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Ski's Color Click (Visual Metronome) Updated!


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Hey Everyone,

 

There's been a bit of a renewed interest in a visual metronome I made for Logic 9 years ago. So I've updated the Logic project which can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this post.

 

When you run this project you'll see the large black square flash in different colors on each beat. Colors are user-definable for each beat. Instructions to follow in a subsequent post.

clicky.gif.3e9724682439254fa796ac10cb0b0d49.gif

Ski's Color Click 10.3.3.logicx.zip

Edited by ski
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Ski's Color Click

Instructions & Customization

 

Technogeeky Info

This project uses something called an alias assigner in the environment to cause a single environment button (in this case, a very large button) to assume different colors. These colors can be customized for each beat. Instructions in the next post will explain how to import this capability into any Logic project.

 

How it Works

The project contains a looping MIDI region containing four "C" notes in four different octaves. The octave designation for each C controls the color you'll see flash on each beat.

C1 = beat 1

C2 = beat 2

C3 = beat 3

C4 = beat 4

loopy.png.d90ae1a60503ab1ee6cb0ade9c3b6b69.png

You can freely alter the duration of the notes to get longer or shorter flashes. A really quick way to change the durations globally is to select the region and then adjust the Gate Time region parameter.

gate.png.52ea095d9b85654bb6566f4edf7c2400.png

To customize the colors associated with each beat (each of the four C notes), open a MIDI Environment window and select the Color Click layer. There you'll see four colored Beat buttons. Open the color palette, select a Beat button, and then select a color. That's all there is to it. As shown in the screenshot below, I colored the Beat 1 button (activated by C1) green, and the others yellow. This will produce a green flash on beat 1 (triggered by C1) and a yellow flash on beats 2, 3, and 4 (triggered by C2, C3, and C4).

1574342396_customcolors.thumb.png.d58f2825f706bfb629c526bea2a6311f.png

The color click display itself is just a variation of this environment window called a frameless floating window. Details to follow.

Edited by ski
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Adding the Color Click to Existing Projects

 

1. Open your project (duh, right?)

2. Open a MIDI Environment window.

3. Options > Import Environment > Layer...

options.png.dc99e8906aabf308cb5fa298726b97a2.png

4. After you select "Layer..." a file selector will appear. Navigate to the Logic project file you downloaded and select it. Now you'll see a menu showing you the various environment layers contained in that project. Select "Color Click" and click Import.

625112399_colorclickselect.png.82321143a0939ddab4b4e3c1bcb45512.png

5. Now the Color Click layer will exist in your project. :mrgreen:

 

6. The next step is to import the track with the MIDI loop (and its instrument assignment) from the Logic project. This is really easy... From Logic's main File Menu, select Import > Logic Projects... and once again choose the Color Click project file.

 

7. The Import pane will now appear on the right side of the Arrange Window (main window). Select track 1 and check the content checkbox. Then click "Add". That's all there is to that. There's just one more step...

choosy.png.8cd9b937f3b339f40891992094206842.png

8. To create a floating environment window in which the actual Color Click is displayed, open a MIDI Environment window and choose the Color Click layer.

 

9. CNTRL-click on the window and select Protect Positions and Hide Cables. Then CNTRL-click on the window one more time and select Frameless Floating Window.

environmentalism.png.4e3f6e72c247f26f5b57f20ace1776b6.png

You might want to now lock the screenset so you don't have to go through steps 8 & 9 again in the event you accidentally close that window.

 

Enjoy!

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TIPS

 

Compensating for Flash Lag

If the color flashing seems delayed, the quickest way to compensate for this is to select the MIDI loop region and dial in some negative delay in the region parameters.

delay.png.97e4ad695cab84243c60bb5bdecb9336.png

Flash Duration

As mentioned above, you can use the Gate Time parameter to globally change the duration of the flashes. But you can also change the note durations in the MIDI region.

 

Color/Flash Order

A quick way to change which color appears on a beat is to adjust the octave of the notes in the MIDI region with these key commands:

kc.png.ce9dccd4783c972d83921b282bf5fd73.png

Troubleshooting

 

•If you don't see the giant Color Click button flashing in the floating environment window, just click on the button so that it shows a small "x" in the center.

 

•If you happen to have both a floating and a normal environment window open at the same time, the Color Click button in the normal window may not flash while the one in the floating window does. This is normal ("it's a Logic thang").

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