Cubase Generic Remote and Behringer BCR 2000

Tested and working with Cubase SX3.
Tested and not working with Cubase Studio 4. Boohoo.

edit: re-uploaded, now with a manual which hopefully explains things. I’m afraid this method combines a few different approaches, so I know it seems a little complicated… hopefully it’s a lot easier in practice to use than it is to follow my explanations.
Get it here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?290wwmjutz3

Unfortunately Steinberg seem to have removed the vst 2.4 sdk. I am trying to find a solution. in the meantime, this will still work quite happily, the only thing from the sdk that was needed is the vstparam tool to create your own vstxml files. I am trying to find somewhere that this is available, or some way to make this available.

my BCR sometimes sends out cc38 alongside some of the cc’s I have used in the patch (98-101 – NRPNs and RPNs), which will cause the patch problems – I’m sure it didn’t do this before – this seems to have been fixed by using a different midi channel, but I’m not sure it’s resolved fully … it’s working fine for me at the moment, so all I can say is it should be fine for you too.
/edit

Anyone using remote controllers with Cubase may have experienced the rather frustrating Generic Remote implementation. Potentially hugely powerful, in practice hugely frustrating. Try putting an fx plug-in on track one, or the master track. Map a few parameters. Now add another track, and drag it to the left/above the first track, thus displacing it. Low and behold, your parameters are screwed. This severely limits the use of the GR, unless you always work in a strictly controlled way (e.g. set up a template which has all of your plugins exactly where you want them, and never change your mind).

So, how would I like it to work?
- Select any track, then instantly map the controller knobs to a plug-ins parameters. Ideally I would like to be able to do this for all 8 insert slots, nevermind which plug-in I have there.
- If I change a plug-in, I don’t want to have to recreate everything in the GR dialog.
- Ideally, I would also like to be able to remap the order of the parameters of my plug-ins. I don’t want to load one compressor and have threshold on the first knob, output on the eighth knob, only to load a different compressor and find that output is on the 23rd knob… I want to be able to create these mappings myself.
- I like the GR functionality that is centred around the selected track – I much prefer this to using banks of 8 tracks, as in the Mackie Control protocol.

So, I have enabled this, through assorted readings into the subjects, workarounds, etc.

vstxml: This allows you to remap the parameters. Bit like midi mapping everything in a plug-in, saving that, then auto-loading it. But you don’t need a plug-in with it’s own midi-map. And since it works directly within Cubase, I can use my BCR encoders in relative/endless mode, which is rarely supported in midi-map.
These vstxml files sit next to the vst .dll of the same name. Cubase recognises them, and re-orders the plug-in’s parameters.
You can get the vstparam tool, which can create these vstxml files, in the vst 2.4 SDK (click the link, read the licence, download). These are easily edited.

However, vstxml doesn’t seem to be supported by the Generic Remote. It does however work with other remotes, e.g. the Mackie Control.
However, as I said, I don’t want to step through banks of 8 – I like the Selected Track method. For this I chose to emulate the Frontier Alphatrack. This is not by default supported in Cubase, and will not appear in your Remote Controller list until you install a .dll into the Cubase Components folder. You get this here (or here if you’re on a Mac). Instructions are included.

Next, something to emulate the midi messages sent by the Frontier Alphatrack to Cubase is needed. Since it only has 3 knobs, this can’t be done very effectively on my BCR, so I wrote a Max patch which does the trick – allowing me to use the 56 knobs (32 + 3×8) of my BCR. Since most people won’t have Max, I have built an executable.

So, after that lengthy, self-satisfied preamble, how does it work, what does it do?

- Make sure you have the Alphatrack available as an option in the Cubase remote control settings. Here’s a pic:

- You need to make sure that the “midi in” in that pic corresponds to the “midi out (Alphatrack)” in the MaxPatch.

- I also use some of the features of Cubase’s Generic Remote. You will need to add a Generic Remote, and import the xml included in the downloaded .rar. Midi in and out must be matched to the MaxPatch.

- Since the patch sends midi to Cubase to set Plugin mode on the Alphatrack, you need to open Cubase first, then the patch. You can press the re-init button if this doesn’t seem to have worked.

Hopefully you can see from these images how everything is set up on my computer, and emulate it on yours.

The BCR needs to be sending out the correct midi data, so make sure you have sent (and stored) the sysex included in the .rar, and you have that preset selected.

To recap:
- BCR has correct preset
- Cubase has GR and Alphatrack loaded, with correct midi ins and outs
- MaxPatch is open, with correct midi ins and outs.

- Load a project with several tracks and plugins (my default set has this).
- select a track.
- press one of the 8 buttons on the top of two rows – the corresponding insert slot should be selected for editing, and the plugin opened (or closed if already open – just press it again)
- move your knobs – you should see some response.
- Select another plug-in with the buttons. Repeat until satisfied.

What makes this particularly useful, is that it responds to vstxmls. So if you create plenty of these you can have your fx organised in some order. You could do the same for instruments, but those are dealt with better in the Cubase GR, so it’s up to you.
For example, my compressors all go Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Knee, Style, (misc), Output on the first 8 knobs – so if I want to edit a compressor I know which knob will contrl which parameter fairly easily.

Of course, you have to create all of these vstxml’s, which takes time. I’ve done some already though, and included them – all you have to do if you have the same plug-in is place them in the same directory, wherever your vstplugins reside.

Get the patch here.
http://www.mediafire.com/?290wwmjutz3

If you don’t have any virtual midi cables, you need some. On a pc, try midiyoke

I was really happy when I got all of that working. Then I upgraded to Cubase Studio 4, and found that since everything works on the vst 3 paradigm, and I presume vstxml’s have changed, it no longer works. And, nowhere is there documentation of how it has changed. And, nowhere does there seem to be anyone who knows anything about it.

So, if you know about vstxml in vst3, please get in touch.

If you have problems, ask for help.

If you get it working, and you like it, please tell me.