Questions & Answers

Visual indicator for currently open plugins.

+9 votes
361 views
asked Jan 20, 2018 in Instruments and Plug-Ins by stevenicel (3,910 points)
If I am mixing and have 10 instances (duplicates) of a plugin on each track (say a binaural pan for eg), there is currently no visual/GUI indicator to give a hint of which particular track plugin I am editing. I find myself constantly double clicking to close an instance, then double clicking again to open just to reconfirm which particular track instance I have open and am working on.

I know we can rename instances, however I do not think this should supersede such a fundamental visual DAW element.

This may not sound like a big deal, but the time it takes continually really adds up when your trying to work quickly through multiple processes in a medium to large mix. Especially if I have 3 instances of the same plugin across the channel count board. It gets real confusing, REAL quick!

Please can we have "1-click plugin opening" as a selectable item in the options tab also. We don't all use faderports.

4 Answers

+1 vote
answered Feb 5, 2018 by neiljordan1 (18,370 points)
selected Feb 5, 2018 by stevenicel
 
Best answer
It's a good idea. Yes, the channel's name is shown in the window, but a basic visual clue from the Console side would be good.

Pro Tools does this just by making the selected insert(s) or send(s) a slightly lighter color. Simple, but effective.
0 votes
answered Jan 26, 2018 by stevenicel (3,910 points)
Wow, are you telling me that nobody see's value in having this simple crucial DAW function included?

Come on people!
–2 votes
answered Feb 3, 2018 by bingbond (240 points)
When you open a plugin the window shows the name of it's channel in the upper left corner.
+1 vote
answered Feb 5, 2018 by stevenicel (3,910 points)
That's exactly what I'm talking about @neiljordan.
Along with the option for "One-Click" plugin opening.  
These two items (in a mixing workflow context) are way underrated, because they add up to so many extra clicks over the course of only one hour of mixing for me. And not having that active plugin instance change colour, then takes my mind away from purely listening to sound while shaping it. And instead being more conscious of remembering which channel/plugin relationship I have currently have open.
And FWIW, I am not "sold" on the plugin opening/editing advantage from a fader port yet. It's almost there, but not yet. Especially above a certain plugin edit parameter count.
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