Logic Pro X | Using External Synths - Environment Setup [My Best Tutorial]

[@MauricesMusic24]

Love the way you kept it simple for us OG's. going from the old external sequencer world of the 80's. I knew there was a simple way to do that. I didn't know about the midi environment world

[@robertailman5092]

This is one of the inner layers of the onion - and only proves that I know 1% of LogicPro X - I could follow this, so it makes perfect sense - I really need to play this over again...20x...,thanks...,will subscribe

[@spareroomstudio]

Fantastic presentation!! Finally someone that explained the inner workings of how this feature works. With 20+ old keyboards, rack modules, interfaces and FX, this will make things so much easier to setup and use. Thank you so much for your time and effort to figure it out and teach the rest of us !!

[@JeffyG]

Wow, thanks!

[@JohnMay-BeCreative]

Thanks for the information! I just added a rack of vintage modules from way back when! They used to work fine in Digital Performer when they had the FreeMIDI system and the associated system for managing patch names. I have 11 vintage synth modules in that rack, I doubt that I'll set them all up, but I will probably create proper environments for most of them! The MAIN reason I don't use them when I'm writing and recording is that I never bothered to do that until now! Some of them have patches that show up, but they are mostly wrong. This should keep me busy for a while, just doing super nerdy stuff!

[@JeffyG]

Cool project! I enjoy the technical challenge of getting everything working, but on a daily basis, I’m mainly using VSTs. It’s just so must easier than all those midi cables and dual audio cables to/from each hardware synth. I have the Arturia V Collection X and it includes clones of all the classics, Jupiter 8, Juno 6, Prophet 5, CMI, DX7, CZ101, and on and on. It’s great value.

[@janmoennaert8262]

Super - been looking for clear explanation on this for years… Thank you 👍🏻

[@JeffyG]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bobloomis246]

Oh man thanks for the vid! Superb, I just upgrade to an M2 and had been using MBP 2017 wuth an older Yamaha S90XS and couldn't figure out what the heck happened. Then I remembered about the Environment! So overlooked now because everyone is using controllers with virtual instruments. Thanks again?!

[@orjanhaugen9391]

Dusted off my old Wavestation SR and attempting to add it to Logic environment. Very cool video, super helpful!

[@nassetheoriginal130]

Fantastic...!!! Tnx a lot. 🙏🏻

[@Blinded-By-Passion]

Very useful. Thanks for your time and expertise. I thought Enviromnent was deprecated, but happy it's just hidden 🙂

[@figtreetim]

Gr8 job on such a technical feature of Logic Pro x

[@Anth369]

Thank you, exactly what i need to setup my Roland JDXI in logic. Cheers Jeffy!

[@JoeBearDotCom]

Thanks for this explanation. I am trying to use this technique to switch patches on a guitar effects processor (Line6 Helix). Using your method, I was able to map my patch names to CC&PC. After defining the patches, selecting each in Logic's MIDI Environment mapping table causes the patches on the unit to change appropriately. The issue I am now having is - how do I get this device instantiated on a track?

[@DeGrale.]

Super 👍

[@blacrabbit5838]

Hi Jeff, love what you’re doing here. I’m starting my own external instrument setup in Logic. I wanted to know if you have a video explaining midi cable connectivity. I’d like to create jams where patches can switch on the fly. Do your external synths have to be connected via midi in and out in order to do so? Thanks again!

[@JeffyG]

I have an old eMagic MT4 midi hub via USB. It has 4 Midi Outs / 2 Midi Ins. So I can control 4 external synths or keyboards. I typically just use 1 of the 4 connected to a Midi In. In Logic, I can control which of the 4 Midi Outs I’m sending to and where the Midi input is coming from on each track. So, I might have say 8 or 9 tracks in Logic going to Midi Out #1 my XP-30 with different midi channels (midi 1 thru 8), the on Midi Out #2 Roland Sonic Cell, again multiple tracks in Logic (midi channel 1 thru 8 again). You can have 16 midi channels assigned to any 1 of the physical output ports of the eMagic MT4. Get it? If you daisy-chain external keyboards with midi thru, you have to manage the midi channel assignments better - say midi channel 1 - 8 on 1 synth and 9 - 16 on the next. Just remember, the physical midi ports of the MT4 each can transmit the same midi channels 1 - 16. Effectively 4 x 16 = 64 tracks in Logic.

[@blacrabbit5838]

Wow, that actually helps a lot right now. I’ve got a pre-Sonus audio box that has 1 midi in and one midi out. I’m looking to upgrade to the EMT but in the meantime, how many midi tracks can I assign with only one in and one out?

[@blacrabbit5838]

PS: Would love to take a class/workshop if you’re interested

[@blacrabbit5838]

As for my setup I have an Arturia Drumbrute impact drum machine receiving clock from logic via midi out of my pre sonus audio interface into the drum machine. From there, my drum machine is sending logic’s clock out via a midi thru box to all of my other synths. It works for quick recordings but I’d like my synths to send midi info INTO logic as well. Are there any workarounds?

[@JeffyG]

@@blacrabbit5838 depends on the external synth and how many ‘parts’ it supports, many Roland’s support 8 to 16 parts, with each part assigned to a separate midi channel from 1 to 16. But you can have multiple tracks in the DAW playing the same sound patch. For example, drums usually default to midi channel 10, but you might have a separate tracks for the kick, snare, hi hats, etc. all sending midi to channel 10 (as a drum kit is considered just 1 part). So you might have 8 drum tracks in your DAW. Similarly, you might have more than one track in your DAW for piano, but both assigned to midi channel 1. So if your synth accepts midi 1 to 16, even with just 1 midi output, you could support 16 sound patches.

