Logic Pro User Guide
- Welcome
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- What’s new in Logic Pro for Mac 10.7.8
- What’s new in Logic Pro for Mac 10.7.5
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.7.3
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.7
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.6
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.5
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.4
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.3
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.2
- What’s new in Logic Pro 10.0
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- What is Logic Pro for Mac?
- Logic Pro project basics
- Use menu commands and key commands
- Use the complete set of Logic Pro features
- Undo and redo edits
- Manage Logic Pro content
- How to get help
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- Projects overview
- Create projects
- Open projects
- Save projects
- Delete projects
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- Play a project
- Set the playhead position
- Control playback with the transport buttons
- Use transport shortcut menus
- Use transport key commands
- Customize the control bar
- Change the LCD display mode in Logic Pro for Mac
- Monitor and reset MIDI events
- Use the cycle area
- Use the Chase Events function
- Use Apple Remote to control Logic Pro
- Use Logic Remote to control Logic Pro projects
- Preview projects in the Finder
- Close projects
- View project information
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- Overview
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- Before recording software instruments
- Play software instruments
- Record software instruments
- Record additional software instrument takes
- Overdub software instrument recordings
- Spot erase software instrument recordings
- Use Note Repeat
- Replace software instrument recordings
- Record to multiple software instrument tracks
- Record multiple MIDI devices to multiple tracks
- Record software instruments and audio simultaneously
- Use step input recording techniques
- Record MIDI messages from another music app
- Use the metronome
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- Arranging overview
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- Regions overview
- Select regions
- Select parts of regions
- Cut, copy, and paste regions
- Move regions
- Add or remove gaps
- Delay region playback
- Loop regions
- Repeat regions
- Resize regions
- Mute and solo regions
- Time stretch regions
- Reverse audio regions
- Split regions
- Demix MIDI regions
- Join regions
- Create regions in the Tracks area
- Change the gain of audio regions in the Tracks area in Logic Pro for Mac
- Normalize audio regions in the Tracks area
- Create aliases of MIDI regions
- Convert repeated MIDI regions to loops
- Change the color of regions
- Convert audio regions to samples for a sampler instrument
- Rename regions
- Delete regions
- Create groove templates
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- Overview
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- Add notes
- Select notes
- Snap items to the grid
- Move notes
- Copy notes
- Change the pitch of notes
- Resize notes
- Edit note velocity
- Quantize the timing of notes
- Quantize the pitch of notes
- Change note articulations
- Lock the position of events
- Mute notes
- Change note color
- View note labels
- Delete notes
- Time stretch notes
- View multiple MIDI regions
- Split chords
- Automation/MIDI area in the Piano Roll Editor
- Open other editors
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- Logic Pro for Mac advanced editors overview
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- Audio File Editor overview
- Play audio files in the Audio File Editor
- Navigate audio files in the Audio File Editor
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- Audio File Editor edit commands
- Edit audio files with transient markers
- Use the Audio File Editor Pencil tool
- Trim or silence audio files
- Remove DC offset
- Set audio file levels
- Normalize audio files
- Fade audio files
- Reverse audio and invert phase
- Audio File Editor Loop commands
- Undo Audio File Editor edits
- Backup audio files
- Use an external sample editor
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- Mixing overview
- Set channel strip input formats
- Set channel strip pan or balance positions
- Mute and solo channel strips
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- Plug-ins overview
- Add, remove, move, and copy plug-ins
- Insert a plug-in on a track using drag and drop
- Activate plug-ins on inactive channels
- Use the Channel EQ
- Work in the plug-in window
- Work with plug-in settings
- Work with plug-in latencies
- Work with Audio Units plug-ins in Logic Pro for Mac
