FR: Few issues...

[UnionS8]

Hi Tracktion.
Once again I have to thank you for an extraordinary piece of software! The more I use Waveform, the more I love it (you), the more I don't understand it's so unknown, and... the more I see these little issues, which are senseless...

• Presets: it becomes necessary to rework how presets are handled in Waveform. Mainly a Pattern generator and Grooves become messy after some time of using it. It would be great if there was a possibility to use the browser for finding, previewing and selecting pattern and groove presets. It would be even better if there was an interactive preview, which would follow the Chord Track while playing the song (browse -> find -> click -> listen -> choose -> doble click -> voilá – you know the drill ). Also the drag and drop would be amazing. (I wonder how simple and powerfull this behaviour is across the whole Waveform.)

• Editor window: Please, add the possibility to follow the track possition in the Editor Window. When I doble click a clip, it shows in the Editor. But when I keep editing the coming clips, they show further to the right in the Editor till they simply disappear and I have constantly scroll to the next possition. Also I don't know whether it would be possible to maintain the same control behaviour as in the main window. The same shortcuts for zoom, pan, but mainly – the same mouse modifiers and behaviour.

• MIDI send, track MIDI channel: Please, please. Add it... It's essential for multi timbral synths to have an equivalent of audio send but for MIDI – so we simply could route several MIDI tracks to one synth. Also then it's desired to have the possibility to set a certain MIDI channel in the Track Properties. Currently it's possible only in the Clip Properties (one by one), but not in the whole track.

• Step clips work just fine. Only one thing is constantly popping here The impossibility of note retrigger/divide. I mean... a drum roll faster than the clip grid. I'm sorry, I can't express myself, English is not my best friend But I hope you know what I mean. Note divide or – remapping the whole clip to a higher resolution while maintaining the beat...

I am sorry for a long post. But as I wrote at the beginning. The Waveform is so exceptional that then even these little issues become bigger, because they pop out from the pink cloud of flawless workflow. Also excuse me if anything from this list already exist in Waveform. Even after several manual walkthroughs and hours of video tutorials, I discover new functions every day.
Best regards Stepan.

[Watchful]

• MIDI send, track MIDI channel: Please, please. Add it... It's essential for multi timbral synths to have an equivalent of audio send but for MIDI – so we simply could route several MIDI tracks to one synth.

I agree! I needed this feature last night and couldn't do it.

A way to do it could be a virtual MIDI Thru... just set the input of Track 2 to be Track 1, if they're both MIDI tracks. Just like a MIDI Thru to MIDI In.

[Peter Widdicombe]

Remember in this case, that Track1's output must have MIDI, which is not the normal case if you have a VST on it.
(possibly with a rack that ALSO feeds MIDI in to MIDI out, as well as handling the VST in it).

[UnionS8]

A way to do it could be a virtual MIDI Thru... just set the input of Track 2 to be Track 1, if they're both MIDI tracks. Just like a MIDI Thru to MIDI In.

I consider MIDI Thru to be a leftover from a computer music prehistory. Kind of. Why to bother with something like that when you can have (almost) infinite ammount of "virtual MIDI cables" conected anywhere you need to. The only thing you need is... MIDI send
Then you can have a track withe multi-timbral VSTi and a bunch of plain MIDI tracks routed channel by channel to it.

[Watchful]

I do like your idea better, Union, because I could send the MIDI to parallel tracks and reroute them on the fly, similar to Peter's rack analogy.

[astey]

A way to do it could be a virtual MIDI Thru... just set the input of Track 2 to be Track 1, if they're both MIDI tracks. Just like a MIDI Thru to MIDI In.

I consider MIDI Thru to be a leftover from a computer music prehistory. Kind of. Why to bother with something like that when you can have (almost) infinite ammount of "virtual MIDI cables" conected anywhere you need to. The only thing you need is... MIDI send
Then you can have a track withe multi-timbral VSTi and a bunch of plain MIDI tracks routed channel by channel to it.

plus 1
for a midi send module. similar to audio send/return.
very useful, not only for external gear, but also for side chaining via midi.

[AGreen]

You do know that you can use racks as sends and I think as midi sends too? Combined with a midi filter wouldn't this do what you want?

[Watchful]

Sure, but creating a new rack and inserting plugins and dragging the red and blue lines around takes twice as long as just inserting the send and return plugins to existing tracks. Racks are more flexible...and the way to go if running the audio outputs of the different synths to different effects plugins...but the send and return concept Union suggests is a lot faster.

Another way to look at it: lots of us use sends and returns for audio, even though we could do the same things with racks. There's a reason we often don't.

I grant you: at some point, racks are more efficient than sends and returns...but with 2-to-3 MIDI devices, sends and returns are quick and dirty.