[@JohnOShaughnessy]

cheers mate! was just looking for this!. I used to use Emagic Logic back in the day and this reminds me of it. The Multi-instrument looks just the same. I miss the way you could just type a number and it would open a scenario like the environment window

[@JeffyG]

Are you using something else today?

[@JohnOShaughnessy]

@@JeffyG just logic Pro x and reason

[@meuri3000]

Thanks! That helps a lot. Will use this with my Roland JV-1080. 😊

[@JeffyG]

Glad it helped!

[@Richbund]

Thank you, this was fabulous! I have been away from writing for several years and just bought a Mac Studio M2 and the latest Logic Studio... Things have changed. I have an old Korg 01/Wfd that has some sounds that I still like to use and have midi files where I want to use the Korg on all or some of the tracks. I looked at my old user's manual and looked at midi implementation pages and figured it out. I haven't actually fired it up yet as I wanted to follow your excellent presentation. Question: how do I get the multi-instrument into another Logic project? Is there a way to save or export this? If not, I at least know how to do it again in the other projects. Once I get it working, there's a coffee coming your way..😉

[@JeffyG]

Thanks!

[@Richbund]

@@JeffyG Hi Jeffy, I sent you 2 coffees as you have provided very valuable information in this video, and I have a question which I believe deserves a second coffee. Once I have created the multi-instrument which in the case is a Korg 01/Wfd and configured the custom bank messages based on the midi implementation info in the Korg manual and pasted the program lists into the 2 banks. Can I save this multi-instrument to use in other projects? If so, may I ask for the steps to do this? It has been somewhat of a challenge getting back to working with Logic Studio Pro. I am blown away with all the very cool stuff in Logic... Cheers, and enjoy the coffee(s)

[@marcschlensog9370]

Thank you for the explanation, it‘s absolutely helpful to see the patchnames when creating a new tracks. I did so also in past, but then I started using one synth (e.g. Moog Voyager) where I change the patches time by time within the track. So is there a convenient way to program this CC messages? (I‘m currently changing the patch manually which I record in a new region and truncate again… Something like a command ‚change patch to B03-Riser‘ would be more convenient)

[@vincentbon9933]

Your video is excellent and will save many days or googling about the LPX environment. It's hard to know where to start, MOTU DP and Pro Tools can use .midnam & .middev files to pass patch names from the Audio MIDI setup in OS X to the DAW and both work flawlessly, unfortunately, as a Logic fan since the emagic days, I am force to use the very buggy Logic environment. Sure you can use the "External MIDI" track type with "Use External External Instrument Plugin" checked off and logic will even route your ext synth audio automatically; but alas, in this mode no patch names... why... who knows; so back to the environment which probably has not been updates since LP8. I have many large projects with a few dozen external MIDI tracks, and on more than 1 occasion, the patch names from one multi show up on a different multi's patch list in the LP inspector. Also you can copy instrument multi's from other projects, but sometimes this will crash Logic, other times it works fine. If you decide to put 2 or 3 MIDI devices on one port, all sorts of errors and hell breaks loose. The best scenario is a class compliant MIDI box (like the nektar MIDIFLEX 4) and one Rompler/Synth per MIDI port. Lastly on the MIDI preferences in LPX, check the box "send used instrument settings on reset" to avoid patches not setting when you load the song. All in all, we are stuck with the environment, LPX believes that all should use soft synths, so not much effort has been put into the MIDI environment on over 10 years

[@nickosparkol]

Hello Jeffy. I have a multi-timbral external synthesiser. It is connected to Logic. For example, I connect it to Logic and I have 16 channels with 16 different instruments, but only 2 audio inputs. If I put one effect on any of the 16 channels, like reverb, then that effect will be on the other 15 channels. Is it possible to do audio routing in Logic without exporting midi to audio? That is, to split the output audio signal into 16 independent audio signals to apply the effect to an independent channel? For example, I have Delay on 1 midi channel, Flanger on the second, etc.

[@JeffyG]

I think no. No way to split the audio output.

[@nickosparkol]

@@JeffyG thank you

[@N8oRMusic]

I have a Yamaha CS1x and i can't seem to figure out what to do. Setting the DEFINE CUSTOM BANK SETTING part is where I'm stuck at. I don't understand in what part of the manual I'm supposed to pull the info from. It's confusing the hell out of me.Any help? Thanks

[@JeffyG]

Page 53 of the user manual describes the cc messages for bank and patch control, that you’d use in Logic. Section 1.2

[@N8oRMusic]

@@JeffyG thanks mate. I'll look into it

[@figtreetim]

Apple should hire you and pay you good money.

[@JeffyG]

Thanks, but there are other experts on YT smarter than me.

[@figtreetim]

@@JeffyG it’s good to be humble but I understand you better than them. I’ve been fighting with Logic environment for a while now but understand it better through your video.

[@ljones2087]

@@figtreetim yikes look out Jeffy G

[@edenhunter9904]

Two things. The logic environment page is irrelevant unless you've fucked something up big time and secondly and more importantly - there's not much I can learn from a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses inside paired with a cap on backwards .....

[@ljones2087]

truss

[@andym7333]

THIS IS CALLED LABELING PRESETS NOT USING SYNTHSS SHOW MRE HOW U USE LATENCYYY SETTINGS SO IT NRECORDS ON TIME??

[@ryancrawford9894]

It’s not labeling presets, it’s about controlling external MIDI devices using Logic’s MIDI environment. There are plenty of videos and tutorials that address latency. If you want your issue addressed, I’d suggest being less aggressive in your approach, unless there’s something wrong with your keyboard. It seems your caps lock is stuck on and you have a couple of sticky keys there.