Question: is it possible to get the transport moving by quarter or whole notes? And also for the cut function, is it possible to cut only on a specific duration ?
Answer: On the transport bar, under the time signature you'll see a "/16" or a "/4" (etc.). This is the snap value for cutting and moving, etc. As for moving the SPL: there are keycommands for "Rewind by format value" and "Forward by format value". The "format value" is the same as the "snap value" we just talked about. You might want to assign keys to these key commands, as they come in quite handy.
If you've opened a folder in the Arrange window, and want to get back to a higher level, double clicking anywhere on the background of the Arrange window will take you up a level. This is the equivalent of clicking in the small box-within a -box above the little man, but much quicker because you don't have to move your mouse so far.
A very easy option is to use the "Select Next Window" key command. I have it assigned to the "W" key. Works great. I double click a sequence (for me that opens the Matrix Editor), do my editing, hit "W" and the Matrix editor shoots to the back revealing my Arrange window without having to click (and thus without running the risk of accidentally adding automation nodes).
Also, you might want to try enabling "Auto Track Zoom" in Key Commands. What this does is keep all sequences as small normal objects except the one you're working on which is zoomed out. You can leave the "View Track Automation" on and you'll only see it for the selected track. It opens a lot of Arrange page real estate and makes it a lot easier to get around and find the sequence or track you're looking for. Assign it to a key so you can enable and disable it at will.
Question: I miss the way Vision's SPL could be repositioned by clicking in any empty space of the Arrange window. Having to mouse up to that little ruler at the top is a bit of a pain in comparison (not to mention the times I accidentally miss the target and turn on looping)
Answer: I've resorted to the non-mouse key command 'goto Position' (default key command 'G') with a quick typing of the desired bar and <enter>.
What I did was make the Goto function the period key by the numeric keypad. That way I can quickly hit period and type the bar number and hit enter all from within the same little area. This lets me punch in a location almost as fast as I can think about it. Using the G key requires two hands or time to move across the keyboard.
Method 1: While being in the environment, clicking on an object with the "MIDI out" tool will assign that object to the currently selected track.
Method 2: If you open an Arrange window and an Environment window, go to the Midi Instruments layer (or layer where you want to assign a Multi-Instrument to a track). Make sure that on the Multi-Instrument, no individual channels are selected. With the tracks from the Arrange in view and the Environment window in view, drag the Multi-Instrument to a track. That track and the next 15 subsequent tracks are assigned to the Multi-Instrument you dragged (starting at MIDI channel 1 through 16). If there aren't enough tracks, Logic will ask if you want to create new ones. If on the Multi-Instrument you select a single MIDI channel, then dragging the Multi onto a track will assign just the one track that you drag it to.
When I have to record many tracks at once, I just assign a function key (or some other convenient key) to the Key Command "Record Enable Track" and use the arrow key to scroll down across all the tracks I want enabled in arrange. This works rather fast.
Short answer: If you want to record to an Audio and a MIDI-track simultaneously, select the Audio-track in the Arrange window, record-enable it, and then select the MIDI track while holding the Shift key. Both tracks will now be selected and record-enabled.
Long answer:
All MIDI information will initially be recorded on the selected MIDI track, but will be sent to the appropriate instrument so it all plays correctly during recording. When you hit stop at the end of the recording, the MIDI info will be automatically split according to channel and placed on the correct track.
The only problem is any Sysex data, which 'by nature' doesn't have channel info, so will remain on the selected MIDI track regardless of the instrument it was intended for. It's fine during recording, but has to be manually separated out and placed on the appropriate track for correct playback. It gets more difficult if there's Sysex for more than one instrument (!).
Alternately to all the above, you can of course just record to a single MIDI track object, and cable that to all the appropriate instruments. The channel restrictions still apply of course. You'll have to split the data by channel manually if/when you need it separated, but it does make the record-enable procedure vastly simpler - just shift-click the single MIDI track's record button after record-enabling the Audio tracks.
Logic doesn't handle realtime multitrack MIDI recording at all well. Something more like Digital Performer, whereby MIDI tracks each have a selectable MIDI input source (and port!), and stay record-enabled when deselected, would be a very useful addition. This behaviour would be selectable as an option, in addition to the regular "put it all on one track" mode of course.
Question: Somebody on this list mentioned a way to jump back into audio record from the same location while erasing the old take.
