Well, why not?U-he is currently testing "Key Control", which allows users to control their VST synths using only the keyboard in a smart and innovative way.
viewtopic.php?t=611856
( I recommend watching the example video )
Would you be interested in something similar for Bitwig? It should be feasible, as MIDI controller scripting already enables advanced features. The only missing elements are:
- Cursor controlled with arrow keys
- Quick entry of parameter values via typing
- Changing values by holding a specific key
- More comprehensive, keyboard-friendly navigation (e.g., selecting a device with arrow keys → hitting Enter to access its parameters → pressing Backspace to exit the device, etc.)
But: Why not focus on the things which need to be fixed first, in the area of "mouse-free" control?
There are two schemes of mouse-free control in Bitwig:
1. Keyboard Editing
2. Touch Control
1. The first got improved with 5.2, as they added some nice mouse-free-functions, like being able to jump from transient to transient of audio, or from note to note of midi, or from automationpoint to automationpoint via the arrow keys. While also being able to move automationpoints up/down, which is great.
However, Bitwig did not finish the job. For instance, when deleting automation-points, all of a sudden you are forced to grab the mouse again, because Bitwig loses focus of the lane. You can't even ENTER the automation lane via the arrow keys, btw. I won't list all the other occasions where the 'mouse free' editing scheme is broken in the sense of "not really mouse-free". I just want to mention this as example for my case: which is: Let's focus on what could be fixed first, then think about what could be implemented next.
2. Speaking about broken 'mouse free control': Touch Control (via finger) is similar: Awesome idea, awesome vision, yet, half-baked implementation. The radial menu only contains a very limited set of tools. If you want to go deeper, you are forced to grab the mouse again, because you simply cannot reach certain tools via touch control. This, to me, is worse than a half-baked keyboard implementation, because keyboard+mouse is far more commonly used together than touchcontrol+mouse. And it's such a pity, because Bitwig COULD easily be the very best touchcontrollable DAW on planet earth, with a few adjustments. Other examples: You also can not grab and move already existing automationpoints via touch (finger touch). And you can't reach the right-click menu, and other regions of the interface which are important, like grabbing fades, etc.
Statistics: Posted by nowiamone — Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:03 am