What DAWs (other than Cubase) Have MIDI Sends?

SONAR does do the same thing, just a different way. One that offers some advantages over the aux send model.

When you clone a MIDI track and check the "link to original" option, you're effectively creating an alternate routing for the MIDI data. It's still the original data, but now you can send it somewhere else just like you can with an aux send.

I believe this scheme is better. You're not limited to 4 sends. You can have, AFAIK, an unlimited number. And because you have a whole dedicated track for it, you can also insert effects, specify banks and patches, transpose, adjust timing and change the MIDI channel assignment. I don't know how much of that Cubase lets you do.

you can use this function in reaper, and very easy too...

just drop your vst effect into the track, then select your midi input, and your are ready to go, without any limits...

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to Absynth, but can you not just drop Absynth FX on a track, create a MIDI track, output it to Absynth FX, and then set up the relevant key triggers in the Perform tab in Absynth? 

sharke


I'm pretty clueless when it comes to Absynth, but can you not just drop Absynth FX on a track, create a MIDI track, output it to Absynth FX, and then set up the relevant key triggers in the Perform tab in Absynth? 

To use Absynth as as effect (processing some other synth's output), you'd need to be able to input MIDI and input audio on the same track.  Cubase's MIDI sends allegedly provide you with a way to do this (sending MIDI to any alternate destination that accepts MIDI input), but I'm at a loss to see how to accomplish it in Sonar.
 
Now, apart from the Aetherizer effect, who'd want to use one synth as an effect for another when we've got so many solid VST plug-in effects at our disposal in the first place?  Not a lot of people, I'm sure.  But as I said in an earlier post, I have a growing number of plug-ins which accept MIDI input and do useful things with note-on, velocity, and so forth.  Maybe these capabilities would only be used very occassionaly, but it would nice to know you could use them if you wanted.
 
I guess what I'd really like to have in Sonar is a MIDI-through destination after any device that accepts MIDI in.  Send your MIDI track to a synth track, but let that MIDI continue on to some other destination, which in turn could have a MIDI-through, and so on.  That would be just like the real world ... or at least the real world as it was before software synths dominated the landscape.  I can't believe it would be a great technical feat to provide this feature in a DAW.  It's one that would be immensely convenient to have in some situations.
 
 

dmbaer

sharke


I'm pretty clueless when it comes to Absynth, but can you not just drop Absynth FX on a track, create a MIDI track, output it to Absynth FX, and then set up the relevant key triggers in the Perform tab in Absynth? 

To use Absynth as as effect (processing some other synth's output), you'd need to be able to input MIDI and input audio on the same track.  Cubase's MIDI sends allegedly provide you with a way to do this (sending MIDI to any alternate destination that accepts MIDI input), but I'm at a loss to see how to accomplish it in Sonar.
 
Now, apart from the Aetherizer effect, who'd want to use one synth as an effect for another when we've got so many solid VST plug-in effects at our disposal in the first place?  Not a lot of people, I'm sure.  But as I said in an earlier post, I have a growing number of plug-ins which accept MIDI input and do useful things with note-on, velocity, and so forth.  Maybe these capabilities would only be used very occassionaly, but it would nice to know you could use them if you wanted.
 
I guess what I'd really like to have in Sonar is a MIDI-through destination after any device that accepts MIDI in.  Send your MIDI track to a synth track, but let that MIDI continue on to some other destination, which in turn could have a MIDI-through, and so on.  That would be just like the real world ... or at least the real world as it was before software synths dominated the landscape.  I can't believe it would be a great technical feat to provide this feature in a DAW.  It's one that would be immensely convenient to have in some situations.
 
 

Did you try what Glyn suggested and insert Absynth in an FX bin or chain as a synth instead of Absynth FX? I tried it last night and it works, i.e. audio is going into Absynth and coming out processed by Absynth effects. You can then create a MIDI track and set its output to Absynth - it will show up in the list of possible outputs since you inserted the synth version and not the FX version. Like I said, I'm at this point clueless about using MIDI to control the effects in Absynth, but it sounds like this will accomplish what you want to do. I did however throw Absynth as an effect on a Scarbee A-200 track and tried one of the Absynth effect presets, a phaser. It sounded great and I'm sticking with it!

Worth pointing out that you cannot insert anything as a synth into a ProChannel FX Chain however. It has to be in the FX bin. 

sharke

Did you try what Glyn suggested and insert Absynth in an FX bin or chain as a synth instead of Absynth FX?

Yep, and it worked like a charm.  The thread Glyn cited had just what I needed to figure how this works (and I had some insights into signal routing in Sonar as a bonus).  One trick that may not be obvious: you have two MIDI tracks, and if you want to hear sound when playing on the keyboard (as opposed to playing back two linked MIDI tracks already populated with events), you need to remove the autopilot output echo and explicitly turn it on for both MIDI channels.  This may seem obvious, but it wasn't to me without a little head scratching required first.  But I love that Absynth Aetherizer effect, so this is a welcome solution to have in the bag.
 
Next challenge is to figure out how do tell Sonar that an effect accepts MIDI.  I believe I read how to do it somewhere and expect it can be done when I'd like to send note-on events to a FabFilter effect or similar.
 
In any case, it's good to learn that this can be accomplished.  Granted the setup is a little convoluted, but then it's not something you need to do all that frequently.  I still think a MIDI through capability would be sweet, but I can live with things the way they are.
 
Thanks all for the help.

swamptooth


in the synth rack you can click the synth properties dropdown and select "enable midi output".  comes in handy with midi generated from reaktor and kontakt scripts

+1 - Also very useful with the Music Lab "Real" guitar products as you can use the struming engine and chord detection with other synths.

dmbaer

swamptooth


in the synth rack you can click the synth properties dropdown and select "enable midi output".  comes in handy with midi generated from reaktor and kontakt scripts

OK ... this sounds like MIDI through to me.  But question: does this work for any synth, or does the synth itself have to internally support a MIDI out capability?  I can see that some synths that generate arp note events, for example, might want to support a MIDI out (or through if you prefer).  But for those that add nothing MIDI-wise, there's no motivation for the developer to include the capability.  Thus my question.

No - its not MIDI through. It only works on synths that generate MIDI, like the Musiclab guitars which intrepret the user input and change it into something else.