Ableton Live 11, Cubase 11 and Pro Tools 2020.11 were all announced this week, and Logic Pro X is next in line. Although, we should actually say Logic Pro 10.6, as Apple has omitted the ‘X' from the DAW's new name. The latest update brings improved performance on Macs equipped with Apple Silicon chips, some of which were announced this. Live Loops For spontaneous composition. Live Loops is a dynamic way to create.
In today's Logic Pros Live Loops diary, we are taking a look at the process of introducing this new workflow into our day-to-day recording sessions along with some quick Novation Launchpad tips. The potential of these repurposed controllers has just been getting even more intriguing with every Logic Pro update and after discussing the the pros and cons of the current-generation lineup, we are diving into to some tips and quality of life reminders for making the transition a smooth one.
Implementing a new Launchpad Live Loops workflow
Starting with Logic Pro 7 nearly two decades ago now, right through to last year's massive 10.5 update, Apple's has presented a mostly consistent music creation workflow with a focus on incremental updates, powerful new instruments, best-in-class composition companions, and all-in-all, modernizing a generally familiar experience. All of which has been a mostly successful endeavor as far as we are concerned, much like the game-changing updates it injected into the system through the last half of 2020.
Moving over to something like the wildly new, non-linear Live Loops lifestyle can be a bit jarring to say the least. While all of the usual suspects are still at play in Logic Pro, new possibilities have entered the fray vying for our creative attention. Colorful blinking light Launchpads to dig our fingers into bring a kind of expressive physical connection to Logic Pro for what feels like the very first time. Not just in terms of app control and original composition — playing notes with your keyboard or wiggling some faders with a control surface — but also over complete vertical slices of our work. Presenting direct access to every riff, motif, harmony group, drum groove, vocal sample, and horn blast in our composition like the notes of a keyboard, this effectively allows Logic Pro to provide its users a modular approach to song creation and musical performance-based song arrangement it simply never could before — and unlike like any other DAW can. So different, and powerful, and impossible to ignore, it's time to go over some quality of life tips and reminders, when integrating Live Loops and Launchpads into your day-to-day workflow.
We have discussed the general potential of the Logic Pro hardware control in question, along with some brief installation tips, but it seemed like a fitting time to lay down some basics for folks just starting down their journey with us here. If you're anything like me at all, finding time away from typical recording sessions, and your day-to-day composition/audio work routine — your EDR or every day rig, if you will — isn't the easiest. But here are a few things that I have found particularly helpful to remember each time I get started on a new Launchpad Live Loops project, or when transforming those old timeline Regions into non-linear Cells.
Learn from the Templates
Learn from the Live Loops Logic Pro templates. It's easy to quickly rip through a few of these and toy around for a bit, and then proceed to completely ignore them from that point on — it is for me anyway. But there are a few basics or quality of life Live Loops tips we can glean, and hopefully remember, from them that are particularly helpful when using Launchpads: Using an empty Scene to our advantage and creating a cycle area (loop) on the timeline.
Having an empty Scene in our Live Loops Launchpad projects can be particularly helpful as it will allow us to effectively stop playback without touching the keyboard or mouse — if that's your kind of thing anyway. I found this to be quite useful in live performance-type situations, some arrangement sessions, and when performing arrangements to the timeline.
You can control-click one of the Scene Triggers at the bottom of the Live Loops window and choose Insert Empty Scene (choosing the scene to the far right creates one at the back end of the project, choosing one in the middle creates the empty scene directly to the left of the trigger you clicked on). But I like to just click and drag the right most scene trigger's edge to the right (highlighted in red above), which will automatically throw an empty Scene at the far end of your project.
Ensuring you have a short loop in the cycle area of the timeline page in your Live Loops sessions is a helpful thing to remember. This is just sort of to keep the timeline playhead from running amok while you're focused on the Live Loops environment.
You can learn more about what Scenes, Cells, and the rest of the basics are, along with a general breakdown of the user interface, in our initial coverage of what Apple's Logic Pro Live Loops is all about right here.
