# Streamlined Color Changing (Fades and Static)

**URL:** <https://forum.showsync.com/t/streamlined-color-changing-fades-and-static/1355>\
**Category:** Beam for Live\
**Created:** [September 15, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://forum.showsync.com/t/streamlined-color-changing-fades-and-static/1355 "2023-09-15T13:00:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 6

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**Author:** ![Luka](https://forum.showsync.com/user_avatar/forum.showsync.com/luka/32/197_2.png) [@Luka](https://forum.showsync.com/u/Luka)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://forum.showsync.com/t/streamlined-color-changing-fades-and-static/1355/6 "2023-12-05T17:37:51Z")

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# Preset morphing

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Smooth Automator device - sounds buggy and not so reliable, won’t be recommending this anymore! Will share if I come across a better ready-made alternative. You can also try searching at [www.maxforlive.com](http://www.maxforlive.com).

If you are handy with Max, a quick way to do something similar that doesn’t involve Macro Variations would be to build a Max for Live device that uses `pattrstorage` for storing presets and preset morphing, pattr-exposing a bunch of `number` boxes and connect their outlets to a bunch of `MapButton` abstractions (you can find it e.g. in Live’s LFO device):

![image](https://forum.showsync.com/uploads/default/original/1X/cf06bc61ec60c5df240a9515965c447d8e844924.png)

…then use this to map this to your Live parameters.

I’d love to see a more robust user-friendly solution for preset morphing in Live, but this is something that applies to Live workflow in general, so the solution for this is a bit out of the scope of Beam itself. Beam for Live allows you to approach lighting with the workflows you know from working in Live with sound, which means it also comes with a similar set of shortcomings, but as with sound, there are often many ways to get to the same result.

# A more native way of transitioning between different lighting states

Beam’s lighting signals are merged, so you can morph between different colors (as well as settings for other parameters) in most of the same ways as you can crossfade between different sounds in Live.  
E.g. you can have:

- Multiple tracks, each with a device controlling the same tag, but each device is set to another color. Use Track Volumes to determine how much of each tracks lighting signal should be present, and use this to create transitions.

- Same, but with an Instrument Rack: multiple chains, each with a device controlling the same tag, but each device is set to another color. Use Chain Volumes to determine how much of each track’s lighting signal should be present, and use this to create transitions.

- 2 tracks, each with a device cotrolling the same tag, but each device is set to another color & use clips to have a number of different color presets. Use the Crossfader: assign one track to A, and the other one to B, then crossfade between them.

Read more about merging here: [https://support.showsync.com/beam/#/advanced/mixing](https://support.showsync.com/beam/#/advanced/mixing)

Please share how this works for you.

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