Logic Pro 9 MOTU UltraLite MKIII & Logic Pro 9 setup?

[GlynH]

Hi there,

Been referred here from MOTUNATION so here goes...

Long time away from sequencing etc. but after being bitten by the bug and a recent visit from a singer/songwriter friend of mine I have decided to get back into the swing of things.

After some research I decided on a MOTU interface and so here I am with an UltraLite MKIII connected by firewire (like the bus power/one cable connection) and have a Rode NT1A connected via front input 1, a guitar connected to rear input 2 and a Korg Trinity connected to rear input 3/4 and also MIDI In/Out.

I have a pair of Mackie 624's connected to Main Out so quite a basic setup for you guys here I would think but might as well be rocket science for me!

At this stage I am not too interested in effects or anything else to confuse the issue but just want to concentrate on getting good, clean sound into and out of the Mac via the UltraLite.

The bells & whistles can come later if I manage to grasp the fundamentals that is...

Bearing in mind the last software I used would have been Cubase VST 5 (the original 5) and Cakewalk Pro Audio 8 on a PC with just a bunch of MIDI modules and here I am now sat in front of a late 2011 27" iMac staring blankly at Logic Pro 9 you might understand my dilemma!

What I would like - but correct me if I may be wrong or misunderstand - are;

Audio Track 1: using input 1 Microphone from UltraLite
Audio Track 2: using input 2 Guitar from UltraLite
Audio Track 3 & 4: using L/R out from the Trinity plugged into UltraLite 3 & 4
MIDI Track 1: MIDI IN/Out Trinity plugged into UltraLite MIDI Out/In

Regarding Audio 3 & 4 along with MIDI Track 1 - not sure if I have the right end of the stick here but what I would want to do is play the Trinity and record the audio as an audio track but also record the MIDI data at the same time so I have the option of playing back the track using either MIDI if the Trinity is available or playing back the track using the actual audio recorded if the Trinity is not available by muting one or the other for playback.

Hope that makes sense...would this work or is there a better way?

Can some kind soul please offer some advise or point me to a resource/idiots guide that would walk me through setting up both my UltraLite & Logic Pro so I can set a working template so when my musician friend comes back in a couple of days we might be ready to just record instead of wasting time setting things up and tying myself in knots?

Since posting over at MOTUNATION I already have a working template of sorts...for Audio anyway;

Track 1 Mic 1 (Mono) Input 1
Track 2 Guitar 1 (Mono) Input 2
Track 3 Trinity L/R (Stereo) Inputs 3-4

In addition I can't seem to assign a Track for the stereo S/PDIF inputs though and I still need to figure out the MIDI stuff...

Thanks in advance & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[CSeye]

Hello,
If I'm reading correctly, it sounds like you've set up the MOTU interface and Logic.
At this point, have you made some short test recordings to make sure that things are working?

I would record 4 bars of guitar chords, then play it back to ensure that you actually recorded the part and that it sounds good level wise.
Next, record the vocal while listening to the guitar playback in headphones to avoid bleeding into the vocal mic. Playback as above.
Finally record the Trinity and then listen to the playback.

Make sense?

If you've installed the latest drivers for the Trinity, then it should show up in the MIDI window of the Audio MIDI Setup utility (which is located in the Applications folder>Utilities). You may need to go to the top Window menu to select Show MIDI Window when this utility first opens up. (see attachment. My MIDI devices are dimmed as compared to the bright Network device because they're not currently hooked up.) If the Trinity is there, then you're all set.

Create a Software Instrument track, load it with the ES2, or EXS24 or EVB3 or whatever. Click on the R symbol in the track in order to hear sounds being triggered by your Trinity.

You can record-enable both the audio inputs for the Trinity and the software track which allows you to record the audio and MIDI data at the same time.

Spend time getting familiar the broad range of sounds (presets) available in the software instruments included with Logic.

Make sure you can get this far and then report back.

This is all very basic stuff. The Logic user manual is available in the Logic Help menu. It includes a chapter entitled "Setting Up Your System" which will address any hook up questions that you might have.

 

[gdoubleyou]

My work flow is to record the midi, edit it to perfect the performance, then record the audio.

I sold all of my midi hardware and use only virtual synths now.
No more cables, messing with midi channels, self-contained.

 

[CSeye]

My work flow is to record the midi, edit it to perfect the performance, then record the audio.

I sold all of my midi hardware and use only virtual synths now.
No more cables, messing with midi channels, self-contained.

That's generally my approach as well.

In this case, for the benefit of the OP, I wanted to build a foundation of understanding based on what interface/Logic hook ups were already established and understood. Once the OP has this sorted out, then recording/editing MIDI first would make sense.

All of my audio processors and hardware mixer etc are long gone, but my 3 sound modules get use for various reasons often enough over time that I've discarded the notion of getting rid of them any time soon, which probably means never.

Having said that, they're not a part of my regular approach to sequencing for all of the reasons that you've stated.

Logic's collection of instruments cover a lot of sonic territory and may be all that a new user needs.

 

[GlynH]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply...its great to have encouragement as I hurtle headlong into the abyss!

OK I have made some progress here...with the Audio stuff anyway.