Launchpad loops in view
Inside of the Logic Pro's Control Surface Setup window we touched on a couple weeks ago ( Logic Pro menu > Control Surfaces > Setup…), we can choose a general color for our control surfaces, including the Novation Launchpads. This color is reflected in the Control Surface Bar on the left edge of the Track Headers. It also indicates which of the tracks in our Live Loops project are currently visible in the main Cells/Scenes view on the Launchpad.
I find myself at times needing a quick reminder during a performance or arrangement session as to which tracks are currently viewable on the Launchpad. Keeping in mind, not all musicians use Apple's perfectly cascading color collation for their songs — and unfortunately so in most cases — even with a perfectly organized project, it can and has come in handy several times for me.
The Control Surface Bar will light up eight tracks on the Launchpad Pro models, while only seven on the Launchpad X (and some of the other smaller models) due to requiring the bottom set of the 8×8 pads to be used as Scene Trigger buttons. You can however, inside of the aforementioned Control Surface Setup window, revert back to the 90-degree left or right orientation for your Launchpad X to regain the full 8×8 Cell grid. While this is at the expense of more direct access to other hardware features the Launchpad X provides if you ask me, it is something to keep in mind if you ever require the full-size grid for certain projects/scenarios.
Sometimes a light touch will do it
Nothing new or overly exciting here, just one that tends to slip my mind while getting busy. Not only are the velocity sensitive Launchpad controls great for actually recording instruments like a MIDI keyboard, but remember we can also use its soft touch/hard touch for smooth fader volume fades in our Live Loops sessions and performances. Hitting the Volume page on your Launchpad will bring up the fader volume mixer controls for the tracks in your session. Hitting the pads hard will immediately raise or lower the volume of the track, but a soft touch will slowly fade the volume up or down. This can always be good to remember while you're in the heat of battle, performing arrangements or live DJing some compositions, and can make for some interesting musical results.
Quantizing your Start position
Quantize Start and Playmode settings will be something we dive into far deeper down the line — seemingly simple user options, they can be used in particularly customizable and powerful ways to transform vertical slices of your songs into instruments of their own — having a basic understanding of what's going on with these can save some headaches in the early days.
The mini Quantize Start menu atop the Live Loops window is our immediate getting started focus here today, and where you choose the start time for the Cells and Scenes in your grid. Some folks and collaborators have had some questions about getting Cells and Scenes to start playback faster, or immediately when hitting its corresponding pad on the Launchpad, or on the next beat of the song, and so on. If your Cells and Scenes aren't reacting the way you need them to for a particular song or reason, try adjusting the Quantize Start setting from this menu. You can turn the quantize option off if you're particularly gutsy or swift of hand, or just among the many quantize or grid-synced options here — one of them will almost certainly be what you're after in my experience.
And some final thoughts…
Apple Logic Studio Pro 9
It can be understanding and remembering these little things — the things we take for granted after making a particular workflow environment such an integrated and normalled part of our day-to-day musical existence for so long — that make implementing Launchpads or any other new hardware/instruments a more natural experience. Whether it's having full understanding of our musical hardware interface at a moment's notice, that perfectly placed piece of silence to set the big drop off, or a smooth fade to end the perfect arrangement, some simple reminders to help file the basics away into the second-nature section of your audio engineering memory can be invaluable.
Dig into our overview of Apple's Live Loops right here as well as this breakdown of what each of Novation's Launchpads bring to the table. Then let us know if you have any starter or quality of life tips to help keep myself and other folks on the right track int he comments below.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Ridiculously powerful. Seriously creative.
Live LoopsFor spontaneous composition.
Live Loops is a dynamic way to create and arrange music in real time. Kick off your composition by adding loops, samples or your recorded performances into a grid of cells. Trigger different cells to play with your ideas without worrying about a timeline or arrangement. Once you find combinations that work well together, you can create song sections, then move everything into the Tracks area to continue production and finish your song.
Remix FX
Macbook pro camera blurry. Bring DJ-style effects and transitions to an individual track or an entire mix with a collection of stutters, echoes, filters and gating effects.
Logic Remote
Control features like Live Loops, Remix FX and more from your iPad or iPhone using Multi-Touch gestures.
Novation Launchpad
Live Loops supports Launchpad for a tactile experience. Use an 8x8 grid of colourful and expressive pads to dynamically trigger cells, input notes, adjust mixer levels and more.
