Announcing a free Controller Assignments book

[simoncroft]

After more than two years of struggle, I've finally finished Practical Projects Using Logic's Controller Assignments, Volume 1. It's only 66 pages long, but it should help you to get started. It's probably best that you "read a bit, try it for yourself, read a bit…" until you've got it under your fingers. But if you want to read it like a novel, please feel free! 

There are supporting videos in the making and I'm already working on Volume 2, in which I grapple with the thorny issue of creating a dynamic display system, which automatically shows you the function of each physical control when you select a new plug-in. I've built a prototype, but I'm developing a work-around for the limitation that my first attempt only handles up to 20 plug-ins.

David Nahmani has very kindly agreed to handle the uploading and hosting, so if you're reading this and see no link to the book, you're probably a few minutes too early. Hope you enjoy.

 

CA Practical Builds Volume 1.pdf

[des99]

Congrats on the release milestone, Simon!

[Jordi Torres]

Cool, looking forward to reading it! Thanks for sharing it Simon!

J.

[David Nahmani]

Thanks a lot for sharing your work with us @simoncroft! The PDF is now attached to your post. 

[simoncroft]

OK chaps, the first video is here: 

 

Looks like I need to tweak the intro thumbnail. There will be a new video about every three days after this, but they won't be available to the public until there are, maybe, four videos, because I can't really expect anyone to subscribe where there is very little content.

Any feedback – positive or negative – is welcome.

[simoncroft]

OK, next video here: 

 

[simoncroft]

This YT Channel will go live as soon as I've gone through the admin required to make the link to the book on here active. Meanwhile, here's video three:

 

[Atlas007]

Hey @simoncroft, a big thank you!

[David Nahmani]

Yes, I agree, thank you @simoncroft for the PDF and for the videos. I'll have to set some time aside to watch them. 

[Atlas007]

Nice job on the videos!

I would suggest that planning your video shots to give them a coherent structure would ease the understanding of the presented topic. Pretty much like planning the control assignments you are hinting.

Your dedication and generosity are simply admirable!

[simoncroft]

4 hours ago, Atlas007 said:

Nice job on the videos!

I would suggest that planning your video shots to give them a coherent structure would ease the understanding of the presented topic. Pretty much like planning the control assignments you are hinting.

Your dedication and generosity are simply admirable!

Thank you for the input and encouragement. Maybe if I used the text in the book as a script, I would be more organised in the way I present the information. I should probably storyboard the shots, as well.

Edited April 10, 2023 by simoncroft

[Atlas007]

6 hours ago, simoncroft said:

Thank you for the input and encouragement. Maybe if I used the text in the book as a script, I would be more organised in the way I present the information. I should probably storyboard the shots, as well.

Those are excellent ideas!

As a structure suggestion, try going from broad to detail.

If you wish to elaborate on a specific detail, recap shortly from broad to the specific detail you wish to elaborate on. Doing so is admittedly cumbersome, but pedagogically speaking, repetition is a necessity. (A thoughtful balance is key)

Providing no more no less details than necessary to make each point clear is essential to keep your viewers’ attention (and make the tuition more effective).(A thoughtful balance is key)

Ensure that you sync what you are talking about with what is currently shown on screen. For instance for a newby, it becomes easily confusing (and distracting) if you explain about the relationship between zones and modes while you are adding a mode by (swiftly) clicking on the plus (+) button at the bottom of the CA window.

Your quest to demystify the Controller Assignment is definitely an outstanding and courageous one since that goal had hardly ever been engaged. As you pointed out, that is a necessity for a growing number of Logic users. Thank you!

Edited April 10, 2023 by Atlas007

[simoncroft]

17 hours ago, Atlas007 said:

Those are excellent ideas!

As a structure suggestion, try going from broad to detail.

If you wish to elaborate on a specific detail, recap shortly from broad to the specific detail you wish to elaborate on. Doing so is admittedly cumbersome, but pedagogically speaking, repetition is a necessity. (A thoughtful balance is key)

Providing no more no less details than necessary to make each point clear is essential to keep your viewers’ attention (and make the tuition more effective).(A thoughtful balance is key)

Ensure that you sync what you are talking about with what is currently shown on screen. For instance for a newby, it becomes easily confusing (and distracting) if you explain about the relationship between zones and modes while you are adding a mode by (swiftly) clicking on the plus (+) button at the bottom of the CA window.

Your quest to demystify the Controller Assignment is definitely an outstanding and courageous one since that goal had hardly ever been engaged. As you pointed out, that is a necessity for a growing number of Logic users. Thank you!

