Take Control of Your Live Automation: Introducing MIDI CC Bypass
Imagine this: You’re in the middle of a live set, the crowd is moving, and you’ve built up a massive, sweeping filter modulation on your main synth track. It sounds incredible, but as you transition to the next part of the song, you want the notes to keep playing while you suddenly drop all that wild knob automation.
In most sequencers, this means scrambling to reset your MIDI CC values or digging through menus to temporarily disable your automation lanes. It's a quick way to break your flow and lose the crowd's energy.
That’s why we built MIDI CC Bypass in the closeby.1 sequencer. It’s a simple, one-click performance feature designed to let you freeze and mute MIDI Control Change (CC) automation instantly on any track, while your notes keep playing exactly as they should.
What is MIDI CC Bypass?
Normally, a sequencer track sends two main types of MIDI data to your synthesizer:
- MIDI Notes: The pitches, durations, and timing of the notes you’ve written.
- MIDI CC Automation: The movement data (like filter sweeps, delay times, or LFO rates) you’ve recorded using the knobs and dials.
MIDI CC Bypass splits these two streams apart. When you activate CC Bypass on a track, it immediately pauses the outgoing automation stream. Your hardware synths and software plugins will stop receiving CC messages, freezing their parameters in place or returning them to default values. Meanwhile, the actual musical notes keep playing uninterrupted.
How to Use CC Bypass in closeby.1
We’ve made CC Bypass incredibly accessible so you can use it on the fly during a performance:
- Open the CC Automation Panel: Look at the sidebar panel on the right of your sequencer grid.
- Toggle the CC Status: In the panel, you will see a button labeled ✓ CC Streaming when automation is active.
- Mute the CC: Click the button to toggle it. It will instantly change to ⚠️ CC Bypassed.
- Visual Indicators: You can also check the track’s status directly in the Left Sidebar track list, where it will display BYPASSED next to the track name, giving you instant visual feedback across your entire project.
Click it again, and your automation instantly resumes streaming right back to your synth!
3 Creative Ways to Perform with CC Bypass
CC Bypass isn't just a safety utility—it's a powerful tool for live expression. Here are three ways to use it in your next set:
1. The Instant Clean Drop
Build tension by cranking up delay sends, reverb decays, and filter resonances on a lead synth track using recorded automation. Right at the drop, toggle CC Bypass. The chaotic background automation will stop immediately, dropping the synth back to a clean, punchy sound while the notes keep playing, giving your drop maximum impact.
2. Live Parameter Overriding
When CC Bypass is active, the sequencer stops sending CC automation messages to your synth. This means you can grab the physical knobs on your synthesizer and adjust them manually without the sequencer constantly pulling the values back to the recorded automation grid. Once you’re done playing manually, toggle CC Bypass off to let the sequencer take over again.
3. Dynamic Arrangement Arranging
Quickly change the vibe of a section by muting CC automation on some tracks while keeping it active on others. For example, keep your lead synth's filter moving dynamically, but freeze the bassline's filter sweep to anchor the rhythm track.
Wrap Up
MIDI CC Bypass gives you the freedom to manipulate your sound without fear. Whether you're using it to clean up a transition, take manual control of your hardware, or perform dramatic builds and drops, it's a game-changer for live electronic music.
Try it out on your next project, and let us know how you're using it to shape your sound!