I have setup 6 audio tracks to mirror the inputs on the UltraLite and they all seem to work...more luck than judgement methinks! :eeek:

Using separate inputs I can now record audio from;

1. Rode NT-1A
2. Guitar
3-4. Trinity
5-6. Unused but plugged Trinity in to test
7-8. Unused but plugged Trinity in to test
9-10. S/PDIF from Trinity

So apart from getting to know/understand effects, routing, etc. I can get audio into the Mac and I have to say it sounds great. It really highlights the sonic differences between my AKG D65 & Rode NT-1A for example

An added bonus is at a later date I might even be able to get 30+ DAT tapes into the Mac via the UltraLite using S/PDIF out from the Pioneer D-07 DAT (hoping SCMS won't scupper my chances of doing that) to get the digital audio from those fragile tapes and onto the hard disk.

I might even transfer some cassette tapes via a spare analogue pair but I'll leave these questions for another time perhaps?

I am struggling with the MIDI side of things though and unlike gdoubleyou & CSeye could never part with my hardware although to be fair I have never used soft-synths at all apart from playing with my Creamware stuff many years ago!

Things are definitely communicating as I can see the MIDI info in the transport bar at the bottom of the screen when a key is pressed.

Not sure about the latest drivers for the Trinity but I re-read the manual and added the Trinity into the Mac Audio MIDI Setup and tested it using Test Setup and I get a cacophony of notes when I click the highlighted triangle on UltraLite MIDI out icon so I guess that part is OK.

I now see Trinity listed in the Library on the right hand side of the Logic screen and I can change sounds by clicking on Program in the Inspector so I know the connection is good although the rows of numbers are meaningless and I would prefer it to show the actual sounds in the Trinity instead of numbers.

But it does not seem to be recording any MIDI data in the MIDI track so all is not as it should be although as I said above I can see the MIDI data being displayed in the transport when I hit a note.

If some kind soul could help me out with how to record the MIDI data in the track and how to replace those Prg numbers by Prg names to reflect the voices in the Trinity it would be very much appreciated!

I have seen a very good YouTube video;

explaining how to replace numbers with names using a Yamaha Motif as an example but I get stuck because even though I thought I found a Trinity Multiset for Logic for some reason I couldn't unzip it...this bloody Mac gave me a really useful message saying Operation not permitted?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[CSeye]

Using separate inputs I can now record audio from;

1. Rode NT-1A
2. Guitar
3-4. Trinity
5-6. Unused but plugged Trinity in to test
7-8. Unused but plugged Trinity in to test
9-10. S/PDIF from Trinity

That's excellent news.

You can now create a project template with those audio input assigned to their respective tracks. What you may find though is that you frequently use 1. through 3.. If so, create a template with 3 tracks (or as many as you need) assigned to those 3 input sources.

Plan to transfer DAT tapes? Create a purpose-built template that with just the S/PDIF input assigned to a stereo track.

Transfer cassette tapes? Yep, create a template with say inputs 5-6 assigned to a stereo track.

I am struggling with the MIDI side of things though and unlike gdoubleyou & CSeye could never part with my hardware although to be fair I have never used soft-synths at all apart from playing with my Creamware stuff many years ago!

You don't have to part with the hardware. In your case, the Trinity is also you MIDI keyboard controller.

But, you owe it to your self to explore the vast synth and sampled sounds that come with Logic. Ask about this in another thread. It's very easy to access the sounds with a couple of quick tips.

Not sure about the latest drivers for the Trinity but I re-read the manual and added the Trinity into the Mac Audio MIDI Setup and tested it using Test Setup and I get a cacophony of notes when I click the highlighted triangle on UltraLite MIDI out icon so I guess that part is OK.

I now see Trinity listed in the Library on the right hand side of the Logic screen and I can change sounds by clicking on Program in the Inspector so I know the connection is good ...

Again, excellent work. That's what should happen.

...although the rows of numbers are meaningless and I would prefer it to show the actual sounds in the Trinity instead of numbers.

But it does not seem to be recording any MIDI data in the MIDI track so all is not as it should be although as I said above I can see the MIDI data being displayed in the transport when I hit a note.

If some kind soul could help me out with how to record the MIDI data in the track and how to replace those Prg numbers by Prg names to reflect the voices in the Trinity it would be very much appreciated!

I'm going suggest that you start another thread on "How to set up a Korg Trinity with Logic 9" or however you want to word it. Reasons being: 1. I think you have pretty much successfully hooked up your MOTU interface to Logic which is the topic of this thread. You can assign various audio inputs and record signal from those inputs. You see MIDI data appear in the MIDI Monitor in Logic's Transport. 2. Hooking up external hardware involves a few specific steps (as shown in the excellent youtube tutorial) which can be better addressed and focused on in a separate thread.

Regarding opening the Trinity Multiset zip file, download the free Stuffit Expander here:
http://www.stuffit.com/mac-expander.html
Stay with the "StuffIt Expander Continue with Free Download" on the left side of the web page.

 

[GlynH]

Hello again CSeye,

When I talked about never parting with my hardware I was talking about my M1R, JV-2080 stuffed with cards, fully loaded S5000, TR Rack & soon-to-be Motif ES Rack if I can find one at a reasonable price! I would of course have to keep my Trinity...it has keys on it

Point taken about going off-topic in this thread...I'll start another one now!

I've had to put the MOTU UltraLite back in the box as after it has been turned off overnight and I turn it on the following day there is a noisy signal on the S/PDIF input which nearly maxes the meters out both on the device and in Cuemix...without anything being connected.

My dealer has reserved another one for me and hopefully I can exchange it tomorrow sometime.

Thanks guys for the input in this thread...much appreciated.

Kind regards,
-=Glyn=-