Logic X - capture MIDI data from Chord Trigger performances?

There seems to be a very limited way to capture The MIDI FX arpeggiator's midi data. But to capture a whole performance with Chord Triggers, Arpeggiators etc. There seems to be no way as far as I can tell.

I went to the environment and looked for some object with the data to route somewhere. But alas no luck. Either it's impossible to do or I'm not getting the method on my own.

Any ideas?

When the arpeggiator's playing (not when it's stopped), you can drag the stepped pyramid graphic (next to the orange PLAY button) to a MIDI track, and it will capture the pattern.

Yes but that is not what the OP is asking.

When the arpeggiator's playing (not when it's stopped), you can drag the stepped pyramid graphic (next to the orange PLAY button) to a MIDI track, and it will capture the pattern.

Yeah thanks, I already know about that feature.

I'm looking to capture a whole performance with 1 or more midi fx on the same channel strip.....

The midi data is happening in real time it just needs to be captured. I went there to the environment to find some object there to route to a channel strip to record the performance, but there doesn't seem to be any.

The only way right now I can figure out is to capture the audio of the performance and use pieces of it as desired.

Hi,

Me too is anxious to hear if there is a (built in) way to capture all midi data, produced by a midi fx chain.

But i am sceptic, i fear it is not possible.

And that would be a big miss i think.

I really love the midi fx but printing their output down to a track would make it so more powerful and complete.

And i know that the arp midi plugin has more or less the ability, but i find it a rather clumsy way.

I could imagine that maybe it is possible using IAC, and then recording a midi fx chain's output back into LPX.

But that for me would also be a clumsy way.

Yes, I'm also beginning to think it isn't possible, which is really too bad.

It's so great to have such wonderful MIDI processing tools, but a drag there isn't a way to capture this as MIDI information.

Unfortunately, there is no built-in way. I agree, it would have been a great feature.

Read this about routing the output of MIDI Plugins to the IAC bus:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=97072&start=60#p509817

This will allow you to capture the output of any MIDI Plugin chain as an input from the IAC bus port in the environment.

WARNING: if you do this, make sure you know what you're doing in order to avoid a MIDI feedback loop! I haven't tried this yet, but you'll want to set up the MIDI signal flow from the IAC bus port on the Physical Input in such a way as to prevent feeding it back into your instrument channel strip and back into the IAC bus. I'll report back after I've had a chance to experiment.

Hey guys. I found a workaround using the IAC Bus. Looks more complicated than it is:

1. In Applications -> Utilities -> Audio Midi Setup (Show MIDI Window) enable the IAC Bus 1.

2. Add a MIDI-effect to an instrument track.

3. Record the arps or triggered chords as usual on that track until satisfied.

4. Create an "External Instrument" instrument track and select IAC Bus 1 as MIDI destination.

5. Go into the Environment, and choose New -> Physical input.

6. Drag a cable between the "IAC Bus 1" output on the "Physical input" object to the mixer object of the instrument you used in step 2.

7. Create a New -> "Sequencer input" object. Drag a cable from the mixer object previously cabled to IAC Bus 1 to the "Sequencer input" object.

8. Drag the MIDI effect (in the mixer) you inserted in step 2 to the "External Instrument" instrument track you created in step 4.

9. Drag the region you created in step 3 to the "External Instrument" track.

10. Press play to test if it works.

11. Arm and select instrument track, press rec and there you go!

There's a high chance of MIDI-feedback. Be sure to record with looping turned off. Experiment with putting a switch on the cable from step 7.

Also, not very Apple like to not include an easy way to do this.

Cheers,

/knod

I'm not sure what you mean. When I capture or record a cycle rage, it only records the notes I am playing, not the MIDI FX.

This is for the arpeggiator

Place a cycle over bar one, hit play, drag the symbol next to the arpeggiator play button to a new track. move cycle to bar 2 repeat ad-infinitum.

