KVR Audio

Spirograph · Post by **Spirograph** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 4:56 am

Hey gang,

I have a question about Chainer. The demo doesn't allow you to load presets, so I don't know if it'll do what I need it to do. What I want is a way to control my VSTs using my Evolution UC-16 and UC-33e in various hosts (FL Studio and Tracktion in particular). I want it so I can load a VST and have all the parameters set to be controlled by my Evolution gear. Am I right to assume that I can load up a VST, map the parameters so my Evolution gear can control them, and then save a preset that can be loaded again with all the MIDI-linked parameters intact? I'm looking for quickness, and having to reconfigure the gear each time is a pain in the ass. Can Chainer do this? I think it can, but I want to know for sure before I purchase it. Thanks.

S-graph

Mr. Slater's Parrot · Post by **Mr. Slater's Parrot** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:09 am

Yes, it does that very well.

You can even load up several instruments and effects, map midi cc's to the controls of any of the above, save the configuration, and then reuse that saved configuration from one project to the next in whatever hosts you are using Chainer in (or in Chainer standalone, too, of course).

Chainer, when used inside another host, is a great tool for reusing config.s, for layering, for midi-learn, for all sorts of things.

Spirograph · Post by **Spirograph** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:16 am

Sexellent, just what I wanted to hear. My external controllers end up gathering dust cause it's such a pain to remap them. Been looking into Chainer for awhile but wanted to make sure it could do what I wanted before I took the plunge.

Are there any other programs that anyone else knows of that would work too? I like to keep my options open.

Thanks for the input.

S-graph

VitaminD · Post by **VitaminD** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:19 am

have you considered EnergyXT?

soma · Post by **soma** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:21 am

That's about All I'm using it for these days in tracktion anyway. Great software, but been meaning to replace it with xt ever since I started using xt to test my freeware downloads. (gotta love drag and drop.)
Yeah Chainer is close to the best host ever.

Spirograph · Post by **Spirograph** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:23 am

Heh, funny you should ask that. I've been dabbling with it lately (even have it open as we speak!) and am still in the process of getting my head around it. I like its innovative approach to everything, but I'm not quite sold on it yet. Right now it's not recognizing my Evolution gear when I run it through FL Studio. I have MIDI-Ox take care of all my MIDI inputs but for some reason I can't get it to "learn" while in energyXT. It works fine in FL Studio, so I don't know what's up. I've also gotten it to work when it's a standalone, so until I figure it out, I'm still not convinced of its power.

S-graph

Warmonger · Post by **Warmonger** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:34 am

I still prefer Chainer's handling of plugin management over eXT's. Having separate "Effects" and "Instruments" categories really saves me a lot of searching time. I also like the way the plugin folders are checked only when the program starts up. I hate that delay while eXT lists the contents of a large VSTPlugins folder.

It's too bad the developer has pretty much disappeared though; with just a couple of improvements, I'd be using Chainer instead of eXT for some quick noodling with VSTi's.

Mr. Slater's Parrot · Post by **Mr. Slater's Parrot** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:43 am

I have both Chainer and EnergyXT, too. EnergyXT has tons of features. But, I prefer Chainer as a really nice, simple, lightweight container for managing (possibly layered) VST instruments, effects, and presets inside a host.

If, OTOH, I need modular routing, an arp, etc., it's EnergyXT, of course.

Spirograph · Post by **Spirograph** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:00 am

Well now that I have some of you energyXT cats here, how would I go about doing the above example? I've mapped out a VST (in this case, Claw) and saved it as both a FXB and FXP. However, whenever I try and reload Claw and load up the FXB and\or FXP, the MIDI linked settings don't work anymore. Is this a limitation of the demo or am I doing something wrong.

Thanks.

S-graph

Sicklecell666 · Post by **Sicklecell666** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:10 am

eXT in demo will not load any XT presets.

Spirograph · Post by **Spirograph** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:18 pm

But am I right to assume that if I bought the full version of energyXT that I'd be able to configure my Evolution gear and save the settings for later use?

S-graph

asseca · Post by **asseca** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:34 pm

Yes...

Spirograph · Post by **Spirograph** » Thu Jan 27, 2005 6:46 pm

Double Post... sorry.

Question About Chainer