Faster Multitimbral Template Creation

L

LSchefman

Logician
Creating templates with several multitimbral instruments is a drag. You have to name each track, select an icon for each track, for every multitimbral instance of an instrument. Dealing with instruments like Play, or Independence Pro, it's time consuming and mind-numbing.

When I create a multitimbral instrument, I want to have Logic automatically name each track -- something like "Play 1, Play 2, etc." would be fine. I can rename them later. I should also be able to select multiple tracks and choose an icon for all of them at once.
 
Uh, you can, it's easy.

Create your multi and instrument, go to the environment, select your multi, and name it "Play". You 16 midi tracks should now be names Play 1, play 2... etc.

Then, while selecting the main midi multi, go to the inspector (in the environment still) and change the icon, and colorize your multi, it will ask both time you try and change these if you want all channels on the multi to be changed, and select "yes".

Done.

Another suggestion: setup a new Logic song with all the tracks you want ahead of time (say a few instances of play, a few synths, etc) and save it as a new template, so you can simply load it when you start your new session.

When you now select "new" you get an option to open your new template. I have a number of them depending on what I wish to do, and another good idea is to take a look at Logics (the orchestral one is exceptional) and change the instruments to sounds you want (your Play Hollywood strings or whatever you have). then you have your own customized templates, and agin, you can save hours during setup and initial composing or writing.
 
The suggestions about how to accomplish what I wanted in the Environment are most welcome and appreciated!

I do create templates for different kinds of projects, as you do, already. But I like to change them from time to time, especially as I add or delete various instrument plugins. So your advice will be a real timesaver for me as I move forward!

Thanks again!
 
georgelegeriii said:
Uh, you can, it's easy.

Create your multi and instrument, go to the environment, select your multi, and name it "Play". You 16 midi tracks should now be names Play 1, play 2... etc.

Then, while selecting the main midi multi, go to the inspector (in the environment still) and change the icon, and colorize your multi, it will ask both time you try and change these if you want all channels on the multi to be changed, and select "yes".

Done.
Click to expand...

Just as an FYI on Logic 9.1.7, OSX 10.7.3, selecting the multi in the environment and naming it, say, Play (when naming you have to use command-click on the name) results in however many midi tracks named for example, "Play," but not Play 1, Play 2, and so on. In other words, they aren't automatically numbered.

Nor does Logic ask you if you want the channels to be changed. Not that I mind not having to click through that!

Everything else works exactly as described, for which, many thanks! 🙂
 
Actually, try it again...

Make a new instrument track, and then a new midi multi.

Cable the midi multi to the instrument track.

The Inspector should have an icon that looks like a midi cable, port will now read "Off", and channel will be set to "All".

In the environment make sure you select the entire multi, not a single channel. When instantiated, all the channels have lines through them.

First, change the name of the multi to PLAY by double clicking on the name in the inspector, it is named (Multi Instr.) by default.

Now, if you select a channel here, ANY channel. if will be shown as "PLAY 1" for channel one, PLAY 2 for channel 2 in the inspector in the environment layer. Guaranteed.

Next this: First, make sure you have the main multi midi object selected (this can be verified by having these settings shown in the inspector: Icon checked, port off, channel all, nothing else, other than the midi icon.

Put you curser on the midi cable icon, press and hold. A selection of alternate icons will show up. Select ANY one other than the one it currently has (the midi cable). A dialog box pops up and says "Change for all sub channels" and has 2 choices: No, or Change. IF you select change, any enabled midi channels will now show the icon you selected. This works the same way with colors.

One strange thing: In the environment, when you select an available midi channel, it will say "Play 1". In the environment, it will say "Channel 1". Gotta love Logic's Logic.

Just like Region VS Track based automation. Creating a fade up on a region, and then a fade out with track based automation over the exact same place = chaos

So, I hope you take the time to review what I said, especially now that I have clarified it as best as I can. Logic does work as I suggested. I would suggest it if I hadn't verified it (or in this case did a bit on it in my first VTC "Logic Platinum 6" tutorial a few years back.

I admit to being a bit snarky, but I usually only get like this when I am pretty sure I'm actually correct ;-)).

So, you learned something, and I verified exactly how it worked. We both win.
 
georgelegeriii said:
Actually, try it again...

Make a new instrument track, and then a new midi multi.

Cable the midi multi to the instrument track.

The Inspector should have an icon that looks like a midi cable, port will now read "Off", and channel will be set to "All".

In the environment make sure you select the entire multi, not a single channel. When instantiated, all the channels have lines through them.

First, change the name of the multi to PLAY by double clicking on the name in the inspector, it is named (Multi Instr.) by default.

Now, if you select a channel here, ANY channel. if will be shown as "PLAY 1" for channel one, PLAY 2 for channel 2 in the inspector in the environment layer. Guaranteed.

Next this: First, make sure you have the main multi midi object selected (this can be verified by having these settings shown in the inspector: Icon checked, port off, channel all, nothing else, other than the midi icon.

