say i have 20 string mixer tracks - i dont always want to see them, as i may be mixing the brass now. They coudl collapse in a similar way to playlist tracks. This would be sweet
#6 Different shades on the playlist should be more discernible. The dark and lights are not that different with many colours.
#7 Adding 2 bars at the start for say an intro, means you've offset the handy visual markers. - A way to solve this would be cool. sorted
#8 Channel rack is almost obsolete for certain production methods particularly scoring work. But there are still plenty of times its needed to be brought up. For instance having a playlist track linked to a MIDI OUT or BRSO articulate means that if you want to bring up the instrument you're controlling with that midi channel, you still need to get up the channel rack, as double clicking will only bring up the midi out of course. I guess i could load up separate instances of kontakt... but that's less than ideal probably
#9 Trying to control multiple automations at once, when they're from different windows isn't possible (when using override global link) Obviously this is possible with link to controller, but when you're automatiing scores and scores of things, this isn't an option.
Example, trying to control a filter at the same time as volume and expression for a brass patch... not possible as only one window can be focused at once. Meaning i need to do the automation twice. Annoying if it's a few minutes of brass playing! I could link to controller and then unlick when i'm done i guess, not too big a fuss. But easy to forget maybe and you end up automating that filter again when you think you're controlling something else later on...
#10 Recording automation direct to spline based automation clip, which automatically goes underneath like automation clips do. This would be lovely. Having it record inside the pattern is okay, but then it goes into the ultra old automation editor, which is okay, but having splines would be awesome. I do get that this is probably more difficult to do than it sounds!
#11 - Stop the current project folder auto closing after every time you make a new link. Massively infuriating, and cannot understand for the life of me why this is a feature.
#12 - Change this behaviour -- When saving a preset into the plugin database, it HAS to be saved into the deepest folder available. This shouldn't be the case
For example, i want to save a preset into "Orchestral /Strings " but i can't because there is a folder in "orchestral/strings/Play" So if i don't choose that last folder, it asks me to choose a folder to save it into, every time. So i must save it into the deepest folder, then open up the folders and copy/paste the newly saved preset ( which is annoyingly auto named , but thats the next number)
13# Preset being saved is always automatically named whatever the plugin. So if it's in Kontakt, it will always just be called Kontakt, no matter what you called the channel. Again, meaning you have to open up the plugin database folder and rename your preset. - Make Channel name the default plugin preset
#14 - Set "current" mixer channel to be it's own type of mixer track, so that it doesn't disappear when closing the left and right docks of the mixer. You could say, well just put it in the middle dock then, but then it goes to the very END of the mixer and is non moveable, being stuck as the last mixer track.
Not handy at all.
#15 - Allow left and right dock shortcut keys. Currently it's hide both, or open both. Sometimes you don't want both, and clicking the tiny little splitter is difficult with for example, a track pad. Left CTRL+SHIT for left dock Right CTRL+SHIFT for right dock? This could be hand
#16 - Please stop the mixer changing size when changing view.it stretches way beyond the screen edge every time you change mixer view.
EDIT : Oddly it's not doing it in the project i'm working on at the moment... Strange
#17 - In EXTRA LARGE mixer view, it's a pain to use your sends. Having to scroll all the way along to the send you want, when working with dozens or even a hundred or more tracks is long winded.
Right click and "send to" should be an option here. ESPECIALLY if your sends are currently in one of the left or right docks kinda hidden away, it means you need to open up that dock, scroll along to it, and use the conventional send technique. All of this could be avoided with a right click menu. Maybe this menu could be customizable, where we add channels to it. "right click, add to send list" on your "reverb long" send, then with your synth or vocal or whatever, you right click the send button, choose "reverb 1" from the list.
This would be a HUGE improvement as an addition to the current method
#18 - If you don't have anything in the right dock, SHIFT + Enter doesn't work. It opens up a closed LEFT dock, but then won't close the dock away again. Only if there's at least ONE track docked into the right dock does this work.
#19 - Add the mixer inserts to other mixer views. I love the idea of just having those mixer inserts on EXTRA LARGE view, but the tracks are just..... too wide! I've got a pretty wide screen, not huge but not tiny i think it's 27". You just can't fit that much on it. I'd imagine you really need at least 40" to really use that view properly.
Either have a (slightly narrower) extra large view,
Or
Allow inserts on the other views. Particularly the WIDE views.
