Midi region?

[shadowfax]

Why do we have to create a midi region on a midi track? it's a midi track so shouldn't it be possible to just put midi anywhere without creating a region?
what is the benefit of regions?

Kevin

[Ben@Harrison]

The main benefit of regions is that you can can edit, trim & move them just like audio regions. Regions can be stacked in "layers" and you can edit the individual layers. You can select a region and do an operation on it ("quantize"). You can stash layers in the "region list" and drag them out when you need them.

Perhaps even cooler is the concept that regions are "linked" when you make a copy. In other words, if you build a drum-riff inside a region, and then copy/paste it somewhere, then changes to either region will appear in both regions. This makes loop-based production much easier, as you can copy the verse/chorus parts around, and then changing any region will change them in all regions. ( right-click on a region and choose "unlink" if you want to break this connection )

Those are some of the benefits of regions. However: there are also some downsides:

Firstly, everything has to be written into a region; you can't have midi notes, program changes, or CC automation outside of a region. Secondly, the layering gets complicated with MIDI regions: if a region is obscured by the region above it, then you can see the notes but you can't edit them directly; and you can alleviate this by switching the track to show "stacked layers", but then the MIDI keyboard and "scroomer" are no longer directly associated with the regions. (try it and you'll see what I mean)

The good news is: it is theoretically possible to do all of those "linear" midi operations within the current "region-based" design. However it is going to take some design iterations to get the best of both worlds.

We welcome your input!

[shadowfax]

The main benefit of regions is that you can can edit, trim & move them just like audio regions. Regions can be stacked in "layers" and you can edit the individual layers. You can select a region and do an operation on it ("quantize"). You can stash layers in the "region list" and drag them out when you need them.

Perhaps even cooler is the concept that regions are "linked" when you make a copy. In other words, if you build a drum-riff inside a region, and then copy/paste it somewhere, then changes to either region will appear in both regions. This makes loop-based production much easier, as you can copy the verse/chorus parts around, and then changing any region will change them in all regions. ( right-click on a region and choose "unlink" if you want to break this connection )

Those are some of the benefits of regions. However: there are also some downsides:



Firstly, everything has to be written into a region; you can't have midi notes, program changes, or CC automation outside of a region. Secondly, the layering gets complicated with MIDI regions: if a region is obscured by the region above it, then you can see the notes but you can't edit them directly; and you can alleviate this by switching the track to show "stacked layers", but then the MIDI keyboard and "scroomer" are no longer directly associated with the regions. (try it and you'll see what I mean)

The good news is: it is theoretically possible to do all of those "linear" midi operations within the current "region-based" design. However it is going to take some design iterations to get the best of both worlds.

We welcome your input!

thank you Ben, I am struggling with the MIDI, in Cubase it's very easy to manipulate, seems rather complicated in MB..

[Ben@Harrison]

Cubase began, many years ago, as a MIDI-only application. So it is highly optimized for MIDI.

Mixbus began as an audio engineerig tool ( recording, editing & mixing ), and we've only recently started adding MIDI features. The intent is to allow editing using the same tools as the audio editing tools, for audio-centric users. I don't anticipate that we will ever have a MIDI system exactly like Cubase or Logic. Instead, we are doing a different set of features, for a different kind of user. Ableton Live, for example, doesn't work like Cubase or Logic, but it has developed a following of its own.

We're in a bit of an awkward in-between stage right now; we have the basic concepts (MIDI regions) in place; but we haven't yet provided all the niceties that will make them fast & easy to edit. For most of our users (who are not very MIDI-centric) it's already good enough for their needs. But if you want it to work like Cubase or Logic, it's pretty far from that.

Best,
-Ben

[shadowfax]

Cubase began, many years ago, as a MIDI-only application. So it is highly optimized for MIDI.

Mixbus began as an audio engineerig tool ( recording, editing & mixing ), and we've only recently started adding MIDI features. The intent is to allow editing using the same tools as the audio editing tools, for audio-centric users. I don't anticipate that we will ever have a MIDI system exactly like Cubase or Logic. Instead, we are doing a different set of features, for a different kind of user. Ableton Live, for example, doesn't work like Cubase or Logic, but it has developed a following of its own.

We're in a bit of an awkward in-between stage right now; we have the basic concepts (MIDI regions) in place; but we haven't yet provided all the niceties that will make them fast & easy to edit. For most of our users (who are not very MIDI-centric) it's already good enough for their needs. But if you want it to work like Cubase or Logic, it's pretty far from that.

Best,
-Ben

I understand this but I still prefer MB to Cubase, so gonna stick with it and learn it..but changing DAW's is a big uphill treck..for me anyways..

[mejon]

Excellent to know Ben.

The main benefit of regions is that you can can edit, trim & move them just like audio regions. Regions can be stacked in "layers" and you can edit the individual layers. You can select a region and do an operation on it ("quantize"). You can stash layers in the "region list" and drag them out when you need them.

Perhaps even cooler is the concept that regions are "linked" when you make a copy. In other words, if you build a drum-riff inside a region, and then copy/paste it somewhere, then changes to either region will appear in both regions. This makes loop-based production much easier, as you can copy the verse/chorus parts around, and then changing any region will change them in all regions. ( right-click on a region and choose "unlink" if you want to break this connection )

Those are some of the benefits of regions. However: there are also some downsides:

Firstly, everything has to be written into a region; you can't have midi notes, program changes, or CC automation outside of a region. Secondly, the layering gets complicated with MIDI regions: if a region is obscured by the region above it, then you can see the notes but you can't edit them directly; and you can alleviate this by switching the track to show "stacked layers", but then the MIDI keyboard and "scroomer" are no longer directly associated with the regions. (try it and you'll see what I mean)

The good news is: it is theoretically possible to do all of those "linear" midi operations within the current "region-based" design. However it is going to take some design iterations to get the best of both worlds.

We welcome your input!

[thrl]

Is there any way to make an 'unlinked' copy of a MIDI region?