- Support for ARA 2 compatible plug-ins
- Use MPE with software instruments
- Use the Plug-in Manager
- Work with channel strip settings
- Surround panning
- Use the I/O Labels window
- Undo and redo Mixer and plug-in adjustments
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- Smart Controls overview
- Show Smart Controls for master effects
- Choose a Smart Control layout
- Automatic MIDI controller assignment
- Map screen controls automatically
- Map screen controls
- Edit mapping parameters
- Use parameter mapping graphs
- Open the plug-in window for a screen control
- Rename a screen control
- Use articulation IDs to change articulations
- Assign hardware controls to screen controls
- Compare Smart Control edits with saved settings
- Use the Arpeggiator
- Automate screen control movements
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- Live Loops overview
- Start and stop cells
- Work with Live Loops cells
- Change loop settings for cells
- How the Live Loops grid and Tracks area interact
- Edit cells
- Edit scenes
- Work in the Cell Editor
- Bounce cells
- Record a Live Loops performance
- Change Live Loops grid settings
- Control Live Loops with other devices
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- Global changes overview
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- Tempo overview
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- Smart Tempo overview
- Use free tempo recording
- Choose the Project Tempo mode
- Choose the Flex & Follow setting
- Use Smart Tempo with multitrack audio
- Work in the Smart Tempo Editor
- Improve the tempo analysis using hints
- Correct tempo analysis results using beat markers
- Protect Smart Tempo edits by locking a range
- Match audio recordings to the project tempo
- Match the tempo to an audio region
- Use audio file tempo information
- Record tempo changes
- Use the Tempo Interpreter
- Use the tempo fader
- Control project volume
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- Overview
- Add notes
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- Part box overview
- View score symbols
- Select score symbols
- Add notes and rests
- Add notes and symbols to multiple regions
- Add key and time signature changes
- Change the clef sign
- Add dynamic marks, slurs, and crescendi
- Change note heads
- Add symbols to notes
- Add trills, ornaments, and tremolo symbols
- Add sustain pedal markings
- Add chord symbols
- Add chord grids and tablature symbols
- Add bar lines, repeats, and coda signs
- Add page and line break symbols
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- Select notes
- Move and copy notes
- Change note pitch, duration, and velocity
- Change note articulations
- Quantize the timing of notes
- Restrict note input to the current key
- Control how ties are displayed
- Add and edit tuplets
- Override display quantization using tuplets
- Add grace notes and independent notes
- Delete notes
- Use automation in the Score Editor
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- Staff styles overview
- Assign staff styles to tracks
- Staff Style window
- Create and duplicate staff styles
- Edit staff styles
- Edit staff, voice, and assign parameters
- Add and delete staffs or voices in the Staff Style window in Logic Pro for Mac
- Copy staffs or voices in the Staff Style window in Logic Pro for Mac
- Copy staff styles between projects
- Delete staff styles
- Assign notes to voices and staffs
- Display polyphonic parts on separate staffs
- Change the staff assignment of score symbols
- Beam notes across staffs
- Use mapped staff styles for drum notation
- Predefined staff styles
- Share a score
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- Key commands overview
- Browse, import, and save key commands
- Assign key commands
- Copy and print key commands
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- Global Commands
- Global Control Surfaces Commands
- Various Windows
- Windows Showing Audio Files
- Main Window Tracks and Various Editors
- Various Editors
- Views Showing Time Ruler
- Views Showing Automation
- Main Window Tracks
- Live Loops Grid
- Mixer
- MIDI Environment
- Piano Roll
- Score Editor
- Event Editor
- Step Editor
- Step Sequencer
- Project Audio
- Audio File Editor
- Smart Tempo Editor
- Library
- Sampler
- Drum Machine Designer
- Step Input Keyboard
- Smart Controls
- Tool Menu
- Control Surface Install Window
- Touch Bar shortcuts
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- Working with your control surface
- Connect control surfaces
- Add a control surface to Logic Pro for Mac
- Automatic assignment for USB MIDI controllers
- Grouping control surfaces
- Control Surfaces settings overview
- Modal dialog display
- Tips for using your control surface
- Supported control surfaces
