> Step by step
1. Getting started with Freestyle CM
9 Freestyle CM features a handy macro system for assigning multiple controls from the instruments and effects in a Rack to individual shared knobs. Here’s an arpeggiated synth lead comprising stacked Curve 2 CM and XILS 3 plugins, routed through PSP cmDelay – we’re going to assign the filters of both synths and the delay’s Wet level to a single Macro.
10 Click the macro icon to reveal the Macro Controls. Click the L button to enter Learn mode, then click the plugin control that you want to assign to the Macro. Done! To assign further parameters to the same Macro, click the three faders button – the Destination Editor opens. Click Add Destination under the Macro and follow the menus to your parameter of choice.
11 We want the two filters to move in opposite directions for a sort of frequency crossfade – clicking the dual arrow buttons for the two XILS 3 cutoff knobs reverses the assignments so that they turn clockwise as the Curve 2 CM cutoff turns anticlockwise. We also rein in the range of PSP cmDelay’s Wet knob by shifting both ends of its range.
12 Right-clicking anywhere in the Rack or Structure views brings up a menu of utilities, including a band splitter, a MIDI input monitor, a Velocity and MIDI CC response curve editor, a waveform scope and more. Click to open their windows, or Alt-click to zoom and edit in place.
Plugins can also be added with a right-click menu, by the way.
13 The FX version of Freestyle CM plugin works just like the instrument version, but is inserted on audio tracks. The standalone version is aimed at live performers who don’t want the hassle of running a DAW on stage, and includes a fullscreen mode, plus the new Event Player for sketching out simple melodic ideas, explained in the tutorial below.
14 Freestyle CM setups are saved in two ways. The performer-orientated Snapshots function captures the complete state of the environment within Freestyle CM itself, for instant switching between virtual rigs via mouse clicks or MIDI Program Change messages. The regular Save menu entry saves the entire setup, including Snapshots, as a discrete file.