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Control Surface Help Needed


DanRad

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The one area I think Logic totally falls down is assigning and keeping control surface assignments. It may be just me, but I find it practically unusable... that said, I'm trying to use it.

 

Maybe somebody can help me set this up correctly and I'll feel differently. Here's what I want to do;

 

I want to assign my mod wheel to control the cutoff frequency of the the Auto Filter. I can do this easily with the "Learn" mode. I move the freq., move the wheel and there it is. But the problem is that it now defeats the mod wheel on all other tracks.

 

Is there a way I can have just this one track have the mod wheel control that perameter and not have it affect other tracks.... Also, now it's a global assignment that affects all other sequences... I wish it was just THIS sequence... THIS track and not muck up everything else...

 

Any help is appreciated.

 

DanRad

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Thanks for the suggestion. I can map the smart control to the desired parameter, but as soon as I use "Learn" to map that to the mod wheel, it commandeers ALL mod wheel info, making it so other instruments ignore the mod wheel. What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanks again

DanRad

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You're not doing anything wrong... And as this might be the first time you've heard those words in quite some time, especially from me, I urge you to cherish the moment. ;)

 

Whenever you learn (that is, "assign") a MIDI event to a Logic parameter in the Control Surface Assignments system, that event is essentially "hijacked" by Logic and used exclusively to control that parameter. That will remain the case until (one fateful day when) you delete the assignment. Then it will be yours again, to love, honor, and cherish. But until then, that MIDI event is in indentured servitude to you, the Maestro.

 

Oh, and "let that be a lesson to you" and all that.

 

Luv 'n' Knishes,

 

Ski

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But wait! There's more!

 

Any Logic plugin parameters you control with a learned MIDI message (e.g., CC1) and record will survive as recorded plugin parameters even if you delete the CC assignment. Here, the CC1 messages are simply remote-controlling the parameter (in your case, AutoWah filter frequency), but Logic sees it as you moving the actual plugin parameter. And you'll see this in the event list, which will contain AutoWah cutoff frequency parameter messages, not CC1 messages. I mention this because you can freely assign and un-assign CC1 to control the AutoWah at any time without fear that you'll lose what you recorded.

 

CC Messages --> Plugin Parameter = Plugin Parameter changes get recorded

 

If you were to assign a Smart Control to cutoff frequency, that constitutes another kind of remote-control of the plugin parameter. You could manually move the Smart Control on-screen and record those movements, but in this case you'll be recording Smart Control messages -- not cutoff frequency parameter messages as in the previous scenario. So to contrast and compare... In the first scenario (using a learned CC to remote-control cutoff) the remote-control messages themselves are not recorded, just the plugin parameter changes. But in the latter scenario (Smart Control controlling the parameter) the remote control messages ARE recorded, not the plugin parameter changes.

 

Smart Control --> Plugin Parameter = Smart Control Messages get recorded

 

Furthermore...

 

1. You can learn (assign) CC1 to control the Smart Control. This becomes, then, a situation where you have remote-control of a remote control! CC1 messages will still be hijacked, and the parameter which then gets recorded will be the Smart Control messages.

 

CC Messages --> Smart Control --> Plugin Parameter = Smart Control Messages get recorded

 

2. After you've made an AutoWah frequency-change recording, you can (but you shouldn't) de-assign the Smart Control from the cutoff frequency parameter. Doing so will break the connection between the Smart Control messages you recorded and the cutoff parameter of the plugin.

 

~ Finis ~

Edited by ski
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Well, I have marked the time and day of not doing something wrong... (and alerted my wife)... and I don't need to tell you that this is a lame set up for controlling things with external controllers. In an ideal world (AKA, Omnisphere) I would click hold on a parameter and midi learn ONLY for that parameter and that instrument and that track AND THAT SEQUENCE. So, my dear friend, is there a way to use the MIDI effects to script control over that particular parameter (you might like it, it's making a great Wa Wa trombone!) Take wheel info (CC#1 and moving up all the time) and reroute it to whatever controller will sweep the cutoff frequency in AutoFilter? Hmm?
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OK, here's your solution that gives you want you need on a per-track basis...

 

1. Have the AutoWah plugin open.

 

2. Add the MIDI FX Modifier plugin to your track.

1662365424_ScreenShot2019-08-03at1_52_05AM.png.def206dd0433a8b4b2c6db085ae2985a.png

 

For Input Event, select 1 Mod Wheel as shown. Note the other settings as well (Scale = 100%, and Thru = Off)

95182674_ScreenShot2019-08-03at1_59_18AM.png.a7c88d282181e44b273b761bf4c0f70a.png

 

3. For Re-Assign To, click the menu and select Learn Plugin Parameter

1845705862_ScreenShot2019-08-03at1_51.30AM1.png.81ae1f069fe78462d40f6cdd481ce18f.png

 

4. Now click on the AutoWah slider and you'll end up with this:

1110880873_ScreenShot2019-08-03at2_00_33AM.thumb.png.44e45cda5f855a1314340c75791e090e.png

 

5. Voila!

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This is HUGE!! This will do exactly what I need... The only fly in the ointment is that it appears that this can only control 1 item on a channel. I wish you could put in more than one MIDI EFFECT on a track.

 

Thank you Ski for once again making Logic a better place to work...

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