- Software and firmware for Logic Pro for Mac
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- Environment overview
- Common object parameters
- Customize the Environment
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- Fader objects overview
- Use fader objects
- Play back fader movements
- Work with object groups
- Fader styles
- Fader functions: MIDI events
- Fader functions: range, value as
- Fader functions: filter
- Vector fader
- Special faders overview
- Cable switchers
- Meta event faders
- SysEx faders
- Work with SysEx messages
- Special functions
- Ornament objects
- MMC record buttons
- Keyboard objects
- Monitor objects
- Channel splitter object
- Physical input objects
- Physical input objects
- MIDI click objects
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- Use MIDI plug-ins
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- Arpeggiator overview
- Arpeggiator control parameters
- Note order parameters overview
- Note order variations
- Note order inversions
- Arpeggiator pattern parameters overview
- Use Live mode
- Use Grid mode
- Arpeggiator options parameters
- Arpeggiator keyboard parameters
- Use keyboard parameters
- Assign controllers
- Modifier controls
- Note Repeater controls
- Randomizer controls
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- Use Scripter
- Use the Script Editor
- Scripter API overview
- MIDI processing functions overview
- HandleMIDI function
- ProcessMIDI function
- GetParameter function
- SetParameter function
- ParameterChanged function
- Reset function
- JavaScript objects overview
- Use the JavaScript Event object
- Use the JavaScript TimingInfo object
- Use the Trace object
- Use the MIDI event beatPos property
- Use the JavaScript MIDI object
- Create Scripter controls
- Transposer controls
- Record MIDI to Track
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- Alchemy overview
- Alchemy interface overview
- Alchemy Name bar
- Alchemy file locations
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- Alchemy source overview
- Source master controls
- Import browser
- Source subpage controls
- Source filter controls
- Source filter use tips
- Source elements overview
- Additive element controls
- Additive element effects
- Spectral element controls
- Spectral element effects
- Pitch correction controls
- Formant filter controls
- Granular element controls
- Sampler element controls
- VA element controls
- Source modulations
- Morph controls
- Alchemy master voice section
- Alchemy Extended parameters
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- ES2 overview
- ES2 interface overview
- ES2 integrated effects processor controls
- Use ES2 in Surround mode
- Extended parameters
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- Sculpture overview
- Sculpture interface
- Global parameters
- Amplitude envelope parameters
- Use the Waveshaper
- Filter parameters
- Output parameters
- Use surround range and diversity
- Define MIDI controllers
- Extended parameters
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- Ultrabeat overview
- Ultrabeat interface
- Synthesizer section overview
- Filter section controls
- Distortion circuit controls
- Glossary
- Copyright
Program acoustic instruments in Sculpture in Logic Pro for Mac
The tasks outlined in this section provide programming guidelines, tips, tricks, and information to assist you in creating particular types of acoustic instrument sounds in Sculpture.
Create a bell sound in Sculpture
At a basic level, bell-like sounds are quite easy to produce with Sculpture. The creation of truly interesting bells involves a little more effort, but the harmonic richness and detuning during the decay/release phase makes all the difference.
In Logic Pro, load the #default (or your vanilla) setting file.
Choose Strike from the Object 1 Type pop-up menu.
Drag the Material Pad ball to the very bottom of the pad, and place it halfway between Steel and Glass. Play a few notes, and notice that the sound is already more bell-like.
Drag the Media Loss slider nearly all the way down. Again play a few notes, and you’ll hear that the release phase of the sound is considerably longer.
Drag the Resolution slider all the way to the right.
Drag the Pickup A slider to about halfway (0.48).
Drag Object 1 pickup position to a value of 0.10. You should be starting to get pretty bells now … play a few notes.
To activate the Delay unit, click the Delay button in the upper-right section.
Click the Sync button at the bottom of the Delay section, and drag the Delay Time slider to a value of 20 ms.
Adjust the Wet Level knob to 66%.
Click the Body EQ button in the lower right to activate it. Make sure that Lo Mid Hi is chosen from the Model pop-up menu.
Adjust the Low knob to 0.55, the Mid knob to 0.32, and the Hi knob to 0.20.
