Anyone besides me finding mapping options in Prophet VS less than optimal?

[Deepmojoman]

As a for instance: it's really disheartening to find that I can't map the Envelop Modes (i.e.: cycling between stock Prophet, MSEG, and DADSR). The vast majority of all the included presets use the stock Prophet envelop (whose parameters-represented by no. of Points, and their Time and Position values-are also not available for mapping ). So, if I want to select an envelop whose full compliment of parameters are mappable, I am forced to mouse into the dropdown menu, cycle past MSEG (whose parameters are the exact same story as with the stock Prophet parameters), in order to reach DADSR-the only fully mappable envelop in the program.

How hard would it have been to make the Mode drop down menu mappable-to "Paint it Purple", as I call it? How hard would it have been to paint all the parameters, in all three Envelop Modes, purple?
How hard would it have been to paint purple the Envelop Group button, on the front panel, thereby giving users a convenient way of switching between manipulating the Mixer, or the Filter, or the Amp Envelopes?

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A possible answer lies in SQ80: press MIDI Learn on the Synthesis or Effects buttons and you will be greeted with a veritiable sea of Purple-mappable parameters! By my count-just on the Synthesis tab-there are a full 164 mappable parameters (remember: each one of those tabs-for Env 1, Env 2 and Env 3, as well as the tabs for LFO 1, 2 and 3-are gloriously replete with their own compliment of mappable parameters).

So, 164-just on the Synthesis tab-for SQ80 (I chose not to count how many more are included when you calculate the mappable parameters for all the Effects, because it would have taken an astoundingly long time to do, because-by the looks of it-every single knob offered by every one of the 12 possible effect choices is also assignable. A cursory glance tells me that each Effect carries an average of 10 knobs, and the Effect tab can carry a maximum of 4 effects, so I'll say that at any given time a user can add 40 more assignments to the 164, for a total of 204. But that doesn't even tell the whole story: the full story is that Arturia still stocks SQ80 with waaaay more assignable parameters than any user can possibly assign, because all of the rest of the 8 un-assigned effects still carry their assignable parameters with them, at the ready. So that's an additional 80 assignable parameters, plus the 11 distinct assignables from the front panel.

So, by my estimate, SQ80 carries an Assignable Parameter estimate of 295! That is positively huge. So, given that they have proven just how many Assignable Parameters they can stuff into such a great VST as SQ80, I'm finding it very hard to understand why they would be so neglectful and stingy with the Assignable Parameter compliment of the equally great Prophet VS.

Prophet VS is a truly awesome VST, and has quickly become one of my favorites, and I would deeply appreciate many, many more parameters painted Purple, for those of us who love to map to our controllers and make our experience as mouse-less as possible.

Anyone else notice this about the Prophet VS?

[LBH]

Hello,

I can agree, that it would be nice to have a visual (purple/ red) for mapable parameters on the GUI it self.

There are also a MSEG Polarity parameter that's only available in the parameter menu. Why not on the GUI?

But i think it's worse that the original Prophet VS Envelopes points can't be mapped at all. I think that must be a mistake. I know it's points, but it's 5 fixed points. It's not like a MSEG where you can have a variable number of points up to 16. Fixed points does'nt change number.

In SQ-80 V it's only the MSEG points that can't be mapped.

I'm not sure it would make sense to in example be able to map the Envelope Group selector, as you map a certain midi CC to a certain point in a certain envelope anyway. But one can also say - why not anyway?

It would only make sense to in example be able to map a POINT selector, if a single mpping to a Time and a level parameter allways worked for the selected point. I'm not sure that's possible, as that would be a dynamic midi CC assignment.

[Deepmojoman]

But i think it's worse that the original Prophet VS Envelopes points can't be mapped at all. I think that must be a mistake. I know it's points, but it's 5 fixed points. It's not like a MSEG where you can have a variable number of points up to 16. Fixed points does'nt change number.

100% agree. And I don't see how this would be anything less than doable. Indeed, they've already done it.

Case in point-in SQ80: you can totally assign the multiple-item dropdown menu for the "Envelope Modes", on each Env Page (the dropdown menu I speak of cycles between SQ80 (stock), MSEG and DADSR Envelopes). Just assign it to your favorite Encoder or Pot, and voila: another dropdown you don't have to reach for your wretched Carpel Tunnel-inducing mouse to engage (I've grown to truly hate a Mouse, and anything I can do to bring my studio closer to a Mouse-Free environment I'll do).

I, too, noticed that the Prophet VS MSEG Envelope Points amount is a finite number (5), and so there is really no excuse-at least as far as I can see-why these things aren't yet mappable.

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You mentioned that these omissions seem like a bit of a mistake. I was thinking something along the same lines. Or maybe Arturia is short on Employee Resources and so they have to pick and choose the projects that each employee is working on super carefully? As I mentioned before, the new SQ80 is splitting at the seams with assignable parameters-at least 295, but I think the final count is actually well over 300. So: maybe Arturia got so excited (rightfully so) about their awesome latest release that they put everyone on it, and maybe their Project Managers just aren't yet aware of how inadequate is the parameter situation with Prophet VS? If I'm not mistaken, Prophet VS came before SQ80, so maybe this thing of stocking a VST with sooooo many assignable parameters was a new approach which they just tried out with SQ80?

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I would bet that whatever the reason, it actually boils down to something very human and understandable (oversight; being stretched thin; etc.) People are often surprised at no matter how big and established a company is, nonetheless how many things happen there that are just attributable to people being Human.

All the understanding and empathetic words from me being said, I will still say now-with emphasis: they need to get on this and complete Prophet VS. The VST is sooo good, in so many ways, that it makes all these missing opportunities for Parameter Mapping feel quite tragic-almost pathetic.

So, Arturia: please put someone on this project, and make the number of assignable parameters rival the wonderful situation we find in SQ80. There'd be a lot of people out there who would find it really useful.