I rarely, if ever, see Assign and Automation used in the Instrument Definition files that people upload here. Even Squarp’s official examples don’t use them. Why?
Does no one actually use them? For example, if they’re unnecessary in real world use, or if there are bugs/issues where they end up doing more bad than good.
Or are they actually useful, and people do use them, so they add their own to the files they download here? For example, if it’s tacitly understood that they’re too specific for each user or use case, so people don’t bother including them in the files they post.
It has been awhile since I’ve looked at the Hapax, and I completely missed the 2.0 update. So, maybe something changed with that update? Or were those items always generally left out of the files here?
it’s tacitly understood that they’re too specific for each user or use case, so people don’t bother including them in the files they post
Yes, this is the case. Setting up assigns+automations is usually something project- (or track-) specific. In my case I’ve only added them to definitions for a few instruments, where they were unlikely to differ between projects.
Setting assign destinations from the Hapax is easy enough that this is most convenient, but there is no technical reason not to include them in definition files.
Something I didn’t realize at first is that assigns are sent to the instrument when the template/project is loaded. This means if you intend to use assigns as a placeholder with a null value, you can’t, it will send 0 values to your synths (as far as I know this is still true).
However, assigns are still very powerful, and now that I understand the way they work, you can use this to save presets on synths that don’t have that feature and/or save modifications to presets on synths that do (if you combine assign with PC on the track/pattern).
Edit: good thing I checked… on firmware 2.03 what I said above about the assigned values getting sent to the instrument when loading a project is no longer true. That’s a shame imo, the previous behavior was unintuitive but opened up a really useful feature to save presets at the project level. I’d like to see that return as an option.
In previous firmware I could add assign values on the fly and save that as a project. When I loaded the project it would send those values to the instrument. It seems like that’s not the case in the newest version, so I have to go and fiddle with the knobs first to get the same result.
I didn’t find anything in the release notes that indicate that this is a deliberate change? It might also be a bug? @Thibault_Squarp what do you think?
I really like the ASSIGN function, which allows you to easily change some parameters of a module/synth or internal parameters.
But unfortunately it takes 3 turns to go from 0 to 127. A rotation speed detection would make it much more useful.
Also, it is cumbersome to use 2 hands to open the assigned page when performing live. For example double pressing a track or the FILL-ASSIGN or LIVE button would be great.
But unfortunately it takes 3 turns to go from 0 to 127. A rotation speed detection would make it much more useful.
In case you did not know, holding 2nd and turning an assign knob updates values at a much faster rate.
I would love rotation speed detection (or even an option to invert the behavior, i.e. 2nd function for slower value update).
double pressing a track or the FILL-ASSIGN or LIVE button would be great
Cosigned! On top of requiring two hands, the current button combo often leaves me on the mixer page when I’ve accidentally selected mute just above 2nd
According to my latest test it does not send the assign anymore, so I think it works the way you want. I was also originally annoyed and confused that it did that, but then got used to it and started using the fact that it sent them as a feature for saving presets for the Korg NTS-1 which doesn’t have that functionality otherwise. I think having both options would be good, if possible.
While we’re at it, a couple related feature requests:
can I have another page of assigns? 16 would be 2x better than 8
I haven’t looked into this but I would really like to be able to map a midi CC from a connected device to specific assigns on Hapax. Like if I have 8 knobs on a midi controller, I want a way for those to control the assigns on Hapax, so I can easily edit the assigns on Hapax and control them from my midi controller without having to change what CC’s the midi controller is sending. (this would mean I never have to enter the assign mode after I have set it up the way I want, since I have other knobs I can use)
Sure, but holding 2nd and turning an assign knob again requires 2 hands.
Not usable in an improvisation situation where I want to change glide/portamento while playing with the isomorphic keyboard, for example.
You could use the mod matrix to turbocharge the assign knobs.
Set assign knob to an unused CC
Add the unused CC to mod matrix on the left, select the actual CC or instrument parameter on the right.
Set depth to 200%
