I am looking for something like a generic, customizable VST plugin to control external MIDI gear - similar to what the ancient studioware provided.  I did a web research but did not find anything really.
 
I'd like to be able to create a custom display of knobs with labels that send certain MIDI CCs down specified MIDI channels; ability to change patches would also be nice ...
 
Something like FX chains in terms of the looks, but controlling outboard MIDI synths and FX.
 
I would use it mostly to adjust settings on external Eventide FX or certain hardware synths (which have their own UIs but need to be connected via USB and then disregard received MIDI ... hence can only be used with Sonar and controlled via MIDI automation lanes or via the customs UIs - but not both at the same time.)

reaktor cant be beaten for this. it might be overkill for your needs though, it can do so much more than that too, but at ~$200 it might be out of budget.

some other considerations would be synthedit (~$120) and flowstone, formally synthmaker (cant find a price for this. maybe its free?). i have used both (but havent used flowstone since it was under the name of synthmaker) and they are both great for your needs.


i have done a quick search and found ctrlr, which sounds like it might also work for your needs without all the extras and it appears to be completely free. i havent tried it myself though so cant be certain it will meet your needs.

Thanks for sharing this information.
 
I was not aware that reactor could do that. I do have version 5 but to be honest never used it for more than dialing in and adjusting presets. so far it just stroke me as overly complicated (and 5 manuals for a single application somehow terrified me).  Anyway, I gave it a quick try and actually could manage what I had in mind (i.e. create custom knobs that change settings on external gear).
 
However, over the weekend I played with CtrLr and realized that this is the more powerful tool ... as it e.g. allows to send different messages to different MIDI channels, effectively allowing to control different FX modules from the same custom-made GUI, which is very attractive to me ...

reaktor can do all that too :D
reaktor is very in depth and would probably take far longer than CtrLr to learn, but i would recommend it highly.
the reason it is so complex is because you can do almost anything you can dream up with it, which unfortunately can be a little daunting at first, but it pays off in the long run.
i dont work for NI honest XD

parricide
reaktor can do all that too :D

I do not have Reaktor, but according to http://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/native-instruments-reaktor-6
it has no general scripting. For external hardware control at least some scripting is a must. I can be wrong if Reactor has visual programming capabilities of LabVIEW, but that is the only case I know where external scripting can be avoided.
 

Here is a free alternative that might work:  http://en.soundigy.com/

jimfogle
Here is a free alternative that might work:  http://en.soundigy.com/

I do not see how to define knobs there... It looks more like MIDI hub and/or MIDI FX.

azslow3

parricide
reaktor can do all that too :D

I do not have Reaktor, but according to
it has no general scripting. For external hardware control at least some scripting is a must.
 

why is scripting a must? i have sent MIDI to external devices many times with no problems from reaktor as well as other software that does not have scripting capabilities.

I do not claim it is not possible to send MIDI to external gear or that is not useful, sorry if my statement could be interpreted that way. Reaktor is for sure very powerful DSP performer and can send the output of some processing to (MIDI) output.
 
It is just so then when you want control something and have 2 possibilities, one with scripting and another not, the first solution in general wins. That has an explanation in related theory (for controlling systems), but I do not think that is a good time and place to discuss that Practical consequence of that in music is for example unavoidably huge number of panels, knobs and switches in softsynths, including Reactor.
 
I do not even claim that Reaktor can not do what Robert wants, probably it can. But what I need requires scripting...
If Reaktor can parse arbitrary SysEx and somehow communicate with outside world without MIDI, I am ready to agree that I am wrong about it. I just got an impression it is more to use / modify / create its own "virtual hardware"  then for operating fixed external one.