CC values are being saved (& recalled) in .gig file, without my consent

General discussion about Gig Performer
1

In one of my rackspaces I made a single change to a patch (“ensemble”) in a Reaktor 5 plugin, simply to decrease the patch’s volume, and then I saved the .gig file. Now, whenever I load the .gig file and switch to that rackspace, the Reaktor patch plays back with square-wave pitch modulation, which is something that should only happen when I depress my expression pedal. Apparently, when I saved the volume-level change, my expression pedal was not fully off, and its CC value was saved along with my change.

So I did some testing. After opening the .gig file and rackspace, and confirming that by default my patch plays back with the pitch modulation, I opened the Reaktor plugin and saved the ensemble to my filesystem. I closed GP without saving, then reopened the .gig file and rackspace. The Reaktor plugin still played with modulation. Then I opened the Reaktor plugin and loaded the saved ensemble file, and this time it played WITHOUT the modulation.

This tells me that the “initial” CC value of my expression pedal is being saved by GP itself – maybe within the rackspace variation? I’m not using any widgets at all in this gigfile – the MacBook is out of my reach (and view) when I’m playing onstage, so I control it exclusively through MIDI messages from my keyboard. I don’t see any GP setting that would enable (or disable) the saving of initial CC values, yet this is what’s happening.

I’ve fixed my .gig file by opening the rackspace in question, zeroing my expression pedal, and resaving the .gig file. Now the modulation no longer happens by default after I load the .gig file and the rackspace, which is good. However, I don’t want any CC values to be saved by GP without my consent, so how can I prevent this from happening in the future?

The .gig file in question is one that I use on a MacBook onstage. If I open the .gig file on a Windows PC, I have to change the plugin from Reaktor 5 AudioUnits to Reaktor 5 VST and then load the ensemble file, so I’m not able to observe this behavior on Windows right now. But that doesn’t mean it’s a Mac-only issue.

2

When you save a gig the plugin state is stored within the gig file.
So each change you make in plugin parameters are saved in the gig file.

3

The thing is, the state of an expression pedal has nothing to do with the plugin, and is never saved when you use the plugin’s own File Save to save its patch.

4

But your expression pedal is changing some parameter of the plugin, right?

5

…and exactly this is what causes the issue!
You connected your controller directly to the plugin, and Gig Performer doesnt store the CC but rather the whole state of the plugin. So if you leave with your pedal pushed, this state will be saved and then recalled on the next acivation.
Would you have used a widget as an “inbetween” instead, you had the options to always return with a specified value, to ignore variations, to scale the value, …
Life could be so easy with widgets! :wink:

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6

No it’s not changing parameters, it’s just a control value that’s wired into a modulation input of an oscillator. It’s a real-time change that doesn’t affect any patch settings.

7

But the expression pedal has influence on a plugin parameter and each change - even when not exposed as a parameter - is stored as plugin state in the gig file.

And be aware that a plugins preset is never recalled, the stored state is recalled.

So when you change some plugin parameters and save in the plugins own preset system and do not save the gig and you reload, not the preset is loaded but the stored plugin state.

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8

Not the behavior I’d expect, as this would never happen on a hardware synth. But as you explain it, it does make sense. So, I’ll be extra careful to zero all controllers that affect the sound, before saving. It is interesting to learn that widgets would be another way around this issue – I’ve always avoided them b/c I can’t see or touch them when I’m playing, but clearly they have uses beyond being seen or manipulated on-screen.

1 Like
9

You can also avoid saving ? For a live gig, you have everything set up, you tweak whatever you want and at the end of the gig, you don’t save.

10

It does not happen on a hardware Synth because you always have to recall stored presets

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11

I would always use widgets for controlling plugin parameters by hardware controllers.

12

You don’t have to see or touch them when playing — I don’t even look at my computer when I’m playing. Just connect your expression controller to a widget and have the widget control the parameter.

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13

Neither do I. Because all my midi operations are carried out wirelessly from an iPad, I never have to touch the widgets at all. In fact, I create a large song title that completely hides all the widgets and is large enough to be seen by some of the audience when I’m playing.

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