Apple Logic Pro /LogicExpress Discussion

Hey,

     I've read the manuals and I'm sure they make perfect sense to somebody who already 
knows how to do the stuff.  But for a person trying to replicate what Apple is talking 
about, it's very confusing.

     Can somebody explain how to use the learn function of Logic?

     In Pro Tools' instrument "XPand" it is really sweet/easy, you do something like hold 
down option and click on the GUI knob/fader that you want to MIDI control then it gives a 
prompt like "waiting for MIDI" and whatever midi key/mod wheel whatever you touch next 
gets assigned to that XPand function.

      The wording in the Apple manual is confusing in that I'm not sure if they are talking 
about touching a virtual button in Logic GUI or a real button on an external MIDI device.

    In the past I have had luck using the Learn function for things like record/play 
(assigning them to the top few midi piano keys).  But now I'm trying to assign some other 
things and am not having any luck.

      Thanks!

              pete_buchwald@...

Pete, it's pretty easy, once you know where to look.

This is what I do -- though I'm not sure if there are other paths to  
the same goal -- anyway:


Let's say you want to control pan for a track with an external MIDI  
knob or slider.  First, it saves some time to turn on track  
automation in the view menu, select the track you want, and select  
"Pan" for the automation type.

(1) Do Preferences-->Automation
(2) Turn on "Automation Quick Access" (AQA)
(3) Hit the "Learn Button"
(4) Move the knob or slider -- that's it!
(5) You can hit "Edit" on the Automation page to confirm the binding,  
or to change it

There's also an "Expert box" in the Edit window that allows you to  
fine-tune the assignment.

Now, to link the controller to something cooler than Pan -- like a  
soft synth or a plug-in parameter -- you do exactly as above, but  
just select the parameter you want in the track automation.  So if  
you have a Plat Verb on an audio track, for example, and you want to  
control the Reverbtime -- just click on the automation bar, select  
PtVerb-->Reverbtime. Then do your AQA sequence as above. This works  
for AU plug-ins as well as Logic plugs.

Skip




On Jul 28, 2007, at 10:31 AM, pete_buchwald wrote:

> Hey,
>
> I've read the manuals and I'm sure they make perfect sense to  
> somebody who already
> knows how to do the stuff. But for a person trying to replicate  
> what Apple is talking
> about, it's very confusing.
>
> Can somebody explain how to use the learn function of Logic?
>
> In Pro Tools' instrument "XPand" it is really sweet/easy, you do  
> something like hold
> down option and click on the GUI knob/fader that you want to MIDI  
> control then it gives a
> prompt like "waiting for MIDI" and whatever midi key/mod wheel  
> whatever you touch next
> gets assigned to that XPand function.
>
> The wording in the Apple manual is confusing in that I'm not sure  
> if they are talking
> about touching a virtual button in Logic GUI or a real button on an  
> external MIDI device.
>
> In the past I have had luck using the Learn function for things  
> like record/play
> (assigning them to the top few midi piano keys). But now I'm trying  
> to assign some other
> things and am not having any luck.
>
> Thanks!
>
> pete_buchwald@...
>
>
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The learn function is a very powerful one  and what it allows you to is to grab logic by the 
nose and tell it "OK you logic, you, here is what i want you to do when i strike this key or 
key combination"  without having to go all the way up to the menu bars and search either 
in the menue itself or within the many submenues. But in order to achieve this you have to 
define the key commands you want logic to respond to and to do so you have to  go to 
>preferences>key commands or simply pressing OPtion+K.

"The eaisiest way to define a key command is simply to search for it, then have logic learn 
the key you wish to be the key command. For example, suppose that you want to assign a 
key command to the Copy Screenset command. Type the word screenset into the Find field 
of the Key Commands window . Logic then didplays a list of all key commands with the 
word screenset in their name. Select the Copy Screenset command fron the list and assign 
a key to it."

"There are four ways to assign keys to a command:

Lear by Key Label. This learns key sequences based on the label of the key you press. In 
other words, if you press a key labeled " 3", then 3 will be assigned to that command.

Learn by Key Position. This key command option allows you to assign a key command not 
based on the label on the key, but the position of the key on the keyboard.

Learn MIDI. Logic lets you not only assign a keyboard key to a command, but a MIDI 
controller to a command. Simply click on the Learn MIDI button and press a MIDI key on 
your MIDI device or any MIDI controller you wish to be assigned to the key. Your chosen 
controller wull be reflected in the Key Assigment column and in the MIDI column of the 
command list. You can assign both a MIDI and key sequence to a command.

Lear New Assigment. If you want to assign a command to a control surface, press this 
button, then move or press the control on the controlsurface you wish to assign to this 
command. The Assigments window will reflect what you pressed.

Aside from this you can also set up any MIDI Devise as a Control Surface 
>preferences>Control Surfaces>Learn Assigment for.

I took the liberty of transcribing this explanation from Orren Merton"s Logi Pro 7 Power.
I hope it helps.

