The MIDI capture is a potentially amazing feature hidden in plain sight in the bottom right corner of Scaler - a small bit of work could really turn it into an incredibly powerful feature.
I use Bitwig as my primary daw, and one of the features I miss most about FL and Ableton is the MIDI logging
Those daws are just constantly recording MIDI on a timer, so at any time if you play some notes you want to keep but forgot to record first, you can just go and dump the MIDI log onto a new MIDI pattern, and thereby never lose the idea.
The MIDI capture in Scaler could totally perform this same function in daws that do not natively have the MIDI logging feature, such as Bitwig, Scaler just needs a few tweaks to work this way smoothly.
Need to be able to set a timer for the MIDI capture, so that it only captures midi going back a set duration, and doesnt end up hours long. Being able to choose that duration, last 10 minutes, last 30 minutes, last hour, etc, would be super helpful.
Also would be really helpful to be able to assign launchkeys / MIDI CC / modulators to the Capture button, that way I could start capture with a simple button press without having to open up Scaler. Would be cool to be able to save multiple captures within Scaler as well, but not strictly needed.
Then I could make a template for Bitwig that just has Scaler on a send track, capturing MIDI from all channels at all times
This feature would be huge for me, would open up an entirely new area of usefulness for Scaler and I think would be very popular for anyone using a daw that doesn’t have a native MIDI logging feature!
What is it you want to capture after the fact? Playing the pads? Or something else? I can be playing the pads and realize that I played a nice order of them and Ableton does remember that. Does Bit Wig not do that yet?
Yeah exactly that, though I’m sometimes on a keyboard instead of pads. Sometimes I’m messing around playing notes while setting up an instrument, and play something dope, but it was before I started recording playback so it’s just lost unless I can re-perform it exactly. Super helpful to be able to have that MIDI always being captured just in case.
As far as I know Bitwig doesn’t have that feature, maybe they will add it at some point.
Seems more of a DAW function to me. You’d have to only be playing on the Scaler track for that to work in Scaler. I’m usually playing along with Scaler on another track.
Not true in Bitwig, or in other DAWS maybe, depending on how you set it up. Bitwig is a modular environment so I can send signals wherever I want, whether it’s midi or audio or modulation or automation data.
Super easy for me to set up Scaler on a send track, then send all MIDI from all channels to that send track. Then it works basically as if it was a DAW function. I open Scaler, click capture MIDI, then close the Scaler window and it just keeps on capturing MIDI until I tell it to stop. Then I use the drag function to drop the captured MIDI onto another track in Bitwig.
Bitwig is maybe unique in that you can put instrument plugins anywhere, even on audio tracks or send tracks. But then I don’t have to be using a send; you could just put Scaler on a normal instrument track and make sure all the MIDI notes you’re playing on other tracks are still being routed to that Scaler track.
It works pretty well for me, I just wish Scaler had a timer option for MIDI capture. I do realize this is kindof a fringe function compared to what Scaler is intended to be used for. It’s just the only plugin I’ve found that does this function at all, and it actually works pretty well despite not being the intended use.
I think it would be awesome if they expanded this feature more
This isn’t what I meant of course. I can’t comment how Bit Wig functions nor how to capture MIDI other then the way I play. Good luck and we’ll see what future Scalers bring. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be amazing.
There is another thread that talks about Scaler use in a similar fashion to yours. Don’t recall the author unless it was you.
Cheers,
I guess I don’t understand what you mean by ‘you’d have to only be playing on the Scaler track for that to work in Scaler’; Ableton or any daw should be able to set up a track with Scaler on it to do nothing but recieve MIDI direct from your hardware MIDI input.
The track has to stay armed to receive the MIDI, depending on your daw, so if you’re recording other stuff you end up with a bunch of MIDI clips on the Scaler track. I just have Scaler muted and ignore them or get around it by placing a device after the Scaler plugin that mutes all MIDI. Still get empty clips on the timeline, but they don’t affect anything.
Wasn’t me in the other thread, this is my first post, but I agree with you that future versions of Scaler will be amazing. I use it all the time for several different purposes; its incredibly useful.
I fully understand MIDI routing in a DAW and using Scaler or any MIDI source triggering/playing many other tracks. I’ve been doing this since MIDI was introduced as hardware connections. What I mean is my workflow does not duplicate yours in anyway. Bit Wig sounds like it has different yet quite interesting connection pathways. The newest version looks very interesting with the probability/chance setting which I very much like playing with.
Enjoy. Hope to hear your tracks soon.
Cheers,
J
Welcome @cy_qi I think what you are saying here is for a ‘listen’ feature that is always recording the last X amount of midi and if you played something you can just print the last X to a midi file. Logic has the same feature called ‘Capture Recording’. Interesting, will discuss internally thanks for the feedback.
Yes, exactly what you’re describing. I know it’s a feature in several DAWs, but not Bitwig yet, though I’m sure it’s been requested many times.
It would be super useful in a plugin to use on tracks or groups though, instead of just globally. A lot of times I’m running an instrument Scaler or some chords into one or more arpeggiators and other MIDI FX, and its always useful to get the resulting chaos printed as a midi pattern for further editing. Sometimes cool results happen separate from playback and it’s hard to capture without some kind of listen feature like you’re describing.
Totally, I use it that way now! I meant that even for someone who has a DAW that comes with a listen feature built in, it might be useful to use Scaler with a listen feature on tracks or groups, so that you can have it listening to the output of the arpeggiators or what have you, rather than the global midi input. Otherwise, if they don’t have Scaler or something else, the only way to capture the arpeggiator out is sending and recording to another track, which requires playback.
Scaler works great for this, I guess I’m wishing it was more of a listen feature like you described, rather than something I have to remember to open up and trigger manually each time