Yes we do! We could already do a bunch of great stuff this way, but now: feedback + high resolution parameter values = even more awesomeness.
In fact, I think we can do much better, at least in terms of powerful features. Easy, user-friendly customization features (i.e. programmatically adapting for different types of controllers) will perhaps be a bit harder, but of secondary concern and thus lower priority, to me at least. Perhaps better done in something like Max/MSP than Pd, much like making it look slicker than vanilla Pd, which I think is quite ugly. I'm mainly using Pure data now for a first round of prototyping, because it kind of guides me to focus on core functionality instead of putting cherries on top, while also keeping it easy to port almost anywhere. In the case of Pd, making a button or knob slightly prettier takes much more time (and is much more problematic) than implementing a parameter remapping feature - at least with my modest skills.
And of course I haven't yet 'taught' it much about existing plugins, while they probably have a whole bunch of data ready to go.
I haven't played much with Automap myself (btw, Novation has a pretty bad rep with me since their early days - their first products were embarrassing failures: a 303 clone which didn't sound anything like it, and a digital 808/909 clone which was notoriously unreliable, had clunky polyphony management that could make the most horrific digital noise I've ever heard - samples of that noise were the most interesting thing about it. But still, getting a Launchpad for use with Numerology is pretty high on my wishlist.
) And I haven't tried their
iOS app either.
So, while I do have a good idea about the general concept, I'm not familiar with the details of Automap's implementation (e.g. where does it show parameter names, does it use its own dedicated GUI, or is it integrated into the host software? Are parameter names limited to 8 characters?) If some Automap users could briefly describe what main features they really like about it or conversely, what features they're missing most, I'd appreciate it very much.
When looking at their
documentation, I only see stuff about parameter names/values and remapping of parameter numbers,
nothing about rescaling the actual parameter values (i.e. smoothing, quantization, breakpoint curves, coarse/fine tune, conversion between absolute/relative modes). That is where things gets really interesting as far as I'm concerned - in fact, if I had to choose between remapping parameter numbers or rescaling parameter values, I'd be happy to just forget about remapping at all. Value rescaling is way more important imho. Does Automap do anything like this at all?
(Also, I don't have to switch pages at all. With the proper settings, whenever a plugin has focus, my controller automatically switches to the appropriate page. I thought Automap can also work like that?)
Btw, I also tried played with some Abletonesque knobs for Pd, which seem pretty similar to what Novation uses for the Automap GUI:
Compare:
But since I didn't yet manage to get them to work in circular mode (which is essential for high resolution control imho), I am using much uglier ones currently:
But hey, they work fine in circular mode.
I'm now playing with hue, saturation and lightness values to temporarily make a knob or its background 'light up' when its parameter is tweaked and/or show the last parameter value as a color (i.e. value = hue, when tweaked, lightness jumps up and fades down again). Too much cherry on top kind of stuff already, I guess.
PS: if you tried clicking on any knob on the image in your browser, you probably need more coffee.
