Controlling Cubase mixer from a VST Plug in?

[DerItist]

Hi,

is it possible to control Cubase mixer from a VST plug in?
I am new in the VST Developing environment and want to start with a simple Plugin to control the pan pot and the level of a send effect from a plug in. Any ideas where i can start.

Thanks in advance

Greetz Oliver

[Xenakios]

It's not possible with the standard plugin formats like VST. (You could maybe concoct some solution where the plugin sends MIDI messages that somehow end up back in the host application to control the mixer settings via the host's MIDI remote control facilities, if it happens to have any. Even that is not necessarily easy to do and might not work ideally.)

In the end, it's quite limited what the established plugin formats allow one to do beyond just processing audio that is fed into the plugin. (Or generating audio based on MIDI messages with instrument plugins.)

How did you come up with that particular idea? Have you seen any other 3rd party plugins that can do that in Cubase?

[DerItist]

Hi,
i saw the X-Y controler in FL Studio. In a YT Video i saw that you can control the pan pot with the x-axis and the value of an send effect (reverb) with the y-axis. So it it is nice to position orchestral sound in the stereo field(l-r and depht). Maybe it is possible with a channel strip plug in.

Greetz

[quikquak]

Each plug-in is sent straight stereo feeds from the channel, before any of the host panning. It should be straight forward to alter the audio, not forgetting the panning ‘laws’ of course. Plug-ins cannot control host behaviour, that would create a fine mess!

[Xenakios]

i saw the X-Y controler in FL Studio

Right, but FL Studio is not Cubase. And the XY controller in FL Studio is a built-in feature, right?

[DerItist]

Hi,
thats right it's a built in controller, but i thought it would be a nice idea.
Greetz
Oliver

[mystran]

i saw the X-Y controler in FL Studio

Right, but FL Studio is not Cubase. And the XY controller in FL Studio is a built-in feature, right?

I guess it's an "FL plugin" but those are not VSTs. The way it works in FL is that XY controller has modulation outputs that can be linked into any parameter that you can automate. It's roughly equivalent to outputting MIDI and then (manually) linking that MIDI to some parameter somewhere.

[Xenakios]

but i thought it would be a nice idea.

Sure. I don't really see the danger in hosts allowing plugins to do things like that, unless the host code is an absolute mess. But it just has never been a part of for example the VST plugin spec. There is of course the problem that in order for the plugin format to be as generic as possible, it shouldn't really be assumed the host will have some particular features like tracks where the plugins will live. (For example Plogue Bidule and Max/MSP are trackless, also most audio file editors like Audacity and Wavosaur can be considered trackless.)

[Max M.]

I don't really see the danger in hosts allowing plugins to do things like that,

Not that danger. If VST was an "API to control a host" it would never become the de-facto standard. "I can do everything" APIs never take off (Even relatively not-so-bloating VST3 would not if it had no VST1/2 ancestors).