MAIN - Introduction

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Introduction

 

 

The Main Custom Controls in Trilian features a customizable ‘control surface’ that brings together in one page all the most useful parameters of a bass Patch. This provides easy editing and control without having to access the Edit or FX Pages.

Each Trilian Patch contains its own Custom Controls layout, and will load with Controls already assigned to useful parameters for that instrument.

What is included on the Custom Controls will depend on the type of instrument loaded, and will suggest a starting point for the parameters that are most suitable for performance with that patch.

For example, an Acoustic Bass Patch might have Microphone and Pickup mix Controls, Release Noise Levels, and controls for a Compressor assigned, while a Synth Bass Patch might instead have Filter Cutoff, Resonance and Envelope Controls more related to Synth Basses.

This feature provides a huge amount of editing power from a single page, allowing instant changes to be made to a bass sound without ever leaving the Main Custom Controls page.

Although the interface appears quite simple, the Custom Controls interface offers additional power and flexibility because most of the Controls can also be extensively modified, MIDI Learned and Host Automated.

Main Page customization allows you to assign any of the Custom Controls to almost any parameter in Trilian, to change the Control types (knobs or switches), and to arrange the Controls into Custom Control Groups to visually organize the Controls in a more meaningful way.

All Main Page customizations are saved with the Patch or Multi, for future recall.

Additional controls such as Part Level and Octave, round out the Main Page Controls to provide an extremely powerful and convenient environment for composing and performing your bass parts.

 

MAIN - Assigning Parameters

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Assigning Parameters

 

 

Main Page Controls and Group Name labels (collectively referred to as “Custom Controls”) can be assigned to control almost any parameter in Trilian, including the controls in Trilian’s built-in FX modules.

All 11 Controls and up to 8 Group Name labels can be assigned to control Trilian parameters, for a total of 19 Custom Controls in all.

A single Custom Control can be assigned to control multiple parameters, and multiple Custom Controls can be assigned to control a single parameter, in any combination.

This offers a very flexible arrangement, and allows you to customize the Main Page with control layouts that range from very basic setups, to extremely complex layouts.

All Custom Control assignments are saved with the Patch or Multi, for later recall.

 

MAIN - Adding, Viewing & Removing Assignments

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Adding, Viewing and Removing Assignments

 

 

Adding Parameter Assignments

To assign a Control to a parameter, first ctrl/right-click a Control to open the contextual menu, and select “Assign this custom control to next touched audio control”.

Next, navigate to the desired parameter in the GUI, and select it with the mouse. The Control will then be paired with that parameter. Adjusting the Control will now affect the value of the assigned parameter.

The name of the assigned parameter will automatically be added to the label below the Control. To rename the Control label, select the label and type the new name into the text entry field. Press Return/Enter on your computer keyboard to close the text entry field.

 

NOTE:  Depending on the characters used, names longer than 13 ~ 15 characters will be concatenated. Try to use names shorter than 15 characters when naming Control labels. This is typically enough to create meaningful Control labels.

Group Name labels can also be assigned as On-Off Switches.

To assign a Group Name label to a parameter, ctrl/right-click a Group label to open the contextual menu for Groups, and select “Assign this group on-off control to the next touched audio control”. The rest of the process is identical to assigning Controls to a parameter.

 

NOTE: If the Group Name label is in display-text mode when selecting a control parameter, it will automatically be changed to a Group Name On-Off Switch.

 

After selecting the parameter to be controlled, the Group Name label will be renamed to match the selected parameter.

To assign additional parameters to a Custom Control, simply repeat the assignment process for each new parameter. Adjusting the Custom Control will then affect the values of all assigned parameters simultaneously.

 

NOTE: When adding additional parameter assignments to a control, the most recently assigned parameter name will be shown in the Custom Control label.

 

Viewing Parameter Assignments

To see which parameters are assigned to a Custom Control, ctrl/right-click the control, and select “Show all audio parameters assigned to this custom control”. A popup will appear listing all assigned parameters.

 

Removing Parameter Assignments

To remove assignments from a Custom Control, ctrl/right-click the control and select “Clear all parameter assignments for this control”. If a control has multiple parameter assignments, all assignments will be cleared.

