JamieLang

Drumkit Designer is intended for being played by AI and people doing midi sequencing with various levels of dynamic control to start with. BFD sounds more dynamic because its intended for drummers to play on an eKit. The full version—Eco, as far as I know is simply a stripped down lighter on resources version. anyway, my point is, that if you point Apple’s AI Drummer at a hyper dynamic sample set, it will cease to function as intended. This is why DKD responds to dynamics the way it does. It doesn't make one “superior” (get it? Ha) ....for every task. The number of sample layers is not what makes it respond dynamically or not anyway. Those are tonal changes over different velocities....what makes something dynamic is combo of that and actual generically “velocity to amp” mapping in the instrument sampler. BFD has a setting per drum to tweak this—becuase again, its intended to be able to be molded to response of any given ekit or pads to respond like the player wants. Toontrack handle it in a kind of backwards way with “soft hit volume” becuase theyre stuff is programmed to have VERY constrained dynamics....so, youre telling it to lower the level of “soft hits” and then you have the per drum velocity curve. TMI? DKD is in the family of EZDrummer2 and Addicitive Drums....in basic quality and sound design ethos. NOT like BFD or Superior. If you eant to get geeky—NI’s Abbey Road series: the “Drums”=closer to BFD style repomse...the “Drummers”=same samples programmed more like EZ/Addictive/DKD. frustrated me, becuase I needed a single feature of the “upgraded” Drummer, and the sound totally changed. With an app like BFD you will need to understand how drums are recorded and mixed. Not so much with DKD/EZ-its mostly already done.

I thought I'd leverage one of the most annoying features of GB/LogicX---that recalling some "class" of preset from the library initiates an Apple VI, aux channels with various routings and DSP and levels that then don't go away. I want to leverage whatever that is to my advantage here where I have a "preset" of some kind that opens SD2, loads that kit and all the DSP done to those channels on the logic side. Is there a way to get this to work on a multi output VI with DSP on those channels? So, I have the instrument broken to like 14 channels....DSP on most of them....and an aux set up for a crush bus. There's a second way I can do that (internal to SD2) if the aux is the problem, but....when I recall some "class" of preset from Apple's library, it recalls the instruments, it's DSP, initiates a new aux with it's DSP and level--what class IS that....and how do I save it for a multi output VI? Thanks.

I followed up more thoroughly--because what I meant earlier is that it will never be perfectly like it was in their DAW. ANY daw....MIDI doesn't transfer exactly like audio does. But, that screenshot is WAY WAY off....I didn't want to imply it being THAT far off is a shortcoming of PPQN sequencers. You should be able to transfer and have it "mostly sync'd" in that macro sense---but, it requires BOTH users know their DAW well.

A midi file being imported....how else would he get the MIDI there other than SMF? --- will bring it's tempo along with the MIDI data. Just move the audio to it's original record position. If it lacks a timestamp--import it through the menu system, rather than dragging from the desktop--which causes 10.4 and 10.4.6 to throw away the timestamp. Not disregard it--it's GONE. Anyway--if it's imported correctly and there's no timestamp....the file will have to have been rendered from 00;00. Also note: he needs to change his SMPTE offset to 00:00:00:00 --as Logic's default is the film standard of 01:00:00:00 --so unless his friend exported from Logic also, this will likely make his file "disappear" by moving it to "1 day" on the timeline. No other DAW I"m aware of uses this default offset for the timebase. And, then you should have it ROUGHLY in sync. As well as MIDI will ever sync to audio transferred app to app.

It's because MIDI doesn't travel from app to app. It's reason 595868 why most people should have nothing to do with it. IMO. There are ways to get it "kinda" transferred in dumbed down forms--but, it takes BOTH of you knowing the ins and outs of export/import from your respective DAWs better than most people do. If it's not that important that you have the MIDI--toss it--make sure his audio came in to the timestamp--so through Logic's import menu (and it still has a 'clock") icon in the bin--make sure you "move to original record position"--if that's greyed out AND it has a clock on the file I the bin (in the left file browser pane)---then you know it's sample accurately aligned with his project. Anything you add to that....will align when you send him AUDIO back.

I should clarify/update something I said above. Cubase 9.5's HMT DOES follow the chord track. There no setting because it just DOES. At least so long as you don't specify other tracks to also add to the HMT detection. It is my assessment that HMT in Logic, the way they've implemented detection is just not useable for me. I used it for one of the tunes, which had really simple harmony, and it was fine...but, the more complex ones needed the timeline definition of Cubase's Chord Track. There are too many ways to potentially interpret a chord's worth of notes. Logic and iSymphonica seem to take their best guess in near (buffered) real time. Cubase can be configured to use the chords you define for context of the "rest".

It’s a contextual definition, the chord track in Cubase. I have it set to not sound itself at all. Subsequent tracks that do sound can be told to follow HMT or not. Also to contribute to detection or not. I never want them to contribute as it defeats the purpose of having defined the harmony in the chord track.

Your post makes me think you make electronic music, but for my purposes I use nothing that comes with Logic. Ivory and Keyscape pianos/EPS VSL and Spitfire strings Bfd and Superior 3 Drums The one thing I did use was the LPX Hammond....and if you have the machine for it, AcousticSamples B5 has it beat now. So, my point is that if you’re using virtual instruments to emulate analog instruments like that, Logic’s offerings are third or fourth tier at best. But, that also thousands of dollars in third party instruments vs Logic’s $200all in....so, it’s not a fair compare—I just needed to point out why no, I couldn’t just use what’s in Logic. If you make modern electronic music, I have no idea, as I’m not at all versed in that palette.