Step SequencerPure beat poetry.
And some final thoughts…
Apple Logic Studio Pro 9
It can be understanding and remembering these little things — the things we take for granted after making a particular workflow environment such an integrated and normalled part of our day-to-day musical existence for so long — that make implementing Launchpads or any other new hardware/instruments a more natural experience. Whether it's having full understanding of our musical hardware interface at a moment's notice, that perfectly placed piece of silence to set the big drop off, or a smooth fade to end the perfect arrangement, some simple reminders to help file the basics away into the second-nature section of your audio engineering memory can be invaluable.
Dig into our overview of Apple's Live Loops right here as well as this breakdown of what each of Novation's Launchpads bring to the table. Then let us know if you have any starter or quality of life tips to help keep myself and other folks on the right track int he comments below.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Ridiculously powerful. Seriously creative.
Live LoopsFor spontaneous composition.
Live Loops is a dynamic way to create and arrange music in real time. Kick off your composition by adding loops, samples or your recorded performances into a grid of cells. Trigger different cells to play with your ideas without worrying about a timeline or arrangement. Once you find combinations that work well together, you can create song sections, then move everything into the Tracks area to continue production and finish your song.
Remix FX
Macbook pro camera blurry. Bring DJ-style effects and transitions to an individual track or an entire mix with a collection of stutters, echoes, filters and gating effects.
Logic Remote
Control features like Live Loops, Remix FX and more from your iPad or iPhone using Multi-Touch gestures.
Novation Launchpad
Live Loops supports Launchpad for a tactile experience. Use an 8x8 grid of colourful and expressive pads to dynamically trigger cells, input notes, adjust mixer levels and more.
Step SequencerPure beat poetry.
Step Sequencer is inspired by classic drum machines and synthesizers. Using the Step Sequence editor, quickly build drum beats, bass lines and melodic parts — and even automate your favourite plug-ins. Add sophisticated variations to your pattern with a wide range of creative playback behaviours. Use Note Repeat to create rolling steps, Chance to randomise step playback, and Tie Steps Together to create longer notes.
Logic RemoteTouch and flow.
Logic Remote lets you use your iPhone or iPad to control Logic Pro on your Mac. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play software instruments, mix tracks, and control features like Live Loops and Remix FX from anywhere in the room. Swipe and tap to trigger cells in Live Loops. And tilt your iPhone or iPad up and down and use its gyroscope to manipulate filters and repeaters in Remix FX.
NewSequence your beats
Program drum patterns and melodic parts from your iPad or iPhone. Create dynamic rhythmic performances and automate your plug-ins — all with a quick tap of your finger.
Multi-Touch mixing
Control your mix from wherever you are in the room — whether that's next to your computer or on the sofa — with Multi-Touch faders.
Pair and play
Use a variety of onscreen instruments, such as keyboards, guitars and drum pads, to play any software instrument in Logic Pro from your iPad or iPhone.
Key commands
Create at the speed of sound with key commands in Logic Remote. Choose from curated commands for popular workflows or create your own custom set.
Sampler
We redesigned and improved our most popular plug-in — the EXS24 Sampler — and renamed it Sampler. The new single-window design makes it easier to create and edit sampler instruments while remaining backwards compatible with all EXS24 files. An expanded synthesis section with sound-shaping controls brings more depth and dynamics to your instruments. The reimagined mapping editor adds powerful time-saving features that speed the creation of complex instruments. Use the zone waveform editor to make precise edits to sample start/end, loop ranges and crossfades. And save hours of tedious editing with new drag-and-drop hot zones.
Quick Sampler
Quick Sampler is a fast and easy way to work with a single sample. Drag and drop an audio file from the Finder, Voice Memos or anywhere within Logic Pro. Or record audio directly into Quick Sampler using a turntable, microphone, musical instrument, or even channel strips playing in Logic Pro. In a few steps, you can transform an individual sample into a fully playable instrument. And with Slice Mode, you can split a single sample into multiple slices — perfect for chopping up vocals or breaking up and resequencing drum loops.
