Logic Pro 9 Can I name Midi Ports?

[WrinklyD]

Hi,
Is it possible to name Midi ports in the Environment? Attached is a screen shot of my Environment when Logic has an M-Audio 49e Keystation attached and is receiving midi from it.
Is there any way to name the plugs/ports in the Input View. The other thing I've just noticed is that my Keystation's midi data doesn't appear in the Input View but it's definitely being recognised by LE9. I'm a novice when it comes to Logic's Environment so any advice would be helpful.
Thanks.

 

[WrinklyD]

Answered part of my own question!

Okay I've discovered I need a Physical Input to see the M-Audio Keystation etc.
It appears that the only input that isn't named is my Saffire LE which is shown simply as plug1. So is there any way of naming this? The other inputs I have are:
USB Keystation 49e
USB Midi Cable - which is attached to my FCB1010 floorboard.
Caps Lock Keyboard.
Thanks.

 

[Eli]

Try doing the naming in Audio MIDI Setup in the Mac OS Utilities folder. The names there should be reflected in Logic when you look at the names in the Physical Input. and in other areas of Logic as well (Library, etc).

 

[WrinklyD]

I've tried that but when I select the Saffire LE "Plug 1" port it will not let me rename it. The device is already named Saffire LE in Audio/Midi Setup.

By the way I've just finished working through your Songwriting Theory Explained tutorial from Groove 3 and found it excellent.

 

[JuanTahnahmahrah]

I did not see a "physical input" in your screen shot, and also could not tell which layer of the environment you uploaded. I attached three screen shots, the first from the "clicks & ports" layer, the second of the "instruments" layer...with the "clicks & ports" layer on top of it. My cabling is a little different. I activated the drop-down in the instruments layer so you could see the automatic labeling that Logic provides for you. The "2600x" is a MIDI keyboard that I created manually by choosing "new" "multi-instrument." The Eleven Rack has both "Rig" and "external" inputs. The AMT8/Unitor8 has eight MIDI inputs.

You really do not need to re-label the ports, that is handled by the device drivers for the hardware you are using. The third screenshot shows the "Audio-MIDI" applet windows for both Audio and MIDI devices with drivers loaded.

You create new external MIDI instruments in a separate environment layer named "instruments" and select the physical port from the drop-down...which is automatically labeled by the MIDI device driver{s}.

 

[WrinklyD]

Hi Juan,
As I said in my second post there wasn't a Physical Input in the (Clicks & Ports) screenshot. I just grabbed what Logic had set up. Anyway thanks for all your advice. I think the bottom line is - if the Saffire LE driver names the port Plug1 that's what I'm stuck with.

 

[JuanTahnahmahrah]

Seems odd that The Sapphire LE has a different name in Logic. Did you look in the environment "pull-down" window (where you select which port you will be using to connect an external MIDI keyboard) and see if it also shows "Plug1" there?

 

[WrinklyD]

I'm not sure where you mean? I've checked all of the Drop Down menus in C&P view and can't see any ports. Also, in the Audio/Midi Setup my Saffire LE has Plug 1 set as its port so I guess Logic is being entirely consistent in that its picked up what's in the A/M Setup screen. Thanks again for your advice.

 

[Eli]

I think the idea with the A/M setup is that you physically drag and connect that port 1 cable to another MIDI device, whose name will then be reflected in the Clicks and Ports layer on the Physical Input object (and other locations). Otherwise, yes; it is accurately reflecting the "port 1" name brought up in A/M setup by the driver.


PS: Thanks; glad you enjoyed the videos!

 

[JuanTahnahmahrah]

Forgive me if I present the obvious...

The Logic screen shots I uploaded are from an actual project. If you are so inclined, try this:

1) Open the main environment window and create a new layer called "MIDI instruments". 2) Create a new "Multi-instrument" in this new layer. 3) You should see a selection called "Port" in the left parameter window. 4) Click on this, and you should see all your available ports.

If you take another look at my uploads, you will notice that the eight Unitor8 ports are also labeled port1 to port8. The "MIDI instr" layer is something I created to hold my external MIDI instruments. The "Ports" pulldown is in the newly created "MIDI instr" layer, not the "Clicks & Ports" layer...

 

[WrinklyD]

Hi Juan,
Got it! The Ports dropdown in the instrument parameters box shows Saffire LE (1874) Plug 1 (or maybe it says Port 1 I'm writing this on my iPad not my iMac). So Logic is recognising the LE name even if it's not displaying it in the Physical Input graphic in the Environment. Thanks again for your help.