#20 - The dock separator is too hard to see. It's only just slightly larger than the normal track separators and is practically the same colour. Taking some time to find it if you only want to close one dock, not both (again this would be good to be able to have a shortcut key combo to close either left OR right)
#21 - Be able to delete pattern groups. And revamp whole grouping method. Having to type in the group, instead of choosing from a list of groups just isn't great. One typo and you've just created a new group by mistake, which is undeletable.
EDIT
On the subject of groups
Right clicking a channel should have an option to "group to" in the section that "insert/replace/clone/delete" is. With the drop down list of groups available, or create new group
#22 - Be able to properly save a palate of colours that lasts forever, until changed. The colour selector has improved greatly over time, but it still only remembers the last 9.
Being able to save colours and name them. So like, Yellow - Violins section. Orange - Basoons. Or whatever. So not only do they save, but we have references for them for continuity across projects.
#23 Collapsible mixer channel groups. Much like the playlist tracks that can collapse vertically, these would collapse horizontally, with the main channel being visible.
#24 Groups in groups on the playlist (and mixer sure)
Say i've got a group of brass instruments. There's 20 different brass tracks, 10 are spitfire, 5 are east west, 5 are oh i dont know, soundfonts. It woud be great to be able to group these ALL within a main group of brass, yet group those libraries separately. Some of them are for example special effects brass libraries that don't need to be shown all the time
#25 Mute and soloing mixer tracks needs an overhaul?
Firstly there seems to be no shortcut key for mute?
Secondly, muting multiple mixer tracks at once isn't possible. Even when you've ctrl and double clicked a whole group, you don't seem to be able to mute it. Just mutes one at a time.
Also, locking a tracks mute/solo, should be possible for a group too. Instead of locking each channel separately.
Can't solo a group. When ctrl and double clikcing a group, you cant solo the whole group. ALl you seem to be able to do is adjust the volume sliders together.
Cant set group back to 0dB. Must be done separately.
Cant set group to 0, must be done separately. You can get them nearly to the bottom, but t close to -inf the slider behaviour goes a bit weird, where some of them dont get to 0 (no mattter which slider you drag down, or what level it's at) and you need to unclick, then drag again to set them actually to be at -inf...
An option to route all selected tracks to another mixer track, but KEEP the tracks it's sent to.
#27 - A way of linking midi channels to parent channels for the mixer. Currently if you're using a midi output channel to play a kontakt library for example, it doesn't auto select the mixer channel it's on, because understandably, it doesnt know. But this is a little annoying when using the "current" mixer channel to always show things like a dB meter, or a voxengo SPAN or other such plugins. It means the mixer channel isn't updating with what you're actually playing and have selected. Would be handy if it could be smarter and know that what youre playing, is indeed linked to a mixer channel, in a way. Only way i see around this at the moment, and have started to feel this way because of other limitations, is to load a separate kontakt instance for every single sound. Which takes up a little more CPU each time. And when you've got 100 or more, that's not great.
#28 - When in Compact ALT mixer view, clicking a mixer channel name doesn;t select it. You still have to click the top of the channel. A little unintuitive and limiting
#29 - Recording notes, or automation into the playlist, doesn't automatically show what you've just played/recorded. Meaning every time you record you need to drag the end of the pattern out so it plays back. Not sure if this is a hidden special feature.... but it shouldn't be. You've just recorded a new line of instrumentation, of course you want it to play back again without having to drag the end of the pattern again.
#30 - Please stop all (or just many) plugin windows opening after render. not at all needed, and can cause some lock ups sometimes opening 20-30 windows at once, totally pointless. Why does it even do this anyway?? If it's a feature, please can it be off by default. Nobody needs to see all their plugin windows at once when they've rendered.
#31 - Can't remove "favourite" folder when saving project/file if directory no longer exists, leaving it stuck in the list of favourites.
#32 - Copy and paste between pattern clips. With selection of what channel to copy from and to if there are multiple channels used within a single pattern.
Example, click pattern clip options, > Copy > Channel > BASS/SYNTH/VOCAL (choose copy BASS)
Click pattern clip options on next pattern > Paste > Channel > SYNTH
There, i just copy and pasted the bassline pattern into the synth of another pattern.
Or whatever.
#33 - "Browse parameters" for a plugin within patcher.
