VST: Selector by Vague Software

[BillB]

I came across this
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/select ... e-software
and thought it could be ideal for sending CCs to MIDI hardware from a VST in Acoustica Mixcraft. Actually, the combination of reading Cakewalk INS files for Bank/Program Change and also using them to set knob values is one that I haven't seen elsewhere.

Unfortunately the weblink goes nowhere, or rather, links to a skateboard company!

Does anybody know of a download location or have a copy? It was described as freeware, so maybe it is lurking somewhere. Unfortunately I can't use ReaControl because Mixcraft doesn't allow it to pass MIDI to other tracks/ports. I was hoping that this Selector VST might be handled differently.

Otherwise, any suggestions for a VST-based MIDI CC controller? I have come across Bluecat Remote Control, and don't mind paying $36 but I'll kick myself if there is a free option. I do appreciate that the most sophisticated DAWs (Cubase/Logic) will handle a lot of this stuff internally, but Mixcraft doesn't, thus the search for a VST.

[BillB]

[Martin Walker]

Hi Bill,

I haven't been able to track it down either

I know this is of little compensation, but I did track down this post claiming that Selector was 'too buggy' to be really useful

https://answers.presonus.com/30258/impo ... ppointment

Martin

[BillB]

Thanks for checking, Martin. If it was buggy, then perhaps it’s as well not to invest too much time in it. Shame, though, it certainly looked like a good concept for using INS files for both patch/bank and CCs.

I really like Mixcraft, it’s as straightforward to use as it sets out to be, but it doesn’t have the more sophisticated MIDI handling and control of DAWs like Cubase, Logic, Reaper and Cakewalk. I want to use Mixcraft - very nice ‘performance grid’ (like an Ableton session if understand correctly) alongside the more linear approach. But as a keen hardware user, I keep looking sideways at the others....

More investigation required.

[TGStudio]

I have the app. Just registered to respond to your post. Yes, it's buggy, but you are welcome to try it out. Mixcraft is not really for live performance. I suggest Gig Performer. It can load INS files and send all kinds of CC, porgram/bank messages to external devices. It can do a lot more. Also, look into MIDI Lab by Soundigy. PM me and I will send you the app. Or can I post it here?

[DulacLancelot]

PM me and I will send you the app. Or can I post it here?

I'm very interested, too. Were you able to post it somewhere? Thank you.

[BillB]

Somebody on the Mixcraft forum found Selector in response to me complaining that ReaControl doesn’t work in Mixcraft.

The download link is
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/select ... /downloads

The forum post is here
https://forums.acoustica.com/viewtopic.php?t=28672

[BillB]

Just picking this one up again as I’m fairly actively setting up a number of hardware synths in Tracktion Waveform.

Selector VST has a usability advantage over ReaControl VST in that it displays an entire bank’s-worth of patches in a single pop-up page, whereas ReaControl provides a drop-down list of patches, requiring much scrolling.

Regarding Selector VST being ‘buggy’, thus far, I have found that if the .ins file is malformed (e.g. the list of bank names at the bottom of the file doesn’t match the header of each bank’s patch list) then it crashes, taking the host with it. However, if the .ins file is correctly written, it seems to work fine.

That means that larger files (e.g. listing 1000’s of patches on a Triton workstation or XV type module) provide more opportunities for errors, and therefore for crashes. So I will be inspecting the .ins files carefully.

I have also found that Tracktion Waveform has its own Bank/patch naming system, which uses .midnam (Performer DAW) or native .trackmidi files. These can be used to insert (multiple, if required) bank/prog changes into a track, which has potential advantages over simply adding a bank/patch VST to a track. However, there are a lot more .ins files out there than .midnam files…
To be investigated…