Is There Any Way to Change PRV Controller Names? [YES! For each softsynth in your project]

Hi,
 
Is there any way to change the controller names that are displayed in the PRV's controller pane?  Sort of like Drum Maps allow you to name your keyswitches.  Or how for hardware devices an instrument definition allows you to change the controller name that shows up in your controller pane.
 
I tend to assign a lot of controllers to different VSTi functions, and would like to see, for example, "Slide Speed" in the controller pane instead of just "CC 28" or whatever controller I assigned to slide speed.
 
Thanks in advance!  Hopefully there is a way to do this! ?????
 
Pete
 
 

Hey Promidi!
 
Thanks for the response!  Your post got me thinking last night ... and this morning I implemented a solution you led me to think of!  I remembered that I had LoopBe30, which is the key to making this happen.
 
Here's the prep:
1. In Preferences, make sure you have a LoopBe30 MIDI cable checked off for input and output for SONAR.
2. Create a new instrument definition, and set up the controller names you want seen for a given soft synth.
3. In the Instrument definitions window, associate the instrument you just made to LoopBe30 port 1 channel 1 (for example ... any LoopBe30 port/channel can be used)
3. Add an extra MIDI channel to your project (this is the drawback) ... I'll call this channel LoopBeMIDITrack for the rest of this post.
 
You already have a MIDI and Audio track for the soft synth from when you instantiated it.  I'll call the MIDI track for the soft synth SoftSynthMIDITrack.
 
Now, to make it happen:
1. Route the output of SoftSynthMIDITrack to the LoopBe30 channel and set SoftSynthMIDITrack's MIDI channel to the new instrument just made (it will be listed in the channel slot for the cannel association you made above).  This step gives you the controller names you want in PRV.
2. Now, in order to reestablish the MIDI connection to the soft synth, set the input of LoopBeMIDITrack to MIDI port and channel specified when you associated the new instrument.
3. Route the output of LoopBeMIDITrack to the soft synth (where SoftSynthMIDITrack used to go).
4. Activate input echo on LoopBe Track.
5. Start easily entering Controller curves into PRV with a big smile!  
 
A few tips:
a) You can also set up several different soft synths in one SONAR project in the same way, just associating the instrument with a different MIDI channel on the same LoopBe30 port, or on a different LoopBe30 Port.
b) If the extra CV real estate taken up by the added LoopBe30 tracks irritates you, you can hide them.
c) At any time, you can revert back to "the usual mode" by setting the output of SoftSynthMIDITrack back to the soft synth directly (as it originally was) and all will still work - you just lose the handy controller names in PRV.  But, remember all the LoopBe30 tracks and controller names you set up will just be sitting in wait, should you need them (see d).
d) At any time you can get your controller names back by setting the output of SoftSynthMIDITrack to back to the LoopBe 30 port) ... unless of course you have deleted that extra MIDI channel you had to make.  In which case ... remake it.
 
Hopefully this will be of use to someone.  Typically I guess one might have the pitch wheel, modulation, and perhaps expression as controllers used in PRV, so none of this is necessary.  But, if you're deranged like me, and want to have access to many of the soft synth's controls that aren't typically used and only have CC number designations, this makes it a lot easier, since you see the controller's function (or whatever you entered as a name) in the PRV's controller pane.
 
Pete