I recently picked up an AS-1 and it sounds great, but I would like to get some more hands on control over the parameters. I’m curious to hear some of the different ways others are programming it externally.
I recently picked up a Komplete Kontrol S61, and in addition to all of the brilliant DAW integration, the impact it is already having
on my workflow is profound (only a few days after opening the box); this is particularly true when it comes to programming the AS-1.
One of the first things I did with it was create a MIDI template for my AS-1, so that I can easily get to the things the front panel falls short on, such as full ADSR+EnvAmt values for VCF and VCA. It's not possible to overemphasize what this single purchase adds to sound design workflow for the AS-1; it has transformed that little Pioneer box into one incredible mono synth. Many controllers will let you map CC params, but part of the magic of the KK S61 is the dual screens and the ease of labeling each knob and button.
I also created a similar template for my OB-6 -- even though it is a keyboard unit and of course has knob per function, its on the top tier of a 4 tier stand which puts my arm at an uncomfortable playing angle for longer sessions, this allows me to play the OB-6 from a comfortable sitting position and still make effective use of space. There are still some things I will do directly on the OB-6 panel. My other HW synths can be comfortably controlled via their front panel, but I am still tempted to make templates for some of them for fast access to certain functions.
In other words this MIDI controller is the king of workflow when it comes to creating templates for external hardware. I won't even get into what it does for software plug-ins other than to say its insta-magic.
About the only issue I could cite is for touring musicians -- the templates aren't stored on the keyboard, a computer is still required. Also the software for mapping the MIDI CCs needs some updates for cut-n-paste to make creating templates faster -- I'd like to be able to duplicate pages. Built in templates for popular hardware synths as starting points would be nice too.