Use Drum Machine Designer pad controls in Logic Pro for Mac

1. In Logic Pro, move the pointer over an unassigned pad.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Click a kit piece patch in the Library to add the kit piece.

   • Drag a MIDI or audio region, or an audio file from the Finder, Audio File Browser, or Loop Browser, onto the pad. You can use any audio file type that Logic Pro supports.

     A resampling process takes place when a region is dropped onto a pad and a new Quick Sampler instance is inserted on a new subtrack, which is automatically assigned to the first available (lowest numbered) unassigned pad.

   • Click the “+” icon that appears to create a new, empty channel strip and subtrack.

     Note: In cases where you have used the Clear Pad command, the pad will have no assigned sound, but will have a corresponding subtrack, so the “+” icon is not displayed. Click the pad background to assign a sound to the pad and subtrack.

You can quickly add samples to unused pads by dragging content to the main track header, or you can replace the sample for a pad by dragging content to the corresponding subtrack header.

1. In Logic Pro, drag one or more audio files, regions, or Apple Loops to a Drum Machine Designer main track or subtrack header.

   • When adding an audio file, the “Add Sample to” dialog appears in the track header. Drag the items to the Drum Machine Designer zone.

     The items are added to the first (lowest numbered) unassigned pads.

   • When adding an audio or software instrument region, a resampling process is triggered, with the region bounced offline as an audio file.

   • When adding a Step Sequencer region, a resampling process is triggered, with the region bounced offline as an audio file.

     Note: The resampling process that takes place when a region is dropped onto a pad inserts a new Quick Sampler instance on a new subtrack, which is mapped to the first available (lowest numbered) unassigned pad.

• In Logic Pro, do one of the following:

  • Place the pointer over a pad, then click the speaker icon. The sound is played from start to end.

  • Place the pointer over a pad, then click-hold the speaker icon. The sound is played and stops immediately when you release the button.

• In Logic Pro, place the pointer over the pad to view available options, then click the Mute button that appears.

  

  The muted pad is dimmed and the Mute button on the dimmed pad is highlighted. This silences the subtrack assigned to the pad.

• In Logic Pro, place the pointer over the pad to view available options, then click the Solo button that appears.

  

  All other pads are dimmed, and the Solo button is highlighted. This solos the subtrack assigned to the pad.

You can use Smart Controls parameters to process and affect the overall kit or selected kit piece.

1. In Logic Pro, click the icon or a pad background of the kit piece you want to edit.

2. Click the Pad Controls button in the pad controls bar.

   

3. Adjust the Smart Controls parameters for the kit piece.

   To learn more about how each control affects the sound, see Drum Machine Designer Kit Piece Controls in Logic Pro for Mac.

   Note: If a Drum Machine Designer subtrack or pad uses a Quick Sampler or Drum Synth plug-in, you will see additional Q-Sampler Main, Q-Sampler Details, or Drum Synth view buttons alongside the Pad Controls button below the grid. Use these to access the respective instrument plug-in interface and parameters directly at the bottom of the Drum Machine Designer window. See Quick Sampler overview and Drum Synth overview for details on editing parameters that you can view in the lower portion of the Drum Machine Designer interface.

1. In Logic Pro, click the icon or a pad background of the edited kit piece you want to save.

2. Click the Save button at the bottom of the Library pane. If the Library is not visible, click the Action pop-up menu on the pad, then choose “Open Library”.

   In the Finder window:

3. Browse to the file location you want to use. The default folder location is User Kit Piece Patches. If required, create a new folder.

4. Type the kit piece patch name, then press the Save button.

In Logic Pro, you can reorder kit pieces in the following ways:

• Drag a pad to an empty location in the grid.

• Drag a pad between two pads in the grid. A vertical blue line is shown to indicate the target location. The pad is placed between the target pads. Adjacent (and other) pads move to accommodate the dropped pad.

• Drag a pad between pages in the grid. An arrow is briefly shown at the left or right edge of the grid, which then moves to the target page. Drop the pad at the location you want to use on the page.

• Drag a pad onto another pad in the grid to swap their positions.

  Note: Dragging behavior is affected by the option you chose in the “Reorder Pads” submenu in the kit controls bar Action pop-up menu.

  • Change Sounds: Changing the pad layout moves the sounds of the pads, but pad input and output note settings are not changed: The sounds will appear in a different order when played via a MIDI keyboard or by a recorded region.

  • Visual Only: Changing the pad layout moves the pads and sounds together, so reordering will only have a visual effect: The pads will appear in a different order, but assigned sounds are still played by the same MIDI notes.

1. In Logic Pro, click a pad icon or pad background to select it.

   

2. Do one of the following:

   • Click a kit piece patch in the Library to exchange the kit piece. If the Library is not visible, choose Open Library from the Action or shortcut menu. Use Control-click to access the shortcut menu.

   • Drag a MIDI or audio region, or an audio file from the Finder, Audio File Browser, or Loop Browser, onto the pad. You can use any audio file type that Logic Pro supports.

     Note: A Replace with Quick Sampler message is shown on the pad.

1. In Logic Pro, drag an audio file, region, or Apple Loop to a Drum Machine Designer subtrack.

2. When the Replace Sample dialog appears, drop the item.