NOTE: If a control has no parameter assignments, the Show Parameter and Clear Parameter menu options will be grayed out.

 

MAIN - Custom Control Types

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Custom Control Types

 

When setting up a customized Main Page, there are four different Custom Control types to choose from: the Unipolar Knob, Bi-polar Knob, On-Off Button, and the Group Name On-Off Switch.

Each of the control types has a different function. Although you can assign any of the control types to any parameter, they are most useful when matched with similar control types in the GUI.

All of the Custom Control types have indicators that display their current state or value, making it easy to see your parameter settings at a glance.

 

Unipolar Knob

The Unipolar Knob is best used for parameters that have a linear range, such as Part Level and Envelope faders, or the LFO Depth and Filter Cutoff knobs.

The zero-point for the Unipolar Knob is hard left (fully counter-clockwise).

 

Bi-polar Knob

The Bi-polar Knob is best used with parameters such as the Pan and Pitch knobs or the Filter Offset and Spread controls.

The center or balance point for the Bi-polar Knob is the 12 o’clock or vertical position.



On-Off Button

The On-Off Button is best used for toggled parameters such as FX module power buttons, or the Solo and Glide enable/disable buttons.

The On-Off Button provides an indicator lamp that displays the control’s current state.

 

Group Name On-Off Switch

The Group Name On-Off Switch behaves in the same way as the On-Off Button.

The Group Name label will be highlighted or grayed out to indicate whether it’s in an on or off state.

 

NOTE:  If an On-Off switch is assigned to a ranged parameter such as a Level Fader or Knob, the parameter value will be switched between its minimum and maximum values.

 

 

MAIN - Changing Control Types

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Changing Control Types

 

 

The Unipolar Knob, Bi-Polar Knob, and On-Off Button are interchangeable and can be selected for any of the 11 Custom Controls on the Main Page. There are no restrictions or limits on which types can be used. For example, you could set up a custom Main Page that has nothing but On-Off Switches if you like!

To change a Control to a different type, ctrl/right-click on the control to open the contextual menu and select the desired control type.

The options are:


Change to on-off button

Change to unipolar knob

Change to bipolar knob

 

NOTE:  The currently assigned control type will be grayed out.

 

A Group Name label can be setup either as display-only text, or as an On-Off Switch.

In display-only text mode, a Group Name label will be displayed in white text.

In control mode, the Group Name On-Off Switch will be displayed with a bounding box around it, and the text will either be highlighted or grayed out depending on its on or off state.

To change the group name setting, ctrl/right-click on the group name to open the contextual menu, and select the available option.


The options are:

Change group label to on-off button

Change group label to display-only text.

 

NOTE:  Since you can have up to 8 Group Name labels, you can also have up to 8 Group Name On-Off Switches, for a total of 19 Custom Controls available on the Main Page.

 

 

MAIN - Groups

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Groups

 

 

Custom Control Groups allow you to visually organize your controls in a more meaningful way, making it easier to see related functions at a glance. They can also provide additional control functions when used as Group Name On-Off Switches.

The Main Page is divided into two tiers, with the upper tier containing 7 Custom Controls, and the lower tier containing 4 Custom Controls. The lower tier is a single fixed group, and can have only one Group Name label.

The upper tier is fully customizable, and can contain from 1 to 7 Groups, with each Group containing from 1 to 7 controls, depending on your layout.

 

NOTE:  All of the upper tier controls will always be assigned to a Group, even if the Group is not labeled. A Custom Control can only be in one Group at a time.

 

Groups can be individually named, or given a blank label (often desirable when a Group contains only one control).

The Groups contextual menu provides various options for managing Groups. You access this menu by ctrl/right-clicking on any Group Name label.

 

 

MAIN - Creating & Naming Groups

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Creating & Naming Groups

 

 

Creating Groups

Up to 7 custom Groups can be created on the upper tier of the Main Page. There are two ways to create Groups: using the Group contextual menu, or by resizing existing Groups.

To create a new Group using the menu, ctrl/right-click on any Group Name label to open the contextual menu for Groups and select “Add new group at upper far right control”. A new Group will be added at the right-most Control.

