AHKers, please check my "Channel Settings and Plug-ins" script!

Hello people!

I’m working on a script that allows me to control the “Channel Settings” window with the keyboard, some plug-ins too. If you find this interesting, feel free to download it. All you have to do to make it work is edit the script to change one path, at line 8. I’ve included a bare bones readmefirst.txtf, so please have a peek.

If you can give me feedback, advice; if you can modify it and make it better, if you can give me tips to make it more proper and elegant, PLEASE DO.

Disclaimer: I’ve tested this script so that NO major faults occur (loops, crashes and nastiness of any kind). The worst that can happen is that you press ESC instead of ENTER in a field, thus suspending the script. If this happens, and you see weird stuff going on (misclicks etc.) just press ENTER (or reload the script).

HOWEVER I can’t guarantee that it’s a AAA polished script. I hope I am clear on this, you acknowledge that you are testing a script from a non-programmer, so don’t go and load your 1.000-track-project-on-a-deadline-tomorrow to test it out. :mrgreen:

Feel free to post here or PM me for ANYTHING.
Keyboard Control AHK Script.zip (224 KB)

!!!CONTROLS PER PLUG-IN!!!

1) FREQUENCY

1-8: Selects the corresponding band.
` + 1-8: Activates/Deactivates the corresponding band. (You can keep "`" pressed and slide 1-8 to activate deactivate consecutive bands)
L + 1-8: Activates/Deactivates "Linear" for the corresponding band.
R + `: Reset (flatten EQ)
M: Monitor (Activate/Deactivate "Listen for Filters"
F + 1-8: Sets frequency for the corresponding band.
Q + 1-8: Sets Q for the corresponding band.
G + 1-8: Sets gain for the corresponding band.
I + 1-8: Inverts gain for the corresponding band.
T + 1-8: Changes EQ Type for the corresponding band. (IMPORTANT When inside the dropdown list, navigate to the choice with the up/down arrows, then select with Enter. IMPORTANT)
Left arrow + 1-8: (For stereo, dual-mono, m/s channels). Changes from M/S to Stereo, from Stereo to L/R processing for the corresponding band.
Right arrow + 1-8: (For stereo, dual-mono, m/s channels). Changes from L/R to Stereo, from Stereo to M/S for the corresponding band.
[ + 1-8: (For dual-mono, m/s channels). Control the Left/Mid.
] + 1-8: (For dual-mono, m/s channels). Control the Right/Side.

2) VINTAGE COMPRESSOR

I: Input Gain
A: Attack
P + N: Punch
R: Release
A & R: Auto-Release
M: Mix
O: Output
R + A: Ratio (cycles through the four settings)

3) TUBE COMPRESSOR

Same assignments as VINTAGE COMPRESSOR, plus:

D: Drive
C + H: Character
S + C: Side-Chain (Internal)
F + R: Filter Type (cycles through the three settings)
F: Side-chain Frequency
Q: Side-chain Q
M + O: Side-chain Monitor

4) COMPRESSOR

R + A: Ratio
S + K: Soft-Knee
H + I: HI ratio
A: Attack
H: Hold
R: Release
A + R: Auto-Release
A + N: Analysis
G: Makeup Gain
A + G: Auto-makeup Gain
M: Dry Mix
T: Threshold
L + I: LIVE mode

5) MONODELAY

L: Activates/Deactivates Lo Filter
H: Activates/Deactivates Hi Filter
L + F: Lo Filter Frequency
H + F: Hi Filter Frequency
F: Feedback
M: Mix
S: Sync button
V: Choose Value (Switches to sync mode, takes you to drop down to select 1/4, 1/8 etc etc)
T: Enter Time (Deactivates sync, takes you to type the delay time in ms)

6) PINGPONGDELAY

Same as MonoDelay, plus:

Left arrow: Start left
Right arrow: Start right
S + P: Spatial

7) STEREODELAY

Same as MonoDelay, plus:

Ctrl + 1: Control Delay 1
Ctrl + 2: Control Delay 2

P: Pan

8) AMPSIMULATOR

D: Drive
B: Bass
M: Mid
T: Treble
P: Presence
V: Volume
L: Lo Damping
H: Hi Damping
A: Amp Model
C: Cabinet

9) BITCRUSHER

1-4: Select Mode
M: Mix
O: Output
D: Bit Depth
S: Sample Divider

10) DATUBE

M: Mix
D: Drive
O: Output

11) DISTORTION

B: Boost
F: Feedback
M: Mix
T: Tone
S: Spatial
O: Output
O + S: Oversampling

12) GRUNGELIZER

N: Noise
C: Crackle
D: Distort
E: EQ
A: AC
M: Mix
3: 33 RPM
4: 45 RPM
7: 78 RPM
5: 50 Hz AC
6: 60 Hz AC

13) MAGNETO II

S: Saturation dial
A + S: Activate/Deactivate Saturation
D: Dual Mode
L: Low frequency
H: High frequency
A + F: Activate/Deactivate HF ADJUST
A + G: "HF ADJUST" Gain
O: Output
M: Solo (monitor)