At this point, you have a working bell sound, but you’ll probably find that there is a tuning issue below C3 in particular. This programming approach was taken because the harmonics of the sound are most noticeable after all other parameters have been set. The solution to the tuning issue primarily lies in the Inner Loss and Stiffness Keyscale parameters.
To adjust, first select the Keyscale button, then drag the green horizontal line within the Material Pad up or down for low notes, or drag the blue horizontal line up or down for high notes.
Choose Save Setting As from the Settings pop-up menu, save your settings with a new name, and use it as the basis for new bell sounds, or for your next Christmas album.
Create a generic brass sound in Sculpture
Brass instruments are notoriously difficult to recreate with electronic instruments. Samplers do a reasonable job in the right hands, and with the right sample library, but they lack the organic warmth of a real brass player. This is a simple and generic brass setting that can be played as a solo instrument or as a brass section.
In Logic Pro, load the #default (or your vanilla) setting file.
Set Object 1 type to Blow.
Activate Object 2, and set its type to Noise.
Adjust the Strength of Object 1 to around 0.90.
Set Object 1 VeloSens to around 0.30.
Drag the Material Pad ball to a position that is diagonally between the “I” of Inner Loss, and the “l” of the word Steel, while playing middle C. The sound should be quite brassy.
Play the E above middle C and you’ll hear a weird “mandolin meets a telephone ring” kind of sound.
Drag the Resolution slider to the left or right while playing middle C and a few notes down an octave or so. You’ll discover that a range of sounds that cover everything from sitars to flutes is possible, just through manipulation of this parameter.
Click the Keyscale button and—while playing up and down the keyboard—independently adjust the Resolution slider, plus the Resolution Low and High Keyscale sliders until the range of the keyboard you wish to play (an octave or so around middle C, for example) doesn’t suffer from those mandolin/phone artifacts. Make sure your sound retains the “brassy” quality.
Move Pickup A position to around 77%.
Turn on the Waveshaper and select Scream as your preferred type. Adjust the Input Scale and Variation parameters to taste.
Turn on the Filter. Select HiPass mode, and adjust the Cutoff, Resonance, and other filter parameters to taste. (As a suggestion, set Cutoff at 0.30 and Resonance at 0.41).
Choose Save Setting As from the Settings pop-up menu and save the setting with a new name.
There are countless directions this sound could be taken in—as a muted trumpet, French horns, and even sitars or flutes.
Make further changes to your brass sound in Sculpture
In Logic Pro, do any of the following:
Use the Waveshaper to radically alter your sound.
Use the Delay to emulate a space for your instrument.
Use the Body EQ to cut the lows and boost the Mids and His.
Drag the Material Pad ball toward the Nylon corner to see how this affects the nature of the sound.
Choose Blow as the Object 2 type, then experiment with the Object 1 and 2 positions. This can also result in different brass sounds.
Create flute-like sounds in Sculpture
Use this approach as the basis for instruments in the wind family, including flutes, clarinets, shakuhachis, pan pipes, and so on.
In Logic Pro, load the #default (or your vanilla) setting file.
Make sure Keyboard Mode is set to mono, as flutes and other wind instruments are monophonic. After you’ve created the setting, feel free to experiment with this parameter while playing, and make your choice.
Set Object 1 type to Blow.
Set Object 2 type to Noise.
Set the Gate of both objects to Always.
Adjust Object 2 Strength to a value of around 0.25.
Adjust the Object 1 Velosens parameter to a value around 0.33.
Move the Material Pad ball to a position between the end of the Inner Loss text and below the Nylon text.
Play the keyboard and you should hear a flute-like sound, but with a long release—which obviously isn’t ideal. Drag the Amplitude Envelope Release slider down to around 0.99 ms.
Pickup A should be set to a value of 1.00 (far right).
Set Object 1 pickup position to around 0.27.
Set Object 2 pickup position to around 0.57.
Activate the Waveshaper and select the “Tube-like distortion” type.
