Meta event #50 - switch to project number xxx

[Dietrich P]

Hey everybody,

I have the task of playing back several different logic projects in a live band setup. I do not want to merge the different projects all into one huge project and then work with markers, I rather want to keep the projects separate. It will be no problem to load 15 or 20 projects simultaneously since it is only audio for the most part. i have done it before. 

Now I want to automate the process of stopping one project and jumping to the next song (i.e. the project). I know it is done with meta events, so what do I have to do? I guess I am right in inserting a meta event #50 "go to song" just a little before the end of the playback - but how do I specify which song to jump to? Typing in a, say, 2 and then renaming the desired song with a "2" at the song name beginning didn't yield any results.

It's Logic 10.4.8.

 

Thank you all in advance!

[polanoid]

This Meta Event does exactly nothing (also in 10.7.4). No idea if it used to do anything in older Logic versions.

EDIT I have to correct myself here, it *does* do something if sent to a "real" External MIDI track (not one using the External Instrument plug-in). In that case it sends a simple Song Select message (Status Byte 0xF3) to the destination device. Not useful in your case.

From the Logic documentation:

Edited September 28, 2022 by polanoid

[des99]

It used to work in very early versions (Logic 1.x and 2.x it worked in, I think I used it back then), but I think stopped working when projects started to get more complex to load, iirc.

Note: I would not load 15 or 20 projects simultaneously for a live set, seeing as usually loading just two is enough to corrupt the projects in Logic.

[polanoid]

8 minutes ago, des99 said:

Note: I would not load 15 or 20 projects simultaneously for a live set, seeing as usually loading just two is enough to corrupt the projects in Logic.

Shouldn't be an issue if you only play back and don't save the projects?

You can try yourself if you open a few projects simultaneously and use the "Select Project" key commands to switch between them (they will use the alphabetical order of currently open songs' names, so if you name the songs "1-one song", "2- another song" Select Project 1 will switch to the first and Select Project 2 to the second).

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by polanoid

[des99]

17 minutes ago, polanoid said:

Shouldn't be an issue if you only play back and don't save the projects?

We've had many many reports here over the years of people loading multiple projects which can frequently mess up their tracks and plugins assigned to them (while loaded, saving just makes the corruption permanent), so I would not do it, it's a level of unpredictability and disaster in a live situation that I would not want to court.

As ever with a live rig, the OP should test extensively to make sure everything works acceptably for them. I'm just making the OP aware of something they may otherwise not be aware of.

The exact cause of this bug has never been reliably determined, so what causes it is up in the air, as far as I'm aware.

Edited September 28, 2022 by des99

[Dietrich P]

2 minutes ago, polanoid said:

Shouldn't be an issue if you only play back and don't save the projects?

@polanoidThat's right. The logic projects are usually just audio with very few midi tracks. All my live playing is done via MainStage (on the very same machine, actually while Logic is running in the background. No issues. While saying that, in MainStage usually only stock plug-ins are being used, same as in Logic..)  

I was playing a tour with a very similar setup provided to me. All the live playing was done with MainStage, the Logic projects were running simultaneously in the background. While I had to change the MainStage patches manually with two Up/Down-preprogrammed keys, the Logic songs changed automatically. I had to preload them all, though. I can't figure out how it was programmed but I would like to do a similar thing on my own setup.

[des99]

There is a tool around where you can assign Logic projects to key commands for a live set, and the tool closes the current project and loads the desired one - I forget what's called off hand, but a bit of googling should turn it up, it might be useful.

You could also assign events on a MIDI track sending out the IAC bus, to something like Keyboard Maestro to trigger a pre-programmed macro to load the next song (or perform whatever tasks you needed to switch songs) too...

Edited September 28, 2022 by des99

[David Nahmani]

2 minutes ago, Dietrich P said:

I can't figure out how it was programmed but I would like to do a similar thing on my own setup.

A while ago, there used to be an app OnStageX that worked alongside Logic Pro that allowed you to that: https://fluqe.com/downloads/OnStageXInstructions.pdf - I'm not sure if it's still working. I think that's what des99 is referring to. 

[David Nahmani]

Apparently they have a new version out: https://fluqe.com/?page_id=8688

[des99]

Yes, that's the one - thanks David... 👍

[Dietrich P]

2 minutes ago, David Nahmani said:

Apparently they have a new version out: https://fluqe.com/?page_id=8688

I will try that and get back to you

[fuzzfilth]

How much do you actually interact with the playback parts on stage? Faders&Mutes ? FX tweaking ? Change of form (Cycling 8 bars to solo over)? Other things ?

[Dietrich P]

7 hours ago, fuzzfilth said:

How much do you actually interact with the playback parts on stage? Faders&Mutes ? FX tweaking ? Change of form (Cycling 8 bars to solo over)? Other things ?

Not at all. The Logic songs just play back and remain untouched and untweaked with.

[fuzzfilth]

Then I see no point in firing up 30 projects. 

I play 50+ Songs from 1 project. Without the need to jump or locate. Every song available at any time. In multitrack-format or a stereo-mixdown.

The idea is to bounce down every instrument track of every song to a long audio file, then put all these files into Sampler, all instruments for one song go onto one key, separated by Groups. Play C1 to hear song 1, play C#1 to hear song 2, etc. You can do this bare bones from a keyboard, or, more sophisticated, through buttons carrying the names of the songs, like this:

Edited September 28, 2022 by fuzzfilth