Just a quick post to see how people are using embedded racks? Up until now I haven’t really used them much, instead favouring using full re-usable racks, for the memory saving aspect. However, I’m increasingly thinking that for some kinds of racks, complete isolation within a song might actually be a benefit. For example, I have some “utility” racks that do things like MIDI-only processing, routing/filtering expression pedal data, or receiving audio in from an external synth and applying an effect. I’m wondering now about using a full rack as a “template” I load into a song, make some song-specific changes (eg set up an effect), and convert it into an embedded rack, essentially “freezing” it into the song. That way, any changes I make to racks later, for other songs, couldn’t inadvertently affect songs I’d carefully set up before.
Another thing I’ve started doing is using embedded racks for Omnisphere. I find that I hardly ever use the same Omnisphere program in multiple songs, so freezing Omnisphere instances into each song via embedded racks ensures all the required Omnisphere samples for my setlist are pre-loaded. Before, I was re-using a set of Omnisphere racks, but it would always incur some sample load time when selecting songs.
The main reason Embedded Racks exist at all is as a way to upgrade v2 sessions so they’re not terribly useful in Performer, but what you’ve suggested is one possible reason to use them.
One other purpose is as a way to route to bindings from a MIDI player - rather than using loopback you can route to the embedded rack and then setup bindings in the rack.
I don’t use them all that often and only really use them for organising songs.
I like the idea of freezing a rack by converting to embedded (it would be useful to convert from embedded to external too), Instead, I’ve been using ‘save as’ and exporting parameters when needed.
I have to be careful with RAM atm as I’ve only 4GB in my current lappy.
I recently found a use for embedded racks similar to your utility racks uses. I have a Roland RD-800 with a 3 pedal controller with the newer continuous type pedals for damper , soft, legato etc … . These type of pedals let you do half pedaling type of control for your piano. The keyboard on-board controls for these pedals did not include a “toggle” feature. I wanted to toggle the bypass for the “echo thing” in S-gear using one of the foot pedals from the RD-800. I created an embedded rack inside my regular Guitar rack and routed the pedal midi through it to create a filter to make a latch for the continuous input from the pedals. I then used this rack as the source for my binding to the S-Gear echo effect. A toggle switch maker rack … … I probably missed an easier/better way but this works fine!
I use embedded racks as utilities as well. Two main uses:
Use an empty embedded rack with audio input connected to output as a cheap volume control (automate its gain) within my racks, replacing more complex fader plugins like FreeG
Use an embedded empty MIDI rack for all kinds of velocity or controller curves when mapping my controllers, since there currently isn’t a curve parameter for controller bindings. So, I bind my controller to an empty embedded rack that modifies controller curves via MIDI filter before sending them on to one of my racks. Since these racks don’t contain plugins, they should be pretty lightweight when pre-loading. So creating them on a song-by song-basis is easy, whenever I need a special curve for my controllers. But of course, I’d prefer an option to use curves for bindings directly…
hi guys. sorry for my misunderstanding; reading these lines I understood that:
if I have a setlist with a number of songs and inside these songs I have some Embedded Racks (maybe one Embedded Rack in each song, and inside each Embedded Rack I have a different Omnisphere Multi), when I open the setlist, I’ll already have all the Embedded Rack pre-loaded?
if I have, on the other hand, a “normal” Rack (with one or more plugins opened inside it), which I saved, it won’t pre-load when I load the setlist. Right?
Yes, as long as you have setlist pre-loading enabled.
Not quite - the “normal” rack will be pre-loaded, but if different songs use the rack in different states, with a different Omnisphere patch loaded, the rack will still need to load the new samples when changing songs. So if you need instant song switching with sample-based plugins like Omnisphere, and you have the RAM available, one approach is to use embedded racks, so an instance of Omnisphere is never having to load new samples - each Omnisphere instance just deal with one sound.
Another approach is to use multis in Omnisphere, allowing you sets of 8 pre-loaded patches. So if there are Omnisphere patches you often you use in songs, you could group them all together into a “common Omnisphere sounds” rack, with all your common sounds pre-loaded, and use that as a linked rack in songs. Then for any more obscure sounds you don’t tend to use much, you could use embedded racks. The same applies to Kontakt, or other sample-based plugins.
Ah yes, you’re right, much of what I said above doesn’t apply to Solo.
According to the Cantabile version comparison page, Cantabile Solo doesn’t support setlist pre-loading, so I think embedded racks will be loaded when songs are selected, rather than pre-loaded when a setlist is loaded.
yeah, right. this is why I still don’t understand the difference bewteen using a “normal” rack and an Embedded Rack. maybe @brad can illuminate my fatal ignorance
Well “normal” (linked) racks in Performer are stored in a separate .cantabileRack file, and referenced by songs that use them, so they can be re-used by multiple songs, whereas embedded racks embed that rack information inside the .cantabileSong file, so the rack is “private” to the song. So it’s not just about pre-loading - it’s about reusability too.
For example, if you have a “Piano” rack that you use in lots of songs, and you decide to upgrade to a better piano plugin in the rack, all the songs that use that piano rack will benefit from the new plugin without them needing to be modified. If you used embedded racks, you’d have to go through each song and update the embedded rack in each one.
… I probably missed an easier/better way but this works fine!
