Sync controller 'behaviour' to Cubase music project

Hi members!

First off: I’ve learned so much from many solutions to problems on this forum, I thank you for that!

I’m working on making a song where a video will be played alongside after completion. Part of the video will show a computer display running Cubase, as well as a controller simultaneously. So far nothing really out of the ordinary, but now it becomes a bit strange…

The controller should show (as many as possible) flashing led lights, moving faders, meter bridge leds and several knobs (like mute, solo, record, select) that turn their lights on and off during playback of the song. All controller ‘movements/changes’ must be in sync with the tempo of the song. Movement of the motorized faders on the controller should also constantly show a sort of ‘wave’ like the kind you see a crowd perform in football stations, which while playing a song proved difficult (for me) but not impossible.
Manual operation of the controller itself during playback of the song will not be possible because then hands or fingers will show up in the video. So I thought about automating several functions that will show on the controller.

I work with Cubase 9.5 and the Icon QConProX controller.

To achieve the needed movements/changes on the controller I started with:
1 - adding an automated volume track to all midi and audio tracks, where values change throughout the song (obviously making the faders move).
2 - adding an automated tempo-track to all midi and audio tracks (making the sliders move).
3 - adding an automated panning track that changes left-right values throughout the song (activating changing leds around knobs).

So I’m on my way, but now I got stuck on how to turn ON or OFF the lights of solo/record/mute/select-knobs on the controller throughout the playing of the song.
Does anyone have a clue how I can make this happen?

I did try to add automated punch-in points for instance, but that only works for 1 punch-in point per track per project throughout the playing of the song (as far as I could find out).
I also tried making a macro to select a certain track (thus turning on a light on a select-knob on the controller) and then perform a record, mute or solo activity but I couldn’t find a way to address a specific track.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Kind greetings,
Mario Walzberg

Hi!

Only thing I can think of, wich should give you spot on control and easy edit.
Try bome midi translator.

What you do, is that you set the bome translator up to translate midi note to cc.

Now you can use the bome as your input for the generic remote. Setup control to the channels you need, the missing controls Or all of them.

Use midi track with output to bome translator and trigger the light show. Should give you easy edit options and synch everything up with the track.

Hi there Reflection,

Thank you for your very fast reply!
A whole new world opened to me after studying (a little bit of) Bome Midi Translator.
It looks like I will need quite some time to understand this and get it to work for me (I 'm not very much ‘into’ all the ins and outs of midi).

Can I ‘incorporate’ the midi-signals from pressing knobs on the controller into my project? On several tracks, even simultaneously?
Could you, before I dive further into studying the Bome, tell me if the normal working mode of my controller (configured through the Mackie Control ‘standard’ settings) with Cubase, can stay un-altered if I use the Bome in a single Cubase project?
In other words: Do I have to switch between the usual normal controller function and the Bome function while working in this specific Cubase project (or any other for that matter) ?

Thanks!

Yes you can record your button pressing on the controller. :slight_smile:

Yes the mackie control will run as normal :slight_smile:

No not at all. The one thing with this setup is keeping control over the midi track that you setup as edit track for the messages.
And I was maby thinking abit complex in my first post.

This will take you 2 min too setup the bome midi translator. Rest you do in Cubase.

-In the bome Midi translator, you need to activate the bome midi translator Midi input and Bome midi translator Midi output.
-In the routing menu you drag a midi thru between the bome midi in and output.
Thats all you have to do in bome Midi translator.
Added a photo.


In cubase
-you need to setup a midi track that has the controller as midi input.
-As midi output you select the Bome midi translator Midi Output.
-Now when you arm that track, it will pass your live use of the controller and also your recorded use of the controller.

-While the midi track is armed, you can open up the setup and ad a generic remote.
-Here you select the bomes midi translator midi as midi in and you can start to make new controls.
Added a photo


When you track your movement, you want to turn off the midi output on the channel, so you dont get crazy controller jumping, as you are splitting the controller at that point.
When you play back and edit your movement on the midi track, you want to turn off the arm track, so you dont get any disturbance from the controller. and just put on the bome midi output.

In preference you dont want “arm selected track” while doing this.

Thats all there is to it :slight_smile:
Might take some time setting up the generic remote. But I think you will have this up and running in a few houres, once you got the midi flowing.

Hi Reflection!

VERY very sorry I didn’t reply to your very kind and extensive solution! In all honesty: I ‘simply’ forgot to reply!

I never got to finishing the ‘light show’ situation I was hoping to create. Mainly because I got stuck on several things I didn’t understand well enough. But mostly due to not being confident in doing as you explained, and being afraid that my very well working configuration and settings would interfere with my normal working proces.

Although way too late with this response, a serious meant huge THANK YOU is in place here for the time and effort you took to answer my questions!