I notice that if using VST/AU plugins in a MIDI track that the track volume faders in the mixer view have no effect.

Please fix this.

Hi Nonchai,

We use MIDI CC7 for volume on MIDI tracks, which is standard, but some synthesizers don't respond to that MIDI CC by default.

Which synths are you having trouble with, specifically? Many of them can have their volume mapped to MIDI CC7 by the user, which solves the problem right away.

Thanks
Kent
PG Music

SynthMaster One

and FM8

Hi Nonchai,

In Synthmaster, you need to right-click on the Volume knob and select "MIDI Learn (Global)", then move the volume slider for that track on Band-in-a-Box's mixer. Synthmaster is now mapped to MIDI CC7 for volume.

I just loaded the FM8 demo, and its volume was already mapped to CC7 without me having to do anything. I move the volume slider on the BIAB mixer, and FM8's volume slider moves at the same time. If this isn't working for you, you may have accidentally removed that mapping. You can see the MIDI mappings by clicking on Master and looking in the "MIDI Controller Assignment" list on the right. If you right-click on that list and select Reset List, that'll probably get it back.

Thanks
Kent
PG Music

useful to know -

But surely - wouldn't it be a lot simpler to just have an adjustable gain stage that takes the output from ANY plugin and then allows one to adjust final volume - regardless of how the internal volume is controlled in a plugin MIDI-wise?

This is how literally every app I have used that has hosting of plugins - has behaved. whether a DAW, a dedicated host like MainStage - whatever. The volume one hears from the output is via a final "post-fade" type gain stage - adjustable by slider.

Now we have a piano-roll editor in BIAB Mac - all these issues become more important. Because being able to compose and edit a melody in BIAB n the MELODY track ( or other MIDI track for that matter ) and use one's own preferred plugins - depends on having all the normal access to the plugin one expects.

This means control of volume, being able to switch plugins etc while a track is playing - AND being able to audition and hear what one is playing-in when one is recording a MIDI part - and so on.

Hi Nonchai,

Volume control works this way because Band-in-a-Box usually uses one instance of the same multi-channel synthesizer (software or hardware) for all of your MIDI sounds, so attenuating the volume by using a gain stage after the synth wouldn't work for individual track volumes, it would affect all of the tracks at once.

The gain stage method works well in a DAW because each MIDI track generally has its own instance of a synth (which only became possible in BIAB very recently).

I'll be happy to submit a request to optionally use that method only when softsynths are assigned to channels other than "Default Synth", and have volume work on them the same way it works on audio tracks. I can't think of any reason that wouldn't work.

Cheers
Kent

Please can you ask your developers to fix this.

If this is not working for ( extremely powerful award-winning and popular synth plugin ) SYNTHMASTER then doubtless there are many other plugins for which exactly the same applies.

It is simply unacceptable that the MIXER track-volume fader control in the BIAB MIXER panel/window does precisely NOTHING when I try to use it to adjust volume when hosting a VST or AU plugin instrument in BIAB that doesn't happen to adhere to some archaic General MIDI specification.

This is a BUG.

Don't give me "reasons" or excuses for why this is somehow an "intended feature".

FIX IT.

AND FIX IT AND RELEASE it in a DOT RELEASE.
I DONT EXPECT TO HAVE TO WAIT ALMOST A YEAR just to get this fixed- and ONLY IF... I PAY the upgrade fee for it in a BIAB 2019. Or even a paid-for 2018.5

PG Music added the ability to host virtual instruments. It really isn't too much to ask that the mixer-fader then can be used to ..... you know..... control its volume.... and all that...

Oliver Twist.mode ... here we come again.....

Hi Nonchai,

I agreed with you when we last discussed this, and submitted a detailed feature request on your behalf, which included a link to this thread. I can't guarantee when or if the request would be implemented, but it has already been passed along, with plenty of relevant information.

Thanks
Kent
PG Music