I haven't managed doing this with the IAC port method, but used a rather stupid workaround to capture the midi performance from a combination of an Arpeggiator and a transposer.

I bounced the part as audio, analyzed the part with the new flex pitch and then exported it as a midi region.

It gave me what I wanted, although I feel dirty after using this method

We all seem to be finding various workarounds,

I've been experimenting and it's become very clear that one can set up a number of MIDI FX (8 limit) with randomizers, transposers, arpeggiators, chord triggers, etc... and as long as the last one in the chain is an arpeggiator set to latch and add, you can capture the whole mess of MIDI performance up to the 128 steps limit. I have gotten some very interesting results to varying degrees depending on the order I put them in.

For example, It yields some tonal results to put a transposer set to a scale after a randomizer set to notes in a narrow range and run that into the Arpeggiator set to latch and add. The other way around is pretty interesting (if you like random and i do)...

Overall the arpeggiator can shape whatever line you feed it with its note order buttons and Transpose (chord inversions are great too). Lot's of MIDI fun that can be captured to an extent! However, I still want a simple capture button to get the whole thing without having to always have an arpeggiator on the end of the chain.

I haven't tried IAC idea yet, is anyone having good success with it?

We all seem to be finding various workarounds,

 

I've been experimenting and it's become very clear that one can set up a number of MIDI FX (8 limit) with randomizers, transposers, arpeggiators, chord triggers, etc... and as long as the last one in the chain is an arpeggiator set to latch and add, you can capture the whole mess of MIDI performance up to the 128 steps limit. I have gotten some very interesting results to varying degrees depending on the order I put them in.

 

For example, It yields some tonal results to put a transposer set to a scale after a randomizer set to notes in a narrow range and run that into the Arpeggiator set to latch and add. The other way around is pretty interesting (if you like random and i do)...

 

Overall the arpeggiator can shape whatever line you feed it with its note order buttons and Transpose (chord inversions are great too). Lot's of MIDI fun that can be captured to an extent! However, I still want a simple capture button to get the whole thing without having to always have an arpeggiator on the end of the chain.

 

I haven't tried IAC idea yet, is anyone having good success with it?

Have tried the above , doesn't work for me , with a chord trigger and arp in the last of the chain. still just the notes i play. would love to see the notes from the CT recorded.

any other suggestions ?

Try the chord trigger performance in this configuration:

Chord Trigger>Arpeggiator (set to "latch" and "add" and the pattern to "as played") will yield up to a as many notes as i played (250) note pattern with all of your chords played as arpeggios in whatever note division you choose.

You can also then click on the resulting midi region and quantize to large values like 1/2 notes and it will line them up sort of...

This is somewhat useful, but if you want the chords to happen vertically and don't want to perform them in, then use the step sequencer and play the chords one beat at a time.

That's the best I can think of at this time.

capture midi data.logicx.zip

Here's a Logic x file I made that enables me to record the output of a chord trigger if it's of any help to you guys. I rechannelized the output of IAC 01 to avoid the midi feedback thing. The track called e piano is the one that has to be armed for this to work.

Cheers, Al.

Wow, that works perfectly! Very nice indeed!

On the track labeled "to IAC 01 effect holder" I am able to put in MIDI FX I like in any order and capture the performance perfectly on the instrument track...YAY!

Knod, explained the steps to do this in an earlier post, but I hadn't got around to doing it yet. (thanks Knod)

I am now examining the channel strips and environment setting and reviewing Knod's post to see what you all did to make this work. I'm going to see if I can duplicate it and write out the steps, so I can fully understand and reproduce this myself.

Thanks to you both for figuring this out and sharing!

I tried al808's approach, and it works well - it records your MIDI FX as notes already when playing. Nice!

If someone is interested in editing the MIDI FX notes as normal, and then when you want to edit single notes, convert them to single notes on a different track (and keeping the original MIDI FX input notes), then you can have a go with my attached approach as well.

