Right now you can move the mouse up and down while entering a new note with the pen tool to change its velocity. However, you have no feedback other than the color of the note about the actual value. You don’t see the actual number until after you create the note.
So that would be the solution. Just display the value somewhere WHILE entering a new note and not after it has already happened. Perhaps at the bottom in the status bar.
What problem(s) would this feature resolve?
Just the color is not accurate enough when for example you work with different zones that trigger other instruments/Samples and you need to hit a specific velocity window. The more zones you use, the smaller their window will be.
Right now, the velocity value of the new note is also saved as a starting point for the next note you enter. Let’s say you want to enter multiple notes with a value of 78.8% (100). It really is a pain or even impossible to get that default value to 78.8% because you don’t see what you’re doing.
How does this feature fit in Bitwig as a product?
This would fit in any DAW that can sequence MIDI. Velocity is one of the most important aspects of a note.
Is there already an alternative way to achieve this on Bitwig?
Right now you have to select a note and manually enter the exact velocity value in the inspector. But that’s a much bigger effort.
Could it be implemented using Bitwig components or APIs, without Bitwig team’s support?
I’m pretty sure that’s not possible.
Could it be provided by a VST or something else reasonably integrated with Bitwig?
I’m pretty sure that’s not possible.
Are there other products that offer this feature?
I’m coming from Ableton and there you see the exact value you’re entering while you create the note.
I know that interface. But it still doesn’t show the numbers. It’s more accurate than the shade of the note, but it’s still not accurate. While displaying that interface, I tried and tried with another note for reference right next to it and I wasn’t able to hit the default 78.7%.
And I guess that’s part of the problem 78.7% seems like a pretty odd number. Why would I want to hit it? And why is it the default velocity in new projects? That 78.7% is a pretty even 100 in the standard MIDI 0-127 range.
Also part of the problem is that it seems that the resolution of moving the mouse up and down while creating a note is just too low. When I tried to hit that 78.7%, I saw how the line in the interface you posted jumped up and down. With one step being below the reference note and the next step already above it. Even when I made the interface as big on my screen as possible.
So I guess that one part of the problem with this feature request is that I didn’t fully analyze the problem yet, so my post wasn’t clear enough. I’ll rework it later when I have more time.
Now I see how this draft category really makes sense.
There’s just one thing I already want to add now. I also wouldn’t say that this would be the most important feature to add. However, this feature would be completed by displaying a simple number in the status bar or inspector, the best-case scenario would be showing the values for the 0%-100% AND 0-127 range, and then making sure you can hit every number in that 0-127 range and don’t jump from 99 to 101.
I highly doubt that implementing to show one or two numbers, numbers that internally already exist, would be a big effort. And that brings the cost-benefit ratio back to a reasonable level.