Answer: Just press record again without stopping. Or: there's a key-command "Record Repeat" that does just that but allows you to stop/listen in between recordings. I assigned the "/" to it, so I have the "*" and the "/" right next to each other. It erases the last recorded sequence and starts recording at the same place. Same effect as pressing record without stopping, except you can be stopped. For example: Record something, listen back to it, hate it, do another take without having anything to prepare. If you are recording audio, the Audio delete dialog box will come up.
One thing I find troublesome about snipping the punch-in section with the scissors is that when punching in live audio (let's say vocals for example), the offending section needing to be replaced rarely conforms to exact bars and beats, what with breathing and phrasing and everything. A simple snip with the scissors (or key command) probably won't be accurate enough. I need to go to a zoomed in view, and control-shift-cut using the scissors over the audio waveform to isolate the exact phrase (or phrases) into a region.
But at this point what about this: with the newly snipped offending region selected apply three key commands:
This will allow the singer to hear the track up until the part to be punched in. You can "back up" the pre roll as much as needed since "cycle" isn't engaged. And you won't waste HD space since recording only begins at the autodrop point. The offending region will be deleted (because of "replace" mode) and LA will start and stop recording at exactly the right points.
Question: How can one apply the same/similar groove and extended sequence parameters to multiple sequences? Say I have created a dozen, related drum patterns which should use almost, if not exactly the same parameters.
Answer: Destructive approach: Get one sequence set exactly as you like it, with all the extended sequence parameters (ESP) set. Then normalize it (Arrange window, Functions menu: Sequence Parameter > Normalize Sequence Parameters). Then create a groove template of this sequence in the Arrange window (main menu: Options > Groove Template > Make Groove Template). You will then have this groove template added to your list of quantized grids which you can use just as you use any other quantize value.
Non-destructive approach: Hi-lite all the sequences that you wanted to apply those Extended Sequence Parameters to, change the sequence parameters, and they all get the same treatment, simultaneously and non-destructively.
Question: I need to know how to control the amount of groove/swing when quantising. So far I only know how to just choose a quantize template in the arrange window, but I really want to control the swing more. How do I do this?
Answer: You need to use the extended sequence parameters. Accessible either via key command, or by double clicking in the regular sequence parameter area (left side of the Arrange window). You will find a value called strength there which will let you get in between the preset swing values. The range values also offer a lot of useful flexibility; but that's not specifically what you are asking about.
While in the Arrange window, just press "P". That's the default keyboard shortcut to bring up the extended sequence params.
Question: Can you explain to me what exactly the "swing quantize" values do? I never understood what their practical purpose is. Can you give me a detailed example of how to use them and in what situation are they useful?
Answer: You can see rhythms as a line where a bar is split up in e.g. 16th's. Now if you use 1/16 quantize, everything is bang on these divisions. Then, if you analyze for instance a shuffling rhythm, the down beat, snare or clap and a hi-hat programmed in 4's or 8's will be straight still, but every event that occurs on beat 1.1.2.1, 1.1.4.1, 1.2.2.1, 1.2.4.1 etc will be delayed a certain amount. This is where you would use the 16A-16F quantization options: 16A resembles 1/16 a lot, while with 16F it's not really straight at all anymore. It's beginning to sound like a walz or something. When it comes to dance music the trend is definitely swing, at least 16D (I've found out that US sequencers like Studio Vision and Digital Performer go between 16D and 16E (value 71 on the upbeats). It slows the track down a bit, but it makes it more funky and hip.
This tool is the crossfade-tool and is not described in the manual with all the other tools. Use it to graphically perform audio region crossfades and fades. Select the tool and click-drag across the boundary of two audio regions: you'll see a crossfade being created.
Many people do the fades numerically in the audio region's Sequence Parameter Box. However, there is something that can be done graphically that cannot be done numerically: you can have off-centred crossfades. When you do the fade numerically, the crossfade is always perfectly centred around the beginning of the 2nd region. But graphically, you can position the fade anywhere, as determined by the position where you start and stop dragging.
This can be done on Mac only. There's no way to colour markers on PCs.
From the Options menu, pick Marker > Open Text. In the text window, pick "Object colors" from the "Face" menu. Now hold down the Option key while choosing a color. This will colour the background of the text window, and the same colour will also be used in the Arrange window.
It's a toggle like the transport. I have it set up as <command>M, so that key combo opens it and the same key combo closes it again.
On PCs: You can close the marker window or any other window in a program by pressing Ctrl+F4.
Instead of Markers, you can use a 'No Output' track with empty sequences on it instead, and use those as Markers.