The second way to create a new Group is by resizing existing Groups. When the far right Control is removed from the right-most Group via resizing, a new Group is automatically created at the far right Control. See Editing Groups for details on how to resize Groups.

 

Naming Groups

To name or rename a custom Group, ctrl/right-click the Group Name label to open the Groups contextual menu and select “Enter new name for group”.

This will activate a text-entry field. Type the new name, then press Return/Enter on your computer keyboard to finish naming the Group.

To create a blank name label, highlight all existing text in the text-entry field, and then press the spacebar to clear the field. Press Return/Enter to close the text-entry field.

 

NOTE:  We recommend using names shorter than 30 characters when naming Groups. This is typically enough to create meaningful Group name labels. Longer names may overlap with other Group Name labels.

 

 

MAIN - Editing Groups

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Editing Groups

 

 

A Group can contain from 1 to 7 Controls. If a Group contains 2 or more Controls, it is displayed with Group Indicator lines on either side of the Group Name label.

To change the number of Controls contained in a Group, click on the right or left edge of the Group Indicator line, and drag right or left to add or remove Controls from the Group.

When dragging the Indicator line, the adjacent Group will also be adjusted in size.

To delete a Group, ctrl/right-click a Group Name label, and select “Delete rightmost group”. The Group furthest to the right will expand to include any Controls that were contained in the deleted Group.

 

 

 

MAIN - Global Button

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Global Button

 

 

If multiple Parts have identical Custom Control parameter assignments, the Global Button allows changing those parameters for the multiple Parts simultaneously, using a single Custom Control.

For example, if Patches loaded into Parts 1 and 2 both have Vintage Compressors loaded into their Common FX Racks, and both have Custom Controls assigned to the Compressor power buttons, then enabling the Global Button allows turning both Compressors on and off simultaneously using the Custom Control from either Part’s Main Page.

 

MAIN - MIDI Learn & Automation

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - MIDI Learn & Automation

 

 

All of the Custom Controls on the Main Page (except Group Name On-Off Switches) can be MIDI Learned or Host Automated.

To MIDI Learn a Custom Control, first ctrl/right-click the Control to open the contextual menu and then select the desired MIDI Learn type, CC or Note.

If CC Learn is selected, move a control on your hardware to pair it with the Custom Control.

If Note Learn is selected, press a note on your MIDI Keyboard to assign the parameter.

 

NOTE:  Note Learns act as an on-off toggle, and are best used for MIDI Learning On-Off Buttons. If a Knob is assigned via Note Learn, triggering the note will move the knob to its maximum value. Releasing the note will move the knob to its minimum value.

 

To enable Host Automation for the control, select “Enable Host Automation” from the contextual menu.

 

NOTE:  MIDI Learn & Automation on the Main Page works in the same way as it does throughout Trilian. For complete details about MIDI Learn & Automation, please see the Concepts – MIDI Learn & Automation section of the reference guide.

 

 

 

MAIN - Additional Controls

MAIN CUSTOM CONTROLS - Additional Controls

 


Audition Button

The audition button allows a quick preview of the current Part. When using the up-down steppers to browse through Patches, it’s a handy way to preview the loaded Patch without having to open the Browser.

 

Octave & Level

The Octave control raises or lowers overall pitch by transposing the patch in 12-semitone increments.  There is a total range of five Octaves.

Range -2 to +2

The Part Level control determines the overall volume of the selected Part. Above the fader is a stereo level meter for reference. The fader mirrors the Part Level control found on the Multi Mixer page.

Range -Inf dB to +9.54dB

 

 

Instrument Image & Info

Select the IMAGE button to see the Instrument Image.

Whenever you load a Patch, the Instrument Image will display a representative picture of the loaded patch. This provides a quick visual reference to the patch that is loaded into each Part.

Select the INFO button to see the Instrument Info pane. Instrument Info contains abbreviated notes related to mapping & articulations and the original source instrument. The Instrument Info pane provides a handy quick reference when working from the Main Page.

 

NOTE:  To see the complete notes for the sound, open the Soundsource Zoom Info Page from the Soundsource Browser.