Im relatively new to production and plugins. I use Cubase SX, I cant control all the Absynth parameters from Cubase. I figured out how to set up a midi controller for the filter in the midi options in absynth. All cubase allows me to select for modulation are the few things you can assign to a midi controller and the volume and pan which are already assigned. I cant even control modulation of the pitch bend from cubasesx. Is this just how absynth is? Also most of the presets with absynth have what seem to be midi controllers assigned to words like "metal" or "thickness" and i have no idea where they come from. When i go to the midi section for that preset, it shows nothing assigned to that midi controller. If i cant control individual osc functions than so be it, but i cant even write modulation for the pitch bend which is right on the front panel of the absynth plugin near all the other midi controllers. Is there a way to do it?

At the bottom of the list of the few things you can assign is an option called setup. This opens a dialogue that lets you add any midi cc to the list.

a) Pitchbend:
You can not write pitchbend data from the GUI. This is not a shortcoming of Absynth, but (AFAIK) a shortcoming of the VST specification, which does not allow keyboard- (note On/Off), modwheel- or pitchbend-data to be written from the GUI.
You would either use a hardware MIDI controller to write pitchbend data or an appropriate function in your host software.

b) The names (like "metal" or "thickness"):
In the main window of Absynth (the one with preset-browser, keyboard and controllers) you can click on the names of the controllers and give them any name you like. Since one controller can control not only one but many parameters, some preset programmers prefer to give them descriptive names.

c) Automation:
Absynth - as of the current version - behaves kind of "old fashioned" in that area. Like on most MIDI hardware synths, you can only control certain parameters that have been assigned MIDI controllers. In Absynth these are only the ones that appear in the main window after they've been assigned to one of the few parameters they can control. Places to assign controllers are the MIDI window and the LFO window.
However, you can control about every parameter using control-driven envelopes, which in the end is like having a dedicated editable shaping/tracking curve for each controller in addition. Too complex to explain here, so I'd recommend to read the chapter about envelopes in the manual.

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Yeah just cause the pitchbend was in the main window, i thought it should be able to be automated. As far as the presets go though, ive turned all values in the midi section and lfo section down to 0 and still these midi controllers in the main window labeled characteristic names create some type of effect when i slide the bar. It doesnt make sense. Thanks for the help though.

gtaksa wrote:

Yeah just cause the pitchbend was in the main window, i thought it should be able to be automated. As far as the presets go though, ive turned all values in the midi section and lfo section down to 0 and still these midi controllers in the main window labeled characteristic names create some type of effect when i slide the bar. It doesnt make sense. Thanks for the help though.

Read Dr.Wackler's post again-especially the part about control driven envelopes.Did you go into the envelopes page and set the respective envelopes to zero values?
ew

gtaksa wrote:

[...] ive turned all values in the midi section and lfo section down to 0 and still these midi controllers in the main window labeled characteristic names create some type of effect when i slide the bar.[...]

Like ew said, it's probably control-driven envelopes.
Would you tell me which preset (name, number) from which bank that is? I'd like to have a look at it myself.