Drum Synth
This powerful, easy-to-use plug-in creates synthesized drum sounds. Choose from a diverse collection of drum models and shape their sound with up to eight simple controls. Drum Synth is also directly integrated into the bottom of the Drum Machine Designer interface —giving you a focused set of sound-shaping controls.
Drum Machine Designer
Redesigned to be more intuitive and integrated, Drum Machine Designer lets you effortlessly build electronic drum kits. Apply individual effects and plug-ins on each discrete drum pad to experiment with sound design and beat-making in new ways. You can also create a unique layered sound by assigning the same trigger note to two different pads. To help you quickly edit sounds, Quick Sampler and Drum Synth are directly integrated into the Drum Machine Designer interface.
DrummerCompose to the beat of a different percussionist.
Using Drummer is like hiring a session drummer or collaborating with a highly skilled beat programmer. Create organic-sounding acoustic drum tracks or electronic beats with the intelligent technology of Drummer. Choose from dozens of drummers who each play in a different musical genre, and direct their performances using simple controls.
Compositions and PerformancesYour studio is always in session.
Logic Pro turns your Mac into a professional recording studio able to handle even the most demanding projects. Capture your compositions and performances — from tracking a live band to a solo software-instrument session — and flow them into your songs.
The ultimate way to record.
Seamless punch recording. Automatic take management. Support for pristine 24-bit/192kHz audio. Logic Pro makes it all easy to do — and undo. You can create projects with up to 1,000 stereo or surround audio tracks and up to 1,000 software instrument tracks, and run hundreds of plug-ins. It's all you need to complete any project.
Get the most out of MIDI.
Logic Pro goes beyond the average sequencer with an advanced set of options that let you record, edit and manipulate MIDI performances. Transform a loose performance into one that locks tight into the groove using region-based parameters for note velocity, timing and dynamics. Or tighten up your MIDI performances while preserving musical details like flams or chord rolls with Smart Quantize.
Industry-leading tools
As your song develops, Logic Pro helps organise all your ideas and select the best ones. Group related tracks, audition alternative versions and consolidate multiple tracks. Lightning-fast click-and-drag comping helps you build your best performance from multiple takes.
Smart Tempo
Go off-script and stay on-beat with Smart Tempo, a way to effortlessly mix and match music and beats without worrying about the original tempo. Record freely without a click track. And easily combine and edit MIDI and audio tracks — from vinyl samples to live instruments to multi-track audio stems — with constant or variable tempo.
Flex Time
Quickly manipulate the timing and tempo of your recording with Flex Time. Easily move the individual beats within a waveform to correct drum, vocal, guitar, or any other kind of track without slicing and moving regions.
Flex Pitch
Edit the level and pitch of individual notes quickly and easily with Flex Pitch. Roll over any note and all parameters are available for tweaking.
Apple Logic News App
Track Alternatives
Create alternative versions of a track or multiple grouped tracks, and switch between them at any time to audition different options. Create, store and select from different edits and arrangements of track regions to make it easier to experiment with various creative ideas.
Takes and Quick Swipe Comping
Click and drag to choose the best sections of each take to create a seamless comp, complete with transition-smoothing crossfades. Save multiple comps and switch between them to pick the one you like best.
Track Stacks
Consolidate multiple related tracks into a single track. Use a Summing Stack as a quick way to create submixes. Or create layered and split instruments.
Apple Logic News Youtube
Project Alternatives
Create as many different versions of a project as you like, each with its own name and settings but sharing the same assets — efficiently saving storage space. Load any version to make changes without compromising your original.
Track Groups and VCA Faders
Manage large mixes with Track Groups and VCA faders. Assign any selection of channels to a track group, then control the levels or other parameters of all tracks in the group from any single channel in the group.
Apple Logic News Review
Automation
Easily capture changes to any channel strip or plug-in parameter. Just enable automation, press Play and make your changes.
Even more pro features in the mix.
Logic Pro is packed with incredible tools and resources to enhance your creativity and workflow as you sharpen your craft — even if you're a seasoned pro.
Graduate from GarageBand.
Logic Remote. Touch and flow.
MainStage
Sound as great onstage as you do in the studio.
Education Bundle
Five amazing apps. One powerful collection.