Put you curser on the midi cable icon, press and hold. A selection of alternate icons will show up. Select ANY one other than the one it currently has (the midi cable). A dialog box pops up and says "Change for all sub channels" and has 2 choices: No, or Change. IF you select change, any enabled midi channels will now show the icon you selected. This works the same way with colors.

One strange thing: In the environment, when you select an available midi channel, it will say "Play 1". In the environment, it will say "Channel 1". Gotta love Logic's Logic.

Just like Region VS Track based automation. Creating a fade up on a region, and then a fade out with track based automation over the exact same place = chaos

So, I hope you take the time to review what I said, especially now that I have clarified it as best as I can. Logic does work as I suggested. I would suggest it if I hadn't verified it (or in this case did a bit on it in my first VTC "Logic Platinum 6" tutorial a few years back.

I admit to being a bit snarky, but I usually only get like this when I am pretty sure I'm actually correct ;-)).

So, you learned something, and I verified exactly how it worked. We both win.
Click to expand...

I see how you're doing it now. Your first reply was a little unclear on how to create the multi.

What I did was create a multi in the Arrange window, and then open the environment, select the multi I had created in the usual way, and make the changes to the name, color and icon.

However, let me first make clear what I want, something that isn't happening in Logic, that is far less complicated than going to the Environment:

When you create a multi in Digital Performer, it automatically creates a folder, with all the tracks for the instrument listed under the folder, each is numbered and so on. There is no need to visit an "environment" or go to the trouble of using virtual cabling. And, you simply select the instrument to create the multi. It isn't a 2 (or more) step process.

You can close the folder, and the tracks neatly disappear from view if you don't want to see all of them at once.

Fact is, I appreciate even your snarkiest advice, but Logic doesn't do what DP has done in this regard going back to at least Version 5.

Logic is not really designed for multi-instruments the way DP is.

I want it to be.
 
Well, saying Logic doesn't do good multi midi or multitimbral instruments is a very correct assumption. I really don't like it myself, and rarely use it unless absolutely necessary.

I actually liked the way Cubase or Nuendo does it, more like an older traditional midi device cabled to a midi rack of synths.

FYI, Logic and Cubase have more in common that DP and Logic, in fact DP has more or less gone their own way when it comes to allot of things, and they always have been. They tried to do their own version of general midi... thank "god" Opcodes guys were victorious getting other manufacturers to go along with them. But when that was being developed (as well as SMF "Standard Midi Files") MOTU was so isolationist that they lost allot of people (me being one of them, a user from V1.0).

As for Logic, I guess we'll have to see when everything shakes out. Some people say V 10 will be out soon, some say Apple is going to sell Logic to someone else, some say Apple are about to abandon the server sized computers that kept most hard core music and Apple lovers going for years, and do phones, pads and imacs...

Anyways, I'm rambling, hope some of my suggestions helped to clear up some things. There is a great tutorial at VSL about setting up a template in Logic , and they go into great detail abut setting up multi midi objects, tracks, how to cable stuff, just very brilliant stuff, and I believe it's available for free.


Good luck
 
georgelegeriii said:
Well, saying Logic doesn't do good multi midi or multitimbral instruments is a very correct assumption. I really don't like it myself, and rarely use it unless absolutely necessary.

I actually liked the way Cubase or Nuendo does it, more like an older traditional midi device cabled to a midi rack of synths.

FYI, Logic and Cubase have more in common that DP and Logic, in fact DP has more or less gone their own way when it comes to allot of things, and they always have been. They tried to do their own version of general midi... thank "god" Opcodes guys were victorious getting other manufacturers to go along with them. But when that was being developed (as well as SMF "Standard Midi Files") MOTU was so isolationist that they lost allot of people (me being one of them, a user from V1.0).

As for Logic, I guess we'll have to see when everything shakes out. Some people say V 10 will be out soon, some say Apple is going to sell Logic to someone else, some say Apple are about to abandon the server sized computers that kept most hard core music and Apple lovers going for years, and do phones, pads and imacs...

Anyways, I'm rambling, hope some of my suggestions helped to clear up some things. There is a great tutorial at VSL about setting up a template in Logic , and they go into great detail abut setting up multi midi objects, tracks, how to cable stuff, just very brilliant stuff, and I believe it's available for free.


Good luck
Click to expand...

Haha! I go back to 1987 with Performer myself! Don't remember which version that was, but I do remember MOTU's own make-you-want-to-tear-out-your-hair thing, FreeMidi. The environment reminds me of those FreeMidi days...

Yes, lots of Apple rumors. I'd be very, very disappointed if Apple stopped making the Mac Pro multicore machines, as my work requires high performance. Truthfully, I don't see them simply giving up on having very powerful machines for professional use.

If they screw up Logic, well, I can go back to DP and live, though there's something about Logic I find very engaging, and heck, I've used it for almost four years now, so most of the time getting around on it is a snap.
 
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