Track Quick Controls

Introduction

Nuendo can give you instant access to up to eight parameters of each audio track, MIDI track or instrument track. This is done with the aid of the so-called quick controls, set up on the Quick Controls Inspector tab for these tracks.

The Quick Controls tab can be used as a kind of track control center, an area in which your most important parameters are assembled in one place. This saves you from having to click your way through the various windows and sections pertaining to your track.

Also, Nuendo allows you to assign these quick controls very quickly to an external remote control device. This gives you manual control of your most important track parameters.

Setting up the Quick Controls tab

The Quick Controls tab in the track Inspector is available for all audio tracks, MIDI tracks and Instrument tracks. It is displayed by default.

Assigning parameters to quick controls

The opened Quick Controls tab shows eight slots, one for each quick control. To start with, these slots are empty. Proceed as follows to assign track parameters to the quick control slots:

1. In the Quick Controls tab, click on the first quick control slot.

A context menu is opened. This context menu lists all parameters currently accessible for this particular track.

2. Double-click the parameter that you want to assign to the first quick control slot.

The parameter name and its value are displayed in the slot. You can change the value by dragging the quick control’s slider.

The Quick Controls tab in the Inspector.

The track’s main volume parameter is assigned to quick control 1.

You can now repeat these steps for each quick control slot until all eight slots are associated with track parameters!

Renaming a quick control

By default, the parameter name as listed in the browser pop-up menu for available track parameters is displayed in the quick control slot.

• To rename a quick control, simply double-click on the name in the slot to select it, enter a new name and press [Enter].

Replacing a quick control assignment

• To replace a parameter assignment with a different parameter, click on the corresponding quick control slot and double-click on a different parameter in the browser popup menu list.

The parameter assignment in this slot is changed.

Removing a quick control assignment

To remove a parameter from a slot, you have the following possibilities:

•Double-click the parameter name to select it and press the [Delete] or [Backspace] key. Confirm this operation by pressing [Enter].

•Click in the corresponding slot and select “No parameter” from the browser pop-up menu.

The parameter assignment is removed, and the quick control slot is empty.

Options and settings

•Quick control assignments are saved with the current project.

•Since quick control settings are part of the track setup, you can save them as track presets, allowing you to re-use your settings across different projects.

Track presets are described in the chapter “Track Presets” on page 327.

•You can automate all parameter settings on the Quick Controls tab using the Read/Write Enable buttons (R and W) at the top right.

The automation features of Nuendo are described in detail in the chapter “Automation” on page 213.

Quick controls and automatable parameters

The quick controls feature has one special extension that should be used with caution: you can use quick controls not only to access certain parameters of the current track, but also to control all automatable parameters.

This makes it possible to use the Quick Controls tab of a dedicated track as a kind of “mini mixer”, controlling parameters on other tracks. Proceed as follows:

1. Create a new, empty audio track and open its Quick Controls tab.

This track has no events or parts.

2. Hold down the [Ctrl]/[Command] key and click on the slot for quick control 1.

The parameter selection context menu is opened, but it lists not the parameters of the current track, but all automatable parameters.

3. Click the + sign in the list to open the VST Mixer folder.

The pop-up lists all channels available in the mixer of your current project.

4. Now assign a parameter of one particular channel to quick control 1, and another parameter of another channel to quick control 2.

Here, quick controls 1-5 have been set up to control the main volume of five audio tracks.

The Quick Controls tab has become a “secondary” mixer, dedicated to quick-controlling parameters on other tracks.

Quick controls that are assigned that way cannot work when saved as track presets.

Setting up quick controls on an external remote controller

Quick controls become really powerful when used in combination with a remote controller.

Setting up the connection between the slots on the Quick Controls Inspector tab and a remote control device is easy. Proceed as follows:

1.In Nuendo, open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.

2.In the Devices list on the left, select the Quick Controls option.

This will open the Quick Controls section on the right of the dialog:

3.With your remote controller device connected to Nuendo via MIDI, select the corresponding MIDI port on your computer in the MIDI Input pop-up (or select “All MIDI Inputs”).

If your remote controller has its own MIDI input and supports MIDI feedback, you can connect your computer to the device input. Then, select the corresponding MIDI port in the MIDI Output pop-up.

4.Click “Apply” to apply your settings.

5.Select “QuickControl1” in the “Control Name” column.

6.Move the control (knob, fader or other) on your remote control device that you want to use for the first quick control.

7. In the Device Setup dialog, click the Learn button.

8. Repeat the last 3 steps for the other quick controls.

You have now associated the slots on the Quick Control tab with control elements on your external remote controller. Moving a control element will automatically change the value of the parameter assigned to the corresponding quick control.

• The remote controller setup for quick controls is saved globally, i.e. independent of any projects.

If you have various remote controllers, you can store and load several quick control setups using the Export and Import buttons.