There are nice things one can do with such a track:
Being a sometimes Pro Tool user myself, one thing I set up in Logic is a screenset with a full screen Arrange window, and then a Mixer window completely hidden behind it in the same screen set. Then I assigned the key command for "select next window" to Command+. This way I can use the key command to toggle back and forth between the Arrange and Mixer views, somewhat like in Pro Tools.
Of course this is just a sort of "visual semantics". Because what's the difference between invoking that key command or simply calling up another screen set with a mixer window? I of course love screen sets and would not want to live without them. But the above mentioned set up allows me some sort of "mental" continuity in work flow between the two programs.
Open a Track Mixer in arrange as a float window (hold down Option [Ctrl] while picking 'Track Mixer' from the menu)). Double-click link icon to turn it yellow. In "view" disable anything you don't need. Resize to one channel strip, and find a home for it on your screen. I use the far bottom right, but some use the wasted space on the left under parameters. Any time you select a track in Arrange your channel strip corresponds. Nice for quick access to plugs, fine level adjustments etc.
You want to mute an instrument (ex. bass) throughout an entire song, without opening folders everywhere and muting each track individually. In order to achieve this, you use the "change instrument globally" command. Find one of the tracks with the bass line on it and while holding the Option key down change the bass's instrument to "No Output". This will change it in every folder on any level hence muting the entire Bass performance. To un-mute it, do the same in reverse. You can also use this to globally change one instrument to another.
Warning (maybe too obvious, but still...): if you've set all bass tracks to 'No Output' and also set all piano tracks to 'No Output', there's no way you can globally assign all bass tracks to the bass instrument again (except by dealing with them one by one). Trying to Option-assign the bass instrument would also assign the piano tracks to the bass, since all those tracks are set to 'No Output'.
Instead of assigning the tracks to 'No Output', you could assign them to e.g. different Monitor objects (or some other environment object with no Port setting and cabled to nothing) you created in the environment. Call one Monitor "bass mute" and another "piano mute", check their icon-checkboxes in the parameter pane so they'll appear in the Instrument list, and off you go.
There's a key command "Pickup clock & select next event". This is the brother of the regular pickup clock. You take a whole pile of regions that need to be synced (they need to be in sequential order) and place them to the RIGHT of the SPL. Select the first region. Turn on your master sync device (video, etc.) and when Logic starts running you watch the picture and hit this key whenever you see a hit point on the screen. It will place one audio region after another on the fly with just this one key. This is particularly handy for repetitive foley type fx like footsteps. You can also do a marker / spotting thing by creating a lot of empty midi sequences that are cut very short. Run the video and tap in these midi 'markers' on the fly then go back and place your audio at these points.
On Mac: Control+Shift+mousedrag moves in the finest increments (ticks). You must press Shift after the mouse has been clicked on the object.
On PC: Alt+Shift. You need to click on the object first before pressing Alt+Shift.
Omitting the Shift key will move in "divisions", as set in the box below the time signature in the Transport window.
You can also set a nudge shortcut with a key command (type "nudge" in the Find box in the Key Command window). You have choices of ticks, bars, beats, resolution, frames, half frames etc........
Set up a Key Command for Nudge Event Position by Tick (+ or - 1)
Question: I have a bunch of drum-regions, where the 'beat' isn't exactly at the start of the region. How do I get the beats at the exact start of a bar or beat?
Answer: You need to set the anchor point for each region. The anchor is what does the snapping to the bar/beat/division grid, and doesn't necessarily need to be at the start of a region.
First, turn "search zero crossings" OFF in the Arrange window's "Audio" menu, as this may interfere with the exact placement/trimming/looping of audio (you can fix any clicks at region start/end with a fade up/down of 5 or so).
Double-click a region in the Arrange window to open it in the Sample Editor. In the Sample Editor's Edit menu, make sure "Update Arrange Position" is not checked. In the wave display you'll see the start point "S" and a little black triangle, which is the anchor point. Drag the anchor to the desired peak of your reference click/drum part. Close the Sample Editor - you'll notice that the region has moved to place the anchor on the bar/beat/division grid, rather than the region start. The anchor is shown as a dotted vertical line on the region.
Repeat for all other regions with reference clicks, and drag them where you need them. They'll move in steps of whatever the beat value is if you just click & drag, steps of the division value if you hold down Ctrl [Alt] after clicking, steps of one tick if you hold down Ctrl-Shift [Alt-Shift] after clicking. To move a region by individual samples, you must move the anchor point in the Sample Editor, as the Arrange window's maximum resolution is not that fine.
Note that if a region is placed a bit off the grid and you move it by dragging, it'll move by exact bars/beats/divisions - i.e. it will still be slightly off the grid by the same amount after the move - it won't snap exactly to the grid, thus allowing the precise timing to be maintained.
