The ability to display Track controls in Reapers Mixer Control Panel (MCP) and Track Control Panel (TCP) make mixing a joy compared with other DAW applications.
For those visiting this forum who haven't discovered all the stuff in Reaper,
if you right click on the MCP empty space and select the option to display track controls (if space allows) you can then right click on an empty track control and insert a control on the MCP and TCP from any plugin installed in the FX rack for that channel. This is great. You can build a mixer with the controls you would like to see, add an EQ, Compressor, build customised channels for your mixer with which ever plugins you like and easily automate any parameter in any plugin.
There are a few enhancements I would very much like to suggest:
At the moment all the controls look the same apart from the label.
They cannot be installed with gaps between them, so there is no way to group them for easy visibility.
Buttons on a VST gui will appear as knobs in the MCP and TCP.
I have seen requests for the ability to colourize the knobs but I can see how much effort would have to go into this.
Would there be any support for a request to ask the Reaper developers to allow some sort of alternative GUI element which could be selected for individual controls?
I can think of a few visually pleasing possibilities:
a) show track control on right (turn the present GUI element upside down so that the knob appears on the right instead of the left).
This sounds very simple, but it would allow things like EQ to have gain controls on the left, freqency controls on the right, etc.
b) Show track control as button (perhaps using the existing red/green GUI element used for the FX bypass button)
This would be a great way to add visual seperation between controls in the MCP. What better than a bypass button under FX to separate them, etc.
c) Possibly the easiest method to implement, a simple spacer. This would simply be a right click option to allow a slot to remain empty/blank.
One additional feature request:
Preference Option to hide track controls from the TCP (only show them in the MCP)
Personally, I like to edit from the TCP and mix from the MCP.
I find the layout of the track controls in the TCP can be visually confusing.
Others may well prefer to work entirely from the TCP, or a combination of both. It would be nice to have the option available.
Your thoughts Reaperites?
Vote for/against this here:
http://forum.cockos.com/project.php?issueid=1868
*i*