GR



--- In Logic_Cafe@yahoogroups.com, "pete_buchwald" <pete_buchwald@...> wrote:
>
> Hey,
> 
>      I've read the manuals and I'm sure they make perfect sense to somebody who already 
> knows how to do the stuff.  But for a person trying to replicate what Apple is talking 
> about, it's very confusing.
> 
>      Can somebody explain how to use the learn function of Logic?
> 
>      In Pro Tools' instrument "XPand" it is really sweet/easy, you do something like hold 
> down option and click on the GUI knob/fader that you want to MIDI control then it gives 
a 
> prompt like "waiting for MIDI" and whatever midi key/mod wheel whatever you touch 
next 
> gets assigned to that XPand function.
> 
>       The wording in the Apple manual is confusing in that I'm not sure if they are talking 
> about touching a virtual button in Logic GUI or a real button on an external MIDI device.
> 
>     In the past I have had luck using the Learn function for things like record/play 
> (assigning them to the top few midi piano keys).  But now I'm trying to assign some 
other 

> things and am not having any luck.
> 
>       Thanks!
> 
>               pete_buchwald@...
>

> Learn by Key Position. This key command option allows you to assign a key 
> command not
> based on the label on the key, but the position of the key on the keyboard.
> 
> 

For example there are two keys for "+" - one to the upper right of "P" and 
"["" and one in the "calculator" section at far right. These can be assigned to 
different key commands. In this way, you can use your keyboard for more key 
commands.

I experienced some strangeness with the keycommands at times, and finally 
solved that problem by going back to Apple's keyboard. The other one was MacAlly 
which was a nicer keyboard in many ways, but obviouly there was some little 
difference which made keys not work at times.



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks guys,

      What I am really trying to do is assign an old Yamaha 01v faders to control individual 
faders in Logic, so between everything you guys said ... I have a much better shot at getting it 
to work.  If I get it to work I'll post a "how to" document in our Logic Cafe files ... because a 
(approximately) $400 16 channel control surface sure would be a nice Logic tool.  That's 
about what they go for on eBay  

     Pete

Pete,

Got some good stuff for you, I think. Logic may already know how to  
use your O1V.

I've been catching up on how Logic does automation (having recently  
upgraded from v5 to 7.2). And I finally have some understanding of it.

Really, there's a lot of overlap between the automation functions and  
the Control Surface functionality. Essentially, external automation  
is just as a special case of control surface management.

And, as it turns out, Logic 7.2 has a bunch of bundled control  
surface packages...including, it looks like, some for the various O1V  
and O2R configurations. Here's what you do to get to them:

(1) Preferences->Control Surfaces->Setup
(2) Select drop-down menu New->Install

The list of supported devices will come up. You can install manually,  
or you can use scan to have Logic look at your MIDI ports and install  
connected devices automatically. Per the manual, this is  
preferable...it lets Logic hand-shake with the device directly.

If your device is not supported, you could look for the support  
bundle online...or program it manually using either:

(1) Preferences->Control Surface->Controller Assignments, or
(2) Select a parameter you wish to control, and use Command-L (or  
Prefs->Control Surfaces->Learn Assignment)


Hope that helps!

Skip


On Jul 29, 2007, at 11:50 AM, pete_buchwald wrote:

> Thanks guys,
>
> What I am really trying to do is assign an old Yamaha 01v faders to  
> control individual
> faders in Logic, so between everything you guys said ... I have a  
> much better shot at getting it
> to work. If I get it to work I'll post a "how to" document in our  
> Logic Cafe files ... because a
> (approximately) $400 16 channel control surface sure would be a  
> nice Logic tool. That's
> about what they go for on eBay
>
> Pete
>
>
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

And btw, using the Learn command (default CMD-L or Prefs-->Control  
Surfaces-->Learn), I was able to do exactly what you described for  
ProTools, Pete.

I could open a plug-in, click on a screen knob, and then move a  
physical controller -- and presto, it learned it. It let me do a  
bunch of them serially, in fact, once the controller window opened.

Sorry for the fragmented answer -- I've been piecing this together  
and learning as I go.

Skip

On Jul 29, 2007, at 11:50 AM, pete_buchwald wrote:

> Thanks guys,
>
> What I am really trying to do is assign an old Yamaha 01v faders to  
> control individual
> faders in Logic, so between everything you guys said ... I have a  
> much better shot at getting it
> to work. If I get it to work I'll post a "how to" document in our  
> Logic Cafe files ... because a
> (approximately) $400 16 channel control surface sure would be a  
> nice Logic tool. That's
> about what they go for on eBay
>
> Pete
>
>
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hey All,

    FYI, I have my old digital mixer hooked in via midi to Logic and moving assigned faders 
in Logic (7.1).

    I would click on a Logic fader then go under preferences/control surfaces/learn 
assignment for "volume" then I could move the corresponding fader on my 01v and voila 
the 01v could control that fader.

    I quickly learned that the assignment worked best if I had all the faders in Logic and on 
the Yamaha digital mixer all the way down, othewise they were working together but not 
calibrated to eachother.

    For the following faders:  leave the bottom "learn mode" button illuminated and double 
click on fader #2 in Logic and you should see the number 2 show up in the learn window, 
where fader 1 used to be indicated, move fader 2 on digital mixer.  Continue. 

    I even assigned the Output 1-2 to the stereo master fader on the digital board.

    I will try to assign other features like pan and even transport and a few others to 
buttons on the digital mixer ... we'll see what happens.

    The next trick will be trying to get the Yamaha mixer to reflect the volume automation 
in Logic!!  

     Thanks for the help,

         I will still try to put together a "how to" document for the Logic Cafe file archives.

       Pete