14) SOFTCLIPPER

I: Input
M: Mix
O: Output
S: Second
T: Third

15) BRICKWALL LIMITER

T: Threshold
R: Release
A + R: Auto-Release
L: Link
I: DIC (Intersample Clipping)

16) DEESSER

L: Lo
H: Hi
S: Solo
D: Diff
D + S: Reduct (de-ess)
T: Threshold
A + T: Auto-Threshold
R: Release
S + C: Side-Chain
F: Frequency
Q: Q
M: Monitor
L + I: LIVE

17) ENVELOPESHAPER

A: Attack
L: Length
R: Release
O: Output

18) EXPANDER

R + A: Ratio
S + K: Soft-Knee
F: Fall
H: Hold
R: Rise
A + R: Auto-Rise
A: Analysis
T: Threshold
L + I: LIVE

19) GATE

A: Attack
H: Hold
R: Release
A + R: Auto-Release
A + N: Analysis
T: Threshold
R + A: Range
L + I: LIVE
Down Arrow: Expand/Reduce Side-Chain Flap
S + C: Side-Chain
M: Monitor
C: Center
Q: Q
F: Filter Type (Cycles through the three bands)

20) Limiter

I: Input
R: Release
A + R: Auto-Release
O: Output

21) Maximizer

C + L: Classic
M + O: Modern
C: Recover (*only available in Modern Mode. If command is sent, the Maximizer will change to Modern Mode)
R: Release (*only available in Modern Mode. If command is sent, the Maximizer will change to Modern Mode)
O + P: Optimize
M: Mix
O: Output
S + C: Soft Clip

22) MIDIGATE

A: Attack
H: Hold
R: Release
N + A: Note to Attack
N + R: Note to Release
V: Velocity to VCA
H + M: Hold Mode switch

23) MULTIBANDENVELOPESHAPER

&*TEMPORARILY BROKEN*&

24) DJ-EQ

L: Cut Low
M: Cut Mid
H: Cut Hi
L + G: Low band Gain
M + G: Mid band Gain
H + G: High band Gain

25) GEQ-10

1-0: Respective GEQ band
R: Range
O: Output
T: Type
I: Invert
F + `: Flatten

26) GEQ-30

Same controls as GEQ-10, BUT:

L: Makes 1-0 control bands 1 to 10.
M: Makes 1-0 control bands 11 to 20.
H: Makes 1-0 control bands 21 to 30.
1-0: Controls bands 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, depending on whether L, M, or H has been pressed before.
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You 10 brave souls that downloaded the script, please tell me:

  1. Does it work at all for you? (All clicks are relative to the currently active window, but I’m on 1366x768 so… I don’t know how it goes for you)

  2. Do you find this philosophy of typing more than one keys workable, or do you feel it’s too “MS-DOSsy”?

  3. Do you run into focus problems? I have the channel settings window Always On Top and the plug-in windows NOT on top for this script. I also have that option on that uses only one channel settings window and just changes tracks. (Sorry I cant remember the name right now.

  4. Do you use channel settings for inserting plug-ins, or do you prefer to do it in the inspector?

Hi!

Nice work! I will try it out today at work.

I am also working on a new way of interacting with Cubase with AHK to make it faster than anything possible while being very easy to memorize and use.

I will let you know how your script is doing, thanks for the hard work!


Rhino, thanks for your feedback! For me, it’s very interesting hearing about other people’s workflows, as it gives me more ideas, and allows me to refine mine as well. And the way I’m hearing it, a very fine, logical and effective setup you have. :slight_smile:

This script I made is obviously of little value to those that have hardware controllers. I find it very valuable when on the go with my mouse-less laptop, where I engage in ferocious strangleholds with the trackpad. At least with this script I can define parameters quickly and accurately without much drama. On my desktop, with a g600 mouse, I guess I’m not gaining much speed by using the script.

Thank you very much Tenkas!


Oh man, that’s a setup for the hall of fame! Awesome!

I believe you without a doubt when you say there’s no need for memorizing the keys! Muscle memory takes over when we have one key doing one job. On the contrary, with a mouse and a screen choke-full of control elements, our cursor can be anywhere at any given time, requiring that we take different paths to the same function, so muscle memory doesn’t come into play.

Bravo! I truly admire your setup!

Not true. While I haven’t used your script, I thought I’d offer a little perspective on that.

I have an MCU and an AI. I’m very happy with my setup, and it covers a lot of ground. Even so, I type for a living (programmer), so the qwerty keyboard is for me an intuitive part of the picture. In some cases, because the keyboard is positioned naturally and I have to reach a bit farther to get to the MCU, I’ll hit use a keystroke instead (e.g. F3 to bring up the mixer) even though the MCU has that capability. The MCU controls plugins, but not as conveniently as the AI + mouse. I think it’s all about using the best tool for the job at hand, and there are many times when the qwerty keyboard is exactly that.

A very impressive chunk of work, man. Nice of you to share it with everyone.


The thing that blew my mind with the G600 was that it has 12 buttons, plus a G-shift button. So I have 24 available keys actually. But I also have 3 profiles I can change through if I wish. That means I get 72 different functions just by using my right ring finger and my right thumb. It’s mindblowing.

1 Like