This is extremely useful information when performing precision sample-accurate file slicing and post slice editing while maintaining sample-accurate zero-crossing points.

In the Sample Editor, select the Hand Tool and click hold the selected area to display not only the Start and Length (Count) in Samples but also the all important End point value in Samples.

Fig 1. Sample Editor Help Tag showing Start value, End value and Length (Count).

Now you can be sure to match exactly a region start point having edited the preceding region’s end point. A common scenario when adjusting regions to have boundaries on zero-crossing points.

Further Info…

Having easy access to File Start, End and Length information will seriously increase your sample editing accuracy when editing and re-editing.

The Sample (Selection) End point is omitted from the Logic Sample Editor info display (Fig.2) and also from the Help Tag when clicking a region in the Arrange Pane (Fig.3). Having quick access to adjusted End Point information of Region [A] ensures quick and confident Start Point editing of Region [B] to be consistent with the Region [A] End Point.

Fig 2. Sample Editor info Display showing Start Point and Length.

Fig 3. Audio Region Help tag in the Arrange pane showing Start Point and Length.

When editing complex material such as bounced mixes, the waveform display can become difficult to gauge with respect to matching cut points of one region’s start point to be consistent with that of the previous region’s end point after updating that region’s start or end point. A common task when preparing loops and libraries.

Fatigue from repetitive editing can easily play a part in performing inaccurate cuts and splices. These characteristics will often only become obvious upon triggered playback and sequencing of regions, particularly in a phrase loop situation.

A common problem arises when exporting cut loops from Logic to an external unit such as an Akai MPC, where inconsistencies between tempo analysis that exist between the two platforms result in problematic and less than smooth playback.

Often, the ‘fix’ involves one of the following:

1. entering  subtle tempo change values as part of the midi sequence playback data to accommodate smooth transitions between loops of slightly unequal length. This way the edits maintain authentic pitch and time characteristics, at the expense of inconsistent temporal playback.
2. manually, or via batch processing, applying time-stretching algorithms to scale regions to a fixed length. This can result in unwanted audio anomalies.

-MC-

Dealing with unwanted Clicks, Pops & Noise artifacts in Logic is handled by the Silencer Tool in the Sample Editor’s Factory Menu.

Spike Reduction

Set the Strength slider to the far left, Off. This turns off Noise Reduction. Only the Spike Reduction function is active.

Set the threshold at which level Spike Reduction is applied by adjusting the Sensitivity slider. High is for small spikes, Auto is for automatic threshold control, Low will identify most Peaks as Spikes.

Adjust the Method slider to select the type of processing algorithm.

• Smooth a selection with Gentle and 
• make Drastic changes with Aggressive.
• Re- stands for Rebuild. A synthesized signal is created in place of the selection based on the analysis  of audio  surrounding the selection.

Pops & Clicks can also be removed manually with the Pencil Tool in the Sample Editor. For accurate redrawing, zoom right in on the offending spike and enable Show as Sample & Hold from the view menu for Sample Accurate Editing.

Click the Process Button to apply and audition your settings. Undo a process if it’s not quite right and make necessary adjustments.

Noise Reduction

Enable Noise Reduction by adjusting the Sensitivity slider to the far left (Off).

Adjust the Strength slider accordingly.

Click the Process Button to apply and audition your settings. Undo a process if it’s not quite right and make necessary adjustments.

Mixed Spike & Noise 

The Silencer Settings in Figs 1.0 and 2.0 tackle a slice of audio that exhibits a mixed problem of 2 or more subsequent glitch characteristics, veiled in an region of predominantly fuller frequency audio. Fig 1.0 has a more drastic effect and significantly attenuates the overall Gain of the selected audio. Fig 2.0 maintains acceptable Gain while softening the offending characteristics.

Fig 1.0

Fig 2.0

When selecting Audio Regions in the Audio Window or Audio Bin, it would be very useful to display the start point of a selected region in Sample values in the context of the overall audio file.

Scenario

A typical example is rendering a multi-track mix to stereo or even editing a bounced file that may require further edit cuts.

Once you have cut an audio file or region a new region representing that cut is automatically created. Removing this cut from the Arrange area leaves a gap and you then fill this gap by shifting one of the regions to meet the other. 

Selecting any of the shifted regions in the Arrange area will display its Start Point relative to the Timeline and subsequent length in the Help Tag. There is no reference to the cut region’s start point (anchor point) in relation to the overall audio file that it originates from.

The only way to access this absolute time specific information is by selecting the region in the Audio Window (not the Audio Bin) and viewing the info display of the selected region in the Sample Editor. Selecting the same region in the Arrange Area will show a region start point and region length relative to the time-line and not the mother audio file.

Why is this important? Here’s why…

If parametric adjustments are required at the multi track stage prior to rendering (bouncing) and after having made cuts to the bounced file, it is inevitable that a fresh bounce of the multi track stage will require cuts at the exact same points as the previously edited bounce.

Having immediate visual access to sample accurate start points, relative to the overall audio file time, of a region that has been shifted left or right to bridge a cut, will enable quick application of the scissor tool or split by playhead function on the latest bounce to replicate exactly the cut points of the previously edited bounce and therefore quickly dispose of unwanted regions. 

This information would be a valuable inclusion as an optional display along side the Region Length field in the Audio Window and Audio Bin.

Only by selecting a region in the Audio Window can one access the true Region Start Point value relative to the mother audio file and even then, this information is only available via the Sample Editor info display.

To summarize, I have written to  Apple’s Logic Team to please offer a Region Start Field as well as a Region Length Field in the Audio Window.

For sample Accurate editing in the Arrange Area, set Snap: to Samples. In the Sample Editor set View to Samples to reference the correct Region Start value in the info display.

-MC-

From the Toolbar, select Settings > Audio and enable the Playback Pre-roll function.

Transients which fall exactly on the start position will play back correctly.

Pre-roll time is dependent on the current delay compensation value for plug-ins.

-MC-

Sometimes certain events are not activated or heard when starting playback after the start point in your project. This can be frustrating at the editing stage when you want to preview changes.

Logic has a function to analyze your project and locate events before the playback point so that they are active when you press play mid-way through a project.

From the Toolbar, choose: Settings > MIDI and click on the Chase Tab

In the list, check any event types that you want to hear when you press play. Most of them are self explanatory.

The most common ones that you may want to enable and maybe need a little more explanation are Notes and Chase on Cycle Jump.

Notes: Plays any notes due to start playing at the playback start point.

• Sustained: Will play any notes that are still playing at the playback start point, due to a sustained pedal event.
• In ‘No Transpose’ Instrument Channel Strips: Instrument Channel Strips such as those containing drums can be assigned a No Transpose status in the Inspector. This is a playback parameter which would be ignored if the region was started mid-way through.* You will want to turn this off if you are triggering drum loops from an external sampler mid-way through a region, otherwise the loop will be triggered at the wrong point and out of sync until the next trigger note.(The No Transpose parameter prevents transposition by the Region Playback Parameter which is usually not desirable for drums)

Chase on Cycle Jump: Scans for and sends all event types if the cycle start and end points fall across regions

• Notes: Limits jump scan to Note events only.
   
• Send full MIDI Reset before Chasing: All MIDI devices are reset to their defaults before chasing.

-MC-

Click on the Snap Drop-down Menu at the top right of