[AGreen]

Sure, but creating a new rack and inserting plugins and dragging the red and blue lines around takes twice as long as just inserting the send and return plugins to existing tracks. Racks are more flexible...and the way to go if running the audio outputs of the different synths to different effects plugins...but the send and return concept Union suggests is a lot faster.

Another way to look at it: lots of us use sends and returns for audio, even though we could do the same things with racks. There's a reason we often don't.

I grant you: at some point, racks are more efficient than sends and returns...but with 2-to-3 MIDI devices, sends and returns are quick and dirty.

All you have to do is insert a new rack before the instrument, connect the midi input and output and then you can copy the rack (CTRL + drag) to any track you want. All midi will then go from those tracks to the instrument. The midi channel can be set on the midi clip or you can block channels with a midi filter.

[AG1970]

I agree…
To this I add the following suggestions (I don't speak English well... I hope to write correctly ...):
• More note editing tools like "Chop, Strum, Claw machine", etc of FlStudio
• Ability to randomize the length of notes when using pattern generators (for example, all notes created in the Melody section have the same length, unfortunately)
• Enter the function that automates every single note (volume, pan, etc)
• Exporting the notes of the song as a score
• Ability to create custom colors for the tracks (currently there are 18 colors available)
• Ability to draw automations with the pencil tool
• Ability to save presets in Master Mix
And finally…
I have purchased Waveform since version 10. I have contacted Tracktion's customer support a few times for problems / suggestions, but I have received only one reply. I don't know if the problem is mine alone ... Waveform is a fantastic program, the son of FlStudio (for all the possibilities to create interesting songs from scratch) and Studio One (for the simplicity and clarity of the workflow). However, I am very disappointed with this shortage by Tracktion.
I apologize if some functions are already present and I haven't discovered it yet ...

[UnionS8]

All you have to do is insert a new rack before the instrument, connect the midi input and output and then you can copy the rack (CTRL + drag) to any track you want. All midi will then go from those tracks to the instrument.

I tried this some time ago. It worked until I created another empty rack with just a MIDI cable in it. Eventhough I had several copies of two different racks, suddenly all affected tracks were mixed together (MIDIwise) no matter which rack was on it. Am I doing something wrong?

The midi channel can be set on the midi clip or you can block channels with a midi filter.

There should be possibility to set the MIDI channel for the whole track. Picking clips one by one isn't the best way how to set the MIDI channel Again. I think a MIDI send plugin would solve this problem too.

[AGreen]

I tried this some time ago. It worked until I created another empty rack with just a MIDI cable in it. Eventhough I had several copies of two different racks, suddenly all affected tracks were mixed together (MIDIwise) no matter which rack was on it. Am I doing something wrong?

You must always use the same instance of a rack to feed to a particular instrument. It sounds like you're using the same instance of a rack on tracks that are meant to feed a different instrument. For example, if you've got track 1 with a rack and instrument on it, you must always copy the rack on track 1 to tracks that you want to feed midi to the instrument on track 1. If you've got another instrument on track 10, you must create a new rack on that track, not copy the rack on track 1, otherwise track 10 will feed track 1 and the other tracks that feed track 1 will feed track 10. You copy the rack on track 10 to tracks you want to feed track 10.

There should be possibility to set the MIDI channel for the whole track. Picking clips one by one isn't the best way how to set the MIDI channel Again. I think a MIDI send plugin would solve this problem too.

Yes it would be better but you can right click the track and click "Select all clips in this track" and then change the midi channel.

[UnionS8]

You must always use the same instance of a rack to feed to a particular instrument. It sounds like you're using the same instance of a rack on tracks that are meant to feed a different instrument. For example, if you've got track 1 with a rack and instrument on it, you must always copy the rack on track 1 to tracks that you want to feed midi to the instrument on track 1. If you've got another instrument on track 10, you must create a new rack on that track, not copy the rack on track 1, otherwise track 10 will feed track 1 and the other tracks that feed track 1 will feed track 10. You copy the rack on track 10 to tracks you want to feed track 10.

I think I made copies of two different racks. I have to check it once again. I think making copies of different racks doesn't solve the issue

Yes it would be better but you can right click the track and click "Select all clips in this track" and then change the midi channel.

Thanx, I didn't know this little trick.

[AGreen]

I think I made copies of two different racks. I have to check it once again. I think making copies of different racks doesn't solve the issue

It does definitely. I've got an edit with an instrument on 2 different tracks and each instrument is fed by multiple tracks using a different rack for each instrument.

Copying a rack doesn't create a new rack, it creates another instance of the same rack and that's why it can be used to feed multiple tracks. Creating a new rack creates an instance of a completely different rack not related at all to any other racks.