Play a few notes, and adjust the Waveshaper Input Scale and Variation parameters to taste (try Input Scale = 0.16 and Variation 0.55, for example).
As you play sustained notes, you may notice a distinct lack of interesting timbral shifts (typical of real flute sounds—due to changes in the player’s breath, lip position, and so on) as the note is held.
You can use a number of approaches to add interest to the sustained sound. These include using the vibrato modulator (assigned to aftertouch, perhaps), recording or drawing in an envelope, and controlling the Waveshaper Input Scale via Velocity and/or String Media Loss. You could even use the Loop Alternate Sustain Mode. Feel free to experiment!
Choose Save Setting As from the Settings pop-up menu and save the setting with a new name.
Create an organ sound in Sculpture
Organ sounds are among the easiest and quickest sounds to emulate in Sculpture, because they have no release phase. This simplifies things in that you don’t need to set Keyscaling parameters for the basic tone. You may, however, do so at a later stage—for modulation routing or specific sound design purposes.
In Logic Pro, load the #default (or your vanilla) setting file. (Object 1 type should be set to Impulse. If it isn’t, change it now.)
Set the Voices parameter to a value of 8, or higher if you wish.
Drag the Material Pad ball to the top-left corner.
Activate Object 2 and set the type to Bow.
Set the Object 2 Gate mode to Always.
Drag the R(elease) slider of the amplitude envelope all the way down.
Play a C chord, and you’ll hear a flute-like sound.
Drag Pickup A to the far right.
Play a C chord, and you’ll hear a cheesy organ sound. As you can see, Pickup A position has a significant effect on the overall sonic character of the sound.
Drag the Object 2 pickup while holding down the C chord. When you find a position that meets your “that sounds like an organ” criteria, release the object pickup.
Very slightly adjust the Object 2 Timbre parameter upward.
Carefully adjust the Object 2 Variation parameter downward and upward until you find a tone you like.
You may at this point want to move the Object 2 pickup parameter to another position. Hold down a chord while doing so.
You can make further tweaks to the Variation and Timbre parameters of Object 2.
To introduce a little key click, change Object 1 type to Strike, and adjust the Strength and Timbre parameters.
To add a little of the detuned organ vibe, set the Warmth parameter between 0.150 and 0.200.
Choose Save Setting As from the Settings pop-up menu and save the setting with a new name.
You can use this as the basis for your next organ setting.
Tip: Play notes or chords adjusting parameters, so you can hear what each parameter is doing to the sound. You probably notice some intermodulations that are introduced when you’re playing chords. Apart from the pitch differences between notes in the chord, this is a result of the interactions between each voice being produced by Sculpture. These slight variations between each voice—or string—and their harmonic interactions with each other are not dissimilar to the harmonic interactions of a violin section in an orchestra—even when playing identical lines.
Create a percussion sound in Sculpture
Percussive sounds, such as drums, tend to share a similar type of envelope. They contain a strike element, where most of the sonic character is exhibited, followed by a short decay phase. The release phase varies, depending on the instrument itself—a snare drum as opposed to a woodblock, for example—and depending on the ambient space it is placed in—a cavern, a bathroom, and so on.
In Logic Pro, load the #default (or your vanilla) setting file.
Set Object 1 type to Strike.
Activate Object 2, and set its type to Disturb 2-sided.
Set Object 2 Gate mode to Always.
Object 1 Strength should be about 0.84.
Object 2 Strength should be about 0.34.
Drag the Media Loss slider up and down while playing to hear its effect. Find a suitable setting.
Similarly, you can change the Material Pad ball position—although its effect on the overall tone of the sound is heavily reliant on the Media Loss value.
Activate the Body EQ and Filter, then adjust the settings to taste.
Choose Save Setting As from the Settings pop-up menu and save the setting with a new name.
Download the guides:
Logic Pro User Guide: Apple Books | PDF
Logic Pro Instruments: Apple Books | PDF
Logic Pro Effects: Apple Books | PDF