The accuracy of your observations, combined with your use of the word "pedagogically', leads me to think you have been professionally involved with the creation of educational material. I used to encounter the word frequently when attending seminars on behalf of the European Multimedia Bulletin in the early 1990s.

As a result, I feel I have to remake the tutorial sections of the first three videos, before making them public on the YT channel. Hopefully, that will help me to establish a workflow that can be successfully applied to future videos in the series.

I greatly appreciate your input, as it has been a considerable help in helping me to understand where I can do better. When I have revised the videos, I'll post them here, and I'll grateful for any critique you can offer. Believe me, I'd much rather do this well, than rush it, and end up confusing people.

 

[simoncroft]

Just to let you guys know, I'm still working on the revised videos, but I've struggled to find the best workflow.

I thought the improved version of the video on writing CAs for the transport functions was almost complete, but I've just watched it full-screen and spotted a fatal flaw. The voiceover claims I'm writing the assignments for the Play button, followed by Stop, but the video clearly show it's the other way around.

Oh well. I'll just have to bite the bullet and re-do some of the commentary. Hopefully, when I've got the first video up to standard, I'll have a good working method for the ones that follow. 

[simoncroft]

Here's the first video in the revised format. The audio is a little glitchy in places, because there were multiple instances where I had to replace the word "stop" with play, and it's very easy to end up with a word that sounds like "splay".

It's far from perfect, but I'd really appreciate any feedback about what does and doesn't work. I've already made this video 'live' on YouTube, because I want to start driving traffic back to this thread.

 

[kotrl]

Thanks for the guide! After reading this, I tried modifying someone's Keyboard Maestro macro and found a way to change the Mode automatically when you open a plug-in.

Is this interesting?

My main concern is how often Controller Assignments seems to forget everything. Just connecting my Komplete Kontrol keyboard this morning seemed to overwrite everything. Other times it seems to happen almost at random.

 

[des99]

4 minutes ago, olifrost said:

My main concern is how often Controller Assignments seems to forget everything. Just connecting my Komplete Kontrol keyboard this morning seemed to overwrite everything.

Adding new control surfaces shouldn't overwrite your assignments, unless you're putting your assignments into places specific for that controller that Logic adds automatically. It can *break* stuff though, depending on how your controller assignments are architected. We all have to work around these issues as best we can, but I would say that once you have a stable setup, always backup your good CS prefs so you can restore them when required.

I've even had cases where even restoring from known good files doesn't correctly restore the prefs (had it last night in fact, but I won't get into the details) - and in these cases (which for me, don't happen a lot anymore thankfully) - I use KM as a tool to reset batches of assignments, as doing it manually is tedious...

Another case where KM comes to the rescue! 🙂

[airforceguitar]

Thank You simoncroft! Every time I start fiddling with controller assignments I get overwhelmed 😧! I’m looking forward to reading, attempting, wash-and-repeat… 😂

[simoncroft]

On 8/11/2023 at 7:35 PM, airforceguitar said:

Thank You simoncroft! Every time I start fiddling with controller assignments I get overwhelmed 😧! I’m looking forward to reading, attempting, wash-and-repeat… 😂

You're very welcome. I really want to release a completely revised version of the book. The current one is too 'wordy', and I found it really hard to make supporting videos around the structure of the book. Once I can find the time, I aim to create a series of videos – using simple animated slides – then create a new book based on that.

[airforceguitar]

On 8/14/2023 at 11:58 AM, simoncroft said:

You're very welcome. I really want to release a completely revised version of the book. The current one is too 'wordy', and I found it really hard to make supporting videos around the structure of the book.

@simoncroft Read several chapters of your book last night. (Once again, I’m away for family and can’t try things out) I loved your writing style and simple straightforward explanations and metaphors. 
  Can’t wait to crack open Logic and try out all my new knowledge! 🎉

Edited August 25, 2023 by airforceguitar

[airforceguitar]

@simoncroft Would you suggest creating a ‘Zone’ or a ‘Mode’ for Smart Controls? 🤔

    I posted in another thread here: 

 

I asked; “Does anyone know how many possible continuous (Knob, Slider or Fader) and how many momentary or latching (buttons or switches) are available with Smart Controls??? Without getting into the new ‘tabbed’ SC layouts, most SC windows seem to max out at 12 knobs+12 buttons. Could I create a SC ‘Zone’ with 16 continuous controls and 16 buttons that would automatically work with whatever SC I call up with a patch?” It seems like SCs would map Knob/Slider #1-16 on my MIDI Controller to corresponding knobs/sliders #1-16 on the SC window (and the same with the buttons) which in turn work whatever they’re assigned to