Using EnergyXT without using the sequencer by ik_ik_ik
I tend not to "sequence" and that's the whole beauty of the main window approach for me. I was so sick and tired of the linear and, most of all, premeditated approach that sequencers force you to work in. The main window lets me compose and react to the music not design and architect it.
I tend to set up multiple MIDI Part comps in which are multiple parts with individual triggers (some in play groups, some in mute groups, some independent). I'll map these to various keys and usually stick to some sort of system e.g. percussion parts on C1, D1, E1, F1, etc. I'll usually name the comps to show what their trigger keys are. I'll usuallly use one MIDI Part comp per instrument but sometimes use multiple ports and layer things up in different ways.
Some parts contain notes, some CC data, some both. Often I'll work with parts of various different lengths.
I'll also often use Arpeggiator comps and sometimes route parts into others to trigger them in interesting ways (a modular form of sequencing if you look at it that way).
On top of that I sometimes use my own plugins to process the MIDI events in interesting ways to make things more dynamic - switching, transposing, offseting, etc. For example I have an arpeggiator create a hi-hat pattern that is 13 16ths long and pass it through a plugin that scales velocity but that scaling is modulated by an envelope that is cycling in a pattern that is 17 bars long (prime numbers are nice for this stuff).
I'll generally use multiple mixers to create groups (e.g. a mixer to handle all the outputs from a multi output VSTi such as Drumatic) and then either set up individual or shared send ot insert effects - the ability to quickly route one signal into an effect somewhere else (and see what's happening!) is fantastic.
I'll route incoming CC data to various destinations and map CCs to whatever I want to control on the fly for that particular composition - a few mixer levels, send levels, VSTi parameters, etc. Nice thing about this is being able to easily modulate various things with one controller if that's the way I want to do it at that time.
I tend to start with a blank canvas every time - just eight channel mixer via a VST limiter to the master out.
I work much the same way whether on my laptop only (i.e. software only) or in the studio where I do similar things but route the MIDI to my hardware via multiple MIDI Patcher comps and VST2MID plugins to the various ports and channels on AMT8 Midi Interface that everything hangs from. In the studio it's usually MIDI only although sometimes I work with a hybrid of MIDI and audio from within XT.
The flexibility is immense. I don't doubt that a lot of this could be done in or via the sequencer but the transparency and explicit routing flexibilty that the main window always offers is so important. I suppose at the end of the day the point is that I'm sequencing more or less everything on the fly rather than a sequencer sequencing everything. Horses for courses though.
Here's a couple of examples that might help explain some of ways I work in the main window as I was trying to describe. ( also see the KvR thread: To Main Window Addicts : How do you sequence ? )
1. Studio Example...
The shaded area in the bottom contain a MIDI Chs comps for each of the hardware units in the studio. Each MIDI Chs comp maps the relevant MIDI channel(s) to those the unit is set up to receive e.g. for a multitimbral unit set to receive on channels 9-12 the MIDI Chs comp maps input channels 1-4 to output chs 9-12. These MIDI Chs comps are then connected to the relevant MIDI ports of my AMT8 MIDI interface via TobyBear's VST2MID plugins (six instances at the bottom). In this way I don't have to worry about setting the right MIDI channels anywhere else (just use channel one for the first sound, two for the second, etc. - it's a bit like setting up the environment in Logic.
This example has four core MIDI parts labelled Melody, Beats, Bass and Stabs. Each MIDI part is named with the trigger keys that are used to toggle the various parts they contain (so it's easier to remember when I'm performing/recording) e.g. C1, D1, E1, F1 and G1 are the trigger keys to toggle the various Beats parts.
The Melody and Beats MIDI Parts use multiple output ports so I can process the parts in different ways e.g. each of the parts within Beats pass into different arpeggiators and each of the parts within Melody pass through my own plugins that modulate note velocity under the control of envelopes that are cycling at different periods (a 31 beat cycle for the top envelope/velocity modulator as shown in the brackets).
I've expanded two of the more complex MIDI Part comps so you can see how the parts, triggering, grouping and output ports are setup.
