Sending MIDI to audio plugins

I am trying to use Helix Native for guitar, controlled by MIDI Commander to turn effects on/off, etc. I can do this using Controller Assignments that map MIDI messages to Helix Native 16 Knob and 16 Switch automation parameters, and then map those automation parameters to control block bypass and any other parameter that needs MIDI control. This works great, but recording is a bit of a challenge. You need to be sure to enable automation write mode when arming a guitar track so the guitar and automation parameters are recorded together. That works, but often the starting state of the automation parameters is incorrect and has to be edited.

 

I would like to find a better way to do this. The Helix Native plugin does support direct MIDI commands to control block bypass and parameters. The problem is an audio track can't receive MIDI input. I have tried using Helix Native as an audio effect in a software instrument track, getting the audio input from a side-chain. This works, but I have to use a bus send to another audio track to get the guitar recorded, and would have to setup a third track to record the dry guitar to support future re-amping. This also works, and does eliminate the need to use controller assignments and automation as the MIDI Commander footswitch presses are recorded in the software instrument track and processed directly by Helix Native. But it's still pretty complicated.

 

Is there a better way to do this with a summing track stack? I tried creating a summing track stack containing an audio track for the dry guitar, and a MIDI track to record the MIDI Commander footswitch presses. I put Helix Native in the summing track stack. So far this is working as expected, the summing stack gets the dry guitar input from the analog child track.

 

I had hoped that the summing stack would also get the MIDI from the child software instrument track, and I could use that to directly control Helix Native using the recorded or monitored MIDI CC messages. But it appears if the summing stack has a child audio track, it is treated like an audio track and plugins on the summing track stack don't get any MIDI from their child software instrument tracks.

 

Is this the case, or am I missing something?

I figured it out. Use two tracks for the guitar, an analog track for the dry guitar input and a software instrument track to record the MIDI footswitches. Put Helix Native as the instrument in the software instrument track so that it can receive MIDI messages from the track. Route the output of the dry guitar track through a bus to the side-chain input of the Helix Native instrument in the software instrument track. Arm both tracks for recording. These two tracks can be organized for convenience in a folder stack, but that's not absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately due to a bug in Logic Pro, setting the side-chain input of an AU MIDI-controlled plugin results in much increased latency. So this simple solution is not usable.

Sending audio into the side-chain input of a MIDI controlled plugin seems to have no counterpart for setting the MIDI side-chain of an audio plugin. A summing track stack can configure a MIDI input if at least one of its children tracks is a software instrument track. But audio plugins in the summing track stack don't receive that MIDI, instead it is sent to all the children tracks. Seems upside down. 

11 hours ago, jamsden said:

setting the side-chain input of an AU MIDI-controlled plugin results in much increased latency.

Just tried that with Arturia Vocoder V (which would fall into this category, no?), no latency at all. Do you have any latency inducing plug-ins (like an Adaptive Limiter with large lookahead) in your signal chain?

The issue was caused by record enabling a track with Drum Kit Designer. There's some interaction between Drum Kit Designer and side-chain inputs into a MIDI-controlled plugin that causes the additional latency. Replacing Drum Kit Designer with Ultrabeat fixed the problem.