Create tracks using drag and drop in Logic Pro for Mac
You can quickly create a new track by dragging one or more audio files, regions, or Apple Loops to the area below all existing tracks in the Tracks area. When you drag an audio file to the area below existing tracks, an audio track is created; when you drag a region or an Apple Loop, a track of the corresponding type (audio or software instrument) is created.
You can create a new sample-based software instrument track by dragging an audio file, audio or software instrument region, or Apple Loop to the area below the track headers in the Tracks area, or between two existing tracks. When you create a track by dragging content, you can choose whether the track uses a Quick Sampler, Sample Alchemy, Drum Machine Designer, or Sampler instrument plug-in. For Quick Sampler, Sample Alchemy, and Sampler, there are additional choices for how the plug-in processes the material. After the new track is created, the instrument plug-in you selected opens for viewing and editing.
When you create a new track by dragging an audio or software instrument region to the track header area (below the last track header, or between two track headers), the region is bounced to an audio file, which is then used by the chosen instrument plug-in on the track.
Note: To quickly create a track with predetermined slices and mapping, drag the content to the Drum Machine Designer zone. If you want to be able to edit individual slices, drag the item to one of the Quick Sampler zones. With Quick Sampler set to Slice mode, you can edit individual slices. After you finish editing slices in Quick Sampler, you can create a Drum Machine Designer instrument using the command “Create Drum Machine Designer Track” in the Action pop-up menu.
Create tracks with a Sampler plug-in (single files only)
Dragging an audio file to one of the available Sampler zones creates a software instrument track with a Sampler instrument plug-in.
Sampler (Zone Per Note) creates a software instrument track with a Sampler instrument plug-in with a zone for each detected note in the audio file.
Create a track with a Quick Sampler plug-in (single files only)
Dragging content to one of the available Quick Sampler zones creates a software instrument track with Quick Sampler as the instrument plug-in. Depending on the audio material, Quick Sampler uses Slice, One Shot, or Classic sample mode to process the content.
Quick Sampler (Original) uses the original tuning, loudness, looping, and length of the content.
Quick Sampler (Optimized) analyzes the content and optimizes its tuning and loudness, searches for loop points, and crops silence.
Create a track with a Sample Alchemy plug-in (single files only)
Dragging content to one of the available Sample Alchemy zones creates a software instrument track with a Sample Alchemy instrument plug-in.
After creating a track with a Sample Alchemy plug-in, you can replace the Sample Alchemy plug-in with an Alchemy plug-in for more extensive control over synthesis types and parameters.
See Sample Alchemy.
Create a track with a Drum Machine Designer plug-in (single or multiple files)
Dragging content to the Drum Machine Designer zone creates a software instrument track with a Drum Machine Designer instrument plug-in using the sliced audio content, and a MIDI region to trigger the slices. When multiple items are dragged, each file or region is placed on its own pad in the Drum Machine Designer grid, rather than being sliced and placed on multiple pads.
Create tracks with a Sampler plug-in (multiple files only)
Dragging multiple audio files to one of the available Sampler zones creates a software instrument track with a Sampler instrument plug-in using the mapping method you choose.
Sampler (Chromatic Map) maps samples to successive chromatic notes.
Sampler (Optimized Map) maps samples according to analysis of the material.
You can control whether or not the plug-in window opens after new tracks are created using the “Open plug-in window on insertion” checkbox in Logic Pro > Settings > View > Mixer > Plug-in Window.
In addition to creating tracks, you can drag an audio file, audio or software instrument region, or Apple Loop to the track header of a software instrument track with one of the above-mentioned instrument plug-ins to replace the current sample (on a track with Quick Sampler or Sample Alchemy, or a Drum Machine Designer subtrack with Quick Sampler) or add the content as a new sample (on a track with Sampler or a Drum Machine Designer master track). See Insert an instrument plug-in on a track, Replace the sound for Sample Alchemy on a software instrument track, Replace the sound for Quick Sampler on a software instrument track, Create zones with drag and drop, and Use Drum Machine Designer pad controls.
Important: When you drag a region to the track header area or to another drag zone to create a sample-based software instrument using the region, the region is bounced through the plug-ins on the track. For software instrument tracks, this includes any MIDI plug-ins, the track instrument, and any audio plug-ins, For audio tracks, this includes any audio plug-ins and other processing, such as Flex. The resulting audio file is used in the sample-based instrument. This is different from dragging an audio file to a drag zone, which does not trigger a bounce.