To fine-tune placing, it's often useful to open the "Event Float" (Options menu), which shows numerically the exact placement of the anchor point and exact length of any selected region (bars/beats/divisions/ticks). You can double-click in the event float and type in values (if you just want "5 1 1 1" for example you only need to type "5"), or click & drag up/down on any individual sub-value.
This is a VERY useful function (Arrange Window, Functions > Objects menu), especially with audio sequences. It allows you to "butt" the start of one sequence against the end of the previous one. So, select 2 or more audio regions in the Arrange Window and use this function. When the regions are end to end, you can use the glue tool to create a new file from your edits ("Digital Mixdown" from the Arrange window's Audio menu does the same).
With MIDI sequences, the first sequence will retain its position and the sequences that follow will move end to end.
To butt the start of the second region to the end of the first by moving the second region, select both & use the command "tie objects by position change". This command can be found in the Arrange window's Functions > Object menu.
To butt the end of the first region to the start of the second by moving the first region, "Lock SMPTE position" the second region before using the above command, then "Unlock SMPTE position" it again. These commands are found in the Arrange window's Functions > Object menu.
To turn both regions into one object, select both, click with the glue tool (or assign a key command like shift-G). This will create a new audio file consisting of the 2 regions.
To keep both regions together without making a new file, select both and pack a folder (Arrange window, Functions > Folder > Pack Folder). The regions don't have to be butted to do this, which can be handy for beats.
Yes, there are, you can set them up in the Key Commands window (type "tool" in the KC window's Find box). Personally I just use the ESC key for bringing up the toolbox directly at the mouse position.
Arrange window, Environment window, Hyper Editor: In the parameter pane (left side of the window), click on any parameter to 'activate' it. Now you can use the + and - keys on the numeric keypad to increment/decrement the value.
Edit List: Select an event, and click-scroll the required value to 'activate' that column (note: just clicking doesn't work here -- you have to scroll). Now use the +/- keys on the numeric keypad to inc/dec. If you use the arrow up/down to select the prev/next event, the active column will remain the same, so that you don't have to click-scroll again. This means you can click-scroll the velocity of a note once, and then use +/- and up/down to alter the velocities of other notes, without ever having to use the mouse.
Emagic Plug-ins: Option-Control-doubleclick (or Option-Shift) [Alt-Ctrl-doubleclick] the plug-in slot to open the plug-in in a non-floating window (!). If the plug-in has a graphical interface, switch it to Control mode. Now click the required parameter once to 'activate' it, and then use the numeric +/- keys to increment/decrement.
EXS24: Open the EXS and click on a value to 'activate' it. Use the numeric +/- keys to inc/dec. Non-floating window and/or Control mode are thus not needed here. Note: you can also click on any button and use the +/- keys to "turn the knobs". This method might hold for other Emagic instruments as well -- I don't know.
You can use folders to organize your song better.
Let's say you have produced a cool chorus, which should appear two times within your song. All you do now is pack the complete chorus tracks into one folder and you can move the folder around the Arrange window easily. You need not drag all those 20-plus sequences, but instead use only one folder element which can be placed and copied much easier.
If you want to change something, just double-click the folder "sequence" to open the folder. In order to back out of the folder again, either click the small square left of the window's Edit menu, or double-click on an unused piece of the window background.
Also folders help a lot if you make "pattern-based" music. Then just think of a folder as a pattern which contains sequences. This has helped me a lot as I was coming from the old Notator SL (Atari) which had exactly this kind of concept.
Answer 1:Have you tried to Ctrl-drag [Alt-drag] in the Arrange window? This turns the mouse temporarily into the magnifying tool, zooms to exactly where you want, then Ctrl-click [Alt-click] the background to backtrack through all your previous zoom levels. This is a brilliant feature -- I use this ALL the time. No scrolling required, you can zoom to the exact level you want instead of 3 presetlevels, and then you can backtrack to exactly where you were before the edit. I only use the preset Zoom 1 to zoom out to an overview of the whole song.
Answer 2: I agree the Zoom KC isn't always predictable to where it actually zooms. This might not help, but there is a brilliant feature on LAW with Wheel Mice, so that you can scroll very quickly around the screen by holding the wheel down and dragging in the direction you want to scroll. It doesn't sound much, but once you've tried it, going back to using the scroll bars is a real drag.
I stumbled upon the solution. Hold Ctrl (or Option - I can't remember) when you click on the bars field. Now you can type in your bars just as before!