You can see in the "C1>G1 - Beats" MIDI Part that there are five parts set to be toggled by C1, D1, E1, F1 and G1. Each part is sent to a unique output port. Some of the parts are four beats long and some three (I've named the parts to show that in brackets). Sometimes in this kind of set up I'll use multiple parts from the same port to trigger different Arpeggiator patterns from different notes too (or add a plugin to transpose the notes going into the Arpeggiators under CC control).
In the "C2>F2 - Melody" MIDI Part are four parts set to be toggeled by C2, D2, E2 and F2. Again set to output to unique output ports and again the parts are of different lengths. Also in this example the third and fourth parts have been assigned to Mute group 1 so triggering the fourth part with F2 will stop the third part if it is playing and visa versa. Play groups could be used to use one key to trigger a few parts at the same time (or they can be assigned the same trigger note).
Connected to the Master In is a MIDI Patcher comp labelled MIDI Filter. This is set up to filter out all notes on the right hand port so only CCs appear there to send to wherever I need them (in this case just to a Korg Wavestation A/D). The left hand port is connected to the various MIDI parts to pass the trigger notes to them. There are other ways I do this depending on the complexity required or other limits imposed by the hardware in particular; this is a basic example.
There's also an envelope (named CC16) that is passing CC16 events directly into the Korg Wavestation A/D. Likewise an envelope (named CC17) passing CC17 events directly to the Yamaha FS1R.
A couple of examples of some of the inherent flexibility of this kind of setup:
- I could simply (and importantly visibly) quickly connect the right hand port of the MIDI Filter to one of the velocity modulation plugins and then use assign a CC fader to manually control the modulation instead of an envelope (maybe tweaking the CC Map of the velocity modulation plugin if necessary).
- I could disconnect or reconnect any of the Melody outputs to different velocity modulators e.g. I could connect them all through one modulator. The important thing is I can easily see what is going where and what is controlling what.
2. Laptop Example...
This set up uses only software so there are no MIDI routing and output processing as in the previous example.
Again I've used a MIDI Patcher (named MIDI Filter) to provide CCs only on its right hand port for controlling various parameters of plugins and the mixers I've used.
There are various MIDI Parts (Arp, Mel, Slices and Strings) that are again named with their corresponding trigger keys.
The nice thing about this example is the use of various mixers to create groups and provide flexibility with effects.
There's one Mixer in the middle to handle all the Sampler's outputs and send to a couple of effects plugins (some of this mixer's channel and send levels are under CC control).
There's another "main" Mixer at the bottom to blend everything through a limiter for recording via the Master Out.
I've also used a single channel mixer (also under CC control) to act as a simple send from the left-hand Synth to the Bouncy effect plugin.
A couple of examples of some of the inherent flexibility of this kind of setup:
- I could simply route the Strings Synth's output through another single channel "send" mixer into the Reverb effect. Then I could control its level via CC from an envelope, a MIDI Part or manual control from a MIDI fader.
- I could add a third send to the Sampler's Mixer and route this into one of the Synth plugins to process any or all of the Sampler's outputs through the Synth (if it supports such a thing).
Again the most important thing is that it's so easy to see what's routed where, triggered by what or controlling what, etc.
As I wrote previously I sometimes work with a hybrid of software and hardware so there are elements of both these examples combined into one.
A further step into is I'll also sometimes use audio inputs and outputs in eXT to process hardware based audio through software plugins, etc. I'll use the send/returns or group inserts of my hardware mixer (an A&H GS3000) to integrate that flexibly. A multi channel audio interface makes that really work well as you can set up some of its audio inputs and outputs to work as sends/returns with the hardware mixer independently of the main audio channels. The opposite is possible too - to use hardware effects or synths to process software based audio from within eXT.
There are various different ways to record (internally/externally) depending on the way I've been working above.
There are so many more things I could show or write (even about these two examples) but there's really no end. Hope these notes help to show some of the ways I work and the inherent workflow the main window is amazing for. Not a linear sequence in sight, it's all about performance (whether composing, recording, etc.). Its not a panacea though! Just a couple of ways I use eXT and definitely not suitable for many types of work. Hope this gives some ideas though.