#34 - CTRL + M being turn on and off metronome is great, but it doesn't work with the piano roll open, it changes to export midi. That should be something else as it's rather annoying to change a function when a different window is open and have to switch to mouse again. shortcut keys changing is never a great idea imo
#35 - Dump score log. Great feature but limited use. Dump last 30 mins? Kidding? And 2 mins being the least isn't great either. How about some better options here, like "last play through" where it will just dumped what you last played, during the last playback, however long that was. And last minute, last 30 seconds, last 10 seconds etc. Or just a custom option?
#36 - Copy and pasting in the playlist is VERY tedious. You basically can't do it. If you want to copy pattern A to pattern B, you have to open up the channel rack, and right click the channel, then copy/paste into the pattern and channel you want.
This is because if you go into a pattern, that's for example, 64 bars long, and the notes don't start at the beginning, select all, copy, open up the pattern you want to copy into, paste, and hey presto, the notes are in some arbitrary location based on where you have zoomed into. It does NOT go into the correct location. Even though you selected the whole piano roll from the beginning to end.
This is just another instance that we must still use the channel rack to do such simple things. We really should just have copy/paste on the clip menu.
#37 - "Deleting" a pattern or anything in the playlist, doesn't really delete it, it removes it from the playlist. Please add an option to delete from the playlist, and rename current "delete" to "remove from playlist".
#38 - "clear all patterns" (but not delete) Macro. Handy for when you just want to get rid of all your notes and automation at once, but don't want to delete all your patterns and have to rename. This i would really love soon. I work from templates often, and sometimes when i'm done with a track i want to get rid of all i've added in terms of automation, and note data, but keep all channels and patterns. To easily create a new template this would be handy.
#39 - Automation Editor is great but visually lacking in clarity. It should mirror the look of the playlist and piano roll. At the moment, it looks like it's from another program.
Can we see the 4 bar colours like in the playlist please? It's just like a huge sheet of fabric at the moment and when you're zoomed out on a long piece of automation it's literally impossible to tell where your 4/8/16 bar lines are.
#40 - Empty a pattern. If you're making music with the channel rack hidden (where you can just press ctrl x) you can't do this without having to go into the pattern itself, select all notes, and delete. We should be able to click the top left of the pattern, and click "remove note data" and "remove automation data" and "remove all data". There's literall no way of quickly emptying your pattern if you don't like it, but don't want to delete it, and create a new one with the same name. Especially when the pattern is linked to a channel and a mixer track it makes even less sense.
There could also be a macro to do each of these 3 for ALL playlist patterns. (for those of us wanting to just start again without spending time loading up a large template)
#41 - A really quick way of transposing the VST thats selected without tranposging your midi keyboard. I'm aware you can transpose a pattern, which will change the midi notes of any piano roll being use in that pattern, but a quick method of transposing a single channel that you have selected, without going into the Wrapper settings would be awesome.
#42 - Stop with the terrible terrible inplementation of LFO's. A speed knob that reports a percentage in the hint bar, with 0 indication of what time multiplication it is anywhere to be seen, is not useful to anyone. You're making it harder than it needs to be, and for what reason? It makes us jump through hoops just to get an LFO in time with our tracks. Zooming out (or in) and making sure the tiny tiny lines hit the right time line points to stay in time. No way of easily making the LFO start at a different point of it's phase, other than using slip editing once you've made the LFO. How mad is that? Infuriating.
#43 - Export SELECTED playlist tracks. Currently it's all or nothing. You can export armed mixer tracks, so similar for playlist would be good
#44 - Better MIDI (again). A midi IN channel. Or a plugin that is more like logics "external instrument" plugin, which opens up a midi in, out and audio input/output all in one interface.
#45 - Using an external instrument in the playlist you need a MIDI out channel to play the external synth, and an Audio track to record it. This is okay, but the above option would make this smoother and more efficient. I'll make a separate one for this as this is quite big i feel
#46 Any chance of a "Right click --> show automation for this control" option? Sometimes it can be quite tedious to find an accidentally recorded automation thats in a pattern somewhere. You've got to go into the browser and check every single pattern for the accidentally recorded automation or intitialized control. It should automatically show in the piano roll it's in. Bringing up the automation editor window that corresponds.
On top of that...
Also a right click --> "delete all automation for this control" would be very quick and handy
#47 - Playlist track header - Instrument track levels that actually work. Currently, they just all show a volume all the time when nothing is playing in them