Question

I would love to be able to navigate the Browser from the Faderport 8 or fully from the computer keyboard without having to reach for the mouse.

What if I could add an instrument track, automatically open the Browser with the Search field selected, start typing the name, navigate up down with arrows (all this I can do now).

And when the plugin I want is selected I just hit enter and it loads.

If I do the same thing for effects maybe I could hold a function key and hit a number to load it into that slot in the selected channels FX chain...

Answer 1

While the FaderPort 8 does extend / replace functionality it is not designed to replace the mouse entirely. 

If you are looking to speed up your workflow, you'll need to rethink your setup. This is how post houses in Los Angeles operate. 

Perhaps you should consider remapping all of your key commands to workflow that works for you and acquire a Macro assignable key controller to aid in your pursuit to remove the mouse. 

Look at a product from X-Keys that allows you to link macros together under single keys (albeit from their device) to allow this kind of workflow. 

Also consider incorporating a customizable MIDI trigger interface to map MIDI mappable functions to single MIDI button or key strikes as toggles. A colleague of mine was Stevie Wonder's personal assistant for 8 years and he had him using 3 or 4 Peavey PC-1600x units with Cubase so Stevie could work without any assistance. 

Answer 2

To me workflow is everything. I am all about mapping things the way I want them but how can I map something that isn't there? There is no way to assign loading VSTi's to commands. Not specific chains, no specific presets or track-templates and I can't load what is selected in the browser. Or am I missing something?

I already have a lot of midi controllers and I have a big working area and a lot of plugins to choose from, that's why I don't like getting up to use the mouse. Since I just can drag the VSTi to the empty arrange area to create a track I don't see why this couldn't be a command instead. I can load inserts and sends from the iPad app which is great. If I could access my VSTi's the same way and change the loaded VSTi it would be perfect.

This was really ment as a feature request.