And, yes, the ugly floating switch is there to prevent MIDI feedback.

Good luck,

/knod

P.S. Somehow the switch in the floating environment window disappears depending on screen resolution (that thing is ancient now) - just use the scrollbars to find "Cable Switcher" and hit save.

RecordMIDIFXNoteData.zip

[attachment=0]capture midi data.logicx.zip[/attachment]

 

Here's a Logic x file I made that enables me to record the output of a chord trigger if it's of any help to you guys. I rechannelized the output of IAC 01 to avoid the midi feedback thing. The track called e piano is the one that has to be armed for this to work.

 

Cheers, Al.

Hi Al, thanks very much for that. Unfortunately, when I try either your or knod's solution, the External Instrument Input shows 'MISSING: IAC Bus 1' in the MIDI Destination combo box:

http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd427/Dave_Chambers/missing_zpsf92a69f3.png

Do I need to make some changes in the MIDI Environment?

Thanks again for your efforts,

Dave

I tried al808's approach, and it works well - it records your MIDI FX as notes already when playing. Nice!

If someone is interested in editing the MIDI FX notes as normal, and then when you want to edit single notes, convert them to single notes on a different track (and keeping the original MIDI FX input notes), then you can have a go with my attached approach as well.

And, yes, the ugly floating switch is there to prevent MIDI feedback.

 

Good luck,

 

/knod

 

P.S. Somehow the switch in the floating environment window disappears depending on screen resolution (that thing is ancient now) - just use the scrollbars to find "Cable Switcher" and hit save.

Hi knod, I just wrote the same message above in reply to Al, unfortunately, when I try either of your solutions, the External Instrument Input shows 'MISSING: IAC Bus 1' in the MIDI Destination combo box:

http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd427/Dave_Chambers/missing_zpsf92a69f3.png

Do I need to make some changes in the MIDI Environment?

Thanks again for your efforts, any ideas would be appreciated.

Dave

Dave: choose the other IAC Driver Bus 1 below.

Hi David. Thanks. Still didn't work for me. I just can't get any sound from these two projects kindly uploaded in this thread. I made a video to show the issue, if anybody has 5 minutes to watch it and tell me where I'm going wrong:

Dave

Hi David. Thanks. Still didn't work for me. I just can't get any sound from these two projects kindly uploaded in this thread. I made a video to show the issue, if anybody has 5 minutes to watch it and tell me where I'm going wrong:

 

Hey Dave. Ok, let's try to solve this one. There are two things I'm not sure about in your setup, by just watching the video:

• Have you enabled the IAC Bus 1 in Applications -> Utilities -> Audio Midi Setup (Window -> Show MIDI Window), by double clicking on "IAC Bus 1" and checking the "Device is online" box? Double check on that one.

• If you open up the document and it's Environment in Logic (cmd-0), and choose "All Objects" from the Layer dropdown (top left), the virtual cable routing should look like in the attached screen shot (resolution issues might mess up your particular Environment object placements here, but just move stuff out of the way - the routing stays the same). Then check the routing from the big ass "Physical input" object (on the left) to the "Rec single notes here..." mixer object. There should be a little triangle on the right side of the "IAC Bus 1" text. If it's not connected to anything, drag a connection from the "IAC Bus 1" triangle to the "Rec single notes here..." mixer object. It should work by now. If not, check the other objects in the chain and see if they are connected according to the screen shot as well.

Hope it works out & good luck!

/knod

P.S. To complicate things further, I've got an "IAC Bus 2" as well in the screen shot, but just disregard this.

...check the routing from the big ass "Physical input" object (on the left) to the "Rec single notes here..." mixer object. There should be a little triangle on the right side of the "IAC Bus 1" text. If it's not connected to anything, drag a connection from the "IAC Bus 1" triangle to the "Rec single notes here..." mixer object. It should work by now.

Hi knod,

Yep, that was the issue. There was no connection. Now it works like a charm.

Thanks very much