Zebra automation smoothing

[chriscraws]

Can someone clarify exactly how automation is smoothed in Zebra 2?

I originally mapped synth parameters I wanted to modulate to the XY pads but found that instantaneous changes were smoothed internally by Zebra - there's a limit to how quickly the parameter can change. I found this was true for externally automating any of Zebra's parameters.

I found that the mod-wheel doesn't have this limitation (feature?) but as far as working inside Bitwig the mod-wheel is pretty inconvenient, as it can't be used effectively inside Bitwig's signature modulation scheme.

Ultimately this means for me:

- I'm limited to using the mod-wheel for any modulation that needs instantaneous changes, like saw-tooth plucks, which means I can only quickly modulate the synth in a single way.

- I need to use multiple automation lanes to modulate other post-Zebra effects - I can't map everything to the mod-wheel.

MSEG's aren't really an option since I use quite a bit of modulation.

Is there a way the XY pads can have the same level of precision as the Mod-wheel? Or some kind of workaround?

[Aerithos]

I did some testing, and I don't think the smoothing is occurring in Zebra. I just tested with a saw-tooth automation clip in FL Studio and got the same result you describe when automating the X1 Value parameter and the VCF1 Cutoff parameter. Changing the timebase for the project from 96 ppq to 960 ppq resulted in a slightly closer result.

So it seems to be a host issue unfortunately...

[chriscraws]

I didn't think to investigate quite as deeply. But now what I've found is that the problem occurs with varying degrees in plug-ins, but not any native devices. More notably, I opened ableton and had the exact same issue - smoothed automation on VSTs and plug-ins, but none on native devices. I'm wondering if there is an issue with VSTs on my computer


I'll contact bitwig support next, thanks for your help.