I'm just wondering--and if this is stuff in your book, David, consider it sold....but, I find that there are aspects of Logic over this past year and half or however long I've been using it** that I want a better understanding of how this is working than the manual provides. Example: Hermode Tuning....is useless without a DAW provided contextual harmonic structure. In Cubase, this is provided by the Chord Track--implemented along side the global micro tuning options. I see Logic poorly detecting the chords as I play midi input....and now believe that it is doing some kind of "all midi track summing" to do that to feed the Hermode tuning. I feel like with better documentation, someone like me could create a "chord track" as a single midi track and wire it and only it into whatever the Hermode input in the environment is.... It's not the first time I've had to kind of reverse engineer something with LPX....that I feel like should be documented somewhere--it seems like it would save a lot of time. I mean just the amount of time I spent figuring out how they handle high hats in their proprietary ArtID scheme.... Is there a kind of deep dive techie book on Logic I could use as reference? A developer's guide maybe? Thx. **this time around--I use Logic 4&5 fairly extensively on Windows in the day for MIDI--thus basic understanding of the Environmental programming/wiring

They just mean you need to bounce it in real time within the arranger window. You can't "bounce in place". I have VSL's VIPro2 player....the problem with Hermode and anything like that is that you're by design never playing a chord with a VSL string sound. therefore, without the equivalent of a "chord track"....there's nothing for it to base it's dynamic contextual tuning off of.....unlike Pianoteq where you have the whole harmony contained in your ten fingers....Hermode doesn't tune anything when you play a single note line--no matter whether the plug in recognizes it or not. Yet, all horn/string parts NEED to be played monophonically.... I'd love to have an explanation of how one might establish a global chord harmony. I'm currently doing string arrangements. It's funny--Cubase (9.5) HAS the global chord track, and HMT, but doesn't seem to have a way to make the HMT FOLLOW the chord track....LPX seems to have more flexible global tuning implementation, but no way to establish the global harmonic movement to follow.

Just to rule it out, project setting-tuning....nothing set there? That will effect the tuning of audiounit VIs and not the audio. My experience is some VIs handle these micro tunings gracefully and others sound like a train wreck. Just rule it out.

Disable plug in....bypass plug in....not the same thing in Cubase. If I've been unclear in using those, I apologize. I never really connected that Logic only has the one on/off button....that really some attributes of both. I've never understood why plug in makers put bypass buttons inside he plug in....until I started using Logic. You can't effectively bypass plug ins in Logic....still can't do it for whole chains like you can in Cubase. I miss that. Thanks for pointing out that disparity.

The "novel" bit of info is that Logic, unlike every. other DAW in the world, compensates for DISABLED plug ins when they're located on busses (which obviously includes the master)....so, if you have a plug in like a lookahead limiter or ANY UAD plug in that incurs major latency "by design"--you have two options for lowering the TOTAL mixer latency (i.e. what you hear and experience in playing a VI): 1- Best, is to remove that disabled plug in all together. This is the only way that completely solves the problem. 2- Specifying that Logic's compensation be "only" for tracks....rather than "tracks and busses"....this will lower your input latency the same as alternative 1, BUT....you're NOT going to get proper compensation for plug ins that ARE enabled on the busses anywhere in the project. How much that matters is dependent on the amount of latency in those plug ins....and the performer's sensitivity to time domain. So--for VI strings? Probably not.... There is a third option, which is Logic's Low Latency Mode....which...does a kind of uncontrollable (meaning from a user standpoint) of plug ins over a certain latency AND their audio processing...to me, that's a last ditch way to handle it in a fast-moving emergency session--not a "method of normal work". It's not really hard to work around now that I KNOW how that works...but, it's just a really odd "feature", to me coming from Cubase. I shouldn't have had to "find it out" by asking why the compensation engine is placing my recorded tracks some milliseconds "wrong". In retrospect, I should have looked up WHY there's a setting to disable buss compensation--which I noted and thought "why on EARTH would someone turn that off?" Now I know. Still wouldn't do it myself, but I get the reason for that setting now.

Glad to know it helped....do make a note that "disabling plug ins on the master buss" in Logic will cause compensation issues unless you ALSO specify in Logic's config to not compensate at all for busses. I found this out the hard way last year....after 15 years of Cubase, where disabled, for all intents and purposes is the same as not being there....I found that an odd implementation--that disabled plug ins on subs (and the master of course) would cause input latency. So....as you are getting lower latencies....I bet you can get even lower by saving the master buss inserts as a track preset (if needed) and taking them all OUT.... Also....Spaces....any IR reverb really to some degree, will me latent. If you need to monitor though one that isn't....many algorithmic reverbs don't add any latency. Relab 480 for example--while maybe not the type of reverb you want for a finished orchestral piece---point being you can have reverb without adding latency, if not that specific plug in.

My point was that you need to understand how it works so that you can properly troubleshoot the issue....that may all be remedial for you....but, I see this sentiment a lot about Logic....usually called the "single thread bug"....it's not a bug, it's a feature. Understanding HOW it works is crucial to working with it.