Parameters Galore!
One of the strengths of Bidule is the way in which you can easily map and manipulate parameters.
Previously, we've looked at using MIDI notes to control parameters as well as modulating a parameter with an LFO.
Beyond these options, Bidule also lets us map parameters in a number of ways.
This post will explore two related concepts:
• How to set up parameter automation in Ableton Live, so that any parameter in Bidule can be automated like any other parameter in Live (i.e. in its own track lane and via automation recording).
• How to link one parameter of Bidule to one or more than one other parameter, thereby creating "macro" controls that allow the control of multiple parameter easily.
Automating Parameters from Ableton Live
As you can imagine by now, we can create very complex Bidule patches if we want to. These patches might include many parameters, easily into the hundreds.
Although this may be great for control within the Bidule patch itself, it makes things more complex outside of the Bidule patch.
Imagine that we have a reverb effect within Bidule, and we want to control a given parameter within that reverb effect from Ableton Live, via plugin automation.
With any other Ableton Live plugin, every parameter that can be automated is readily available with its own track automation, ready for writing / recording automation data.
However, this is not the case with parameters inside of Bidule patches - these are contained "within" Bidule.
As a result, we need to manually create a 'bridge' between Live and Bidule. This tells Live that we want to automate one of the parameters found within Bidule, and which parameter it is that we want to automate.
To manually create this 'bridge':
• Click on the 'parameters' button at the top of the Bidule patch window.
• You will see a list of Bidule objects within your patch in two columns: source and target
• Locate the 'Bidule Plugin_0' reference in the source column
• Expand this reference so that you see a long list of 512 parameters in the source column
• Choose the first parameter (named Parameter 1) in the expanded list of Bidule Plugin_0 items
• In the target column, click on the parameter that is to be automated. You might need to expand a Bidule object to see all of its parmeters
• Click on the 'Link' button below the two columns
• You should see the new link listed at the bottom of the linked parameters list below the two columns
In the example below, we've selected Parameter 1 from the Bidule Plugin_0 as our source parameter. The target parameter that has been selected is the Room Size of the Freeverb_0 Bidule object.
Now, when we look at our Bidule AU plugin device in Ableton Live in our Audio Effects area of our track, we can see a slider and a reference to "parameter 1", which is mapped to the Room Size of the Freeverb_0 object.
We can move this slider in the same way as any other Live plugin parameter. This also means that this newly-created Parameter 1 has its own automation lane, as you might expect.
This means you can draw in automation within the automation lane using Live's pencil tool, or you can record automation by moving the slider in the plugin itself. Very handy!
The process outlined above can be repeated for up to 512 parameters, giving us an extraordinary level of control over our Bidule patch. Consider this when using various parameters within Bidule and when creating different settings.
Linking Parameters within the Bidule Patch
Besides automating parameters as shown above, Bidule also allows us to link multiple parameters within a given patch.
This lets us create macro controls, where you can control multiple parameters by moving just one slider or changing one variable. Let's go through a simple example of this!
Consider the following simple Bidule patch. We have audio coming into the patch at the top. This audio is routed through a Freeverb object. The output of the Freeverb object is then routed to the mixer. So far so good.
However, there is a simple Variable object (see the object palette under Building Blocks > Maths > Variable) that has been renamed to 'Variable_0 - Macro Control 1'.
The aim of this Variable object is so that we can control more than one thing from the one slider. In fact, we don't even have to connect anything within Bidule using patch cords.
What we have to do is link the value parameter of our Variable object (i.e. the value of our slider / number that we enter when we double-click on the Variable object). We can link this parameter to other parameters, such as the level parameter and panning parameter of channel 1 of the Mixer object.
Once we have created these links, whenever we move the value of the Variable_0 - Macro Control 1 slider, this will automatically change the value of the channel 1 volume fader and channel 1panning control of the Mixer object.
To create these links:
• Click on the 'parameters' button at the top of the Bidule patch window.
• You will see a list of Bidule objects within your patch in two columns: source and target
• Locate the Variable_0 - Macro Control 1 object in the source column, and expand it
• Select the Value parameter
• Locate the Mixer object in the target column, and expand it
• Select the Volume Channel 1 parameter, and click the Link button below the two columns
• Scroll down to the bottom of the linked parameters list below the two columns - you should see the newly created link
• Now to repeat for the panning control!
• Locate the Variable_0 - Macro Control 1 object in the source column, and expand it
• Select the Value parameter
• Locate the Mixer object in the target column, and expand it
• Select the Pan Channel 1 parameter, and click the Link button below the two columns
• Scroll down to the bottom of the linked parameters list below the two columns - you should see the newly created link
Once you have finished, close the Parameters window. Move the value slider of the Variable_0 - Macro Control object (you will need to double-click on the object to open the object window).
Check the value of the volume fader and the panning control of channel 1 of the Mixer window - you will see the values change accordingly!
Although this is a simple demonstration of this concept, we can take this idea much further.
It's All About Control
Hopefully this short post gives you some ideas about what is possible with the parameters inside and outside of Bidule. Once again - like all of these posts - this should be taken as a starting point more than anything else, in that experimentation is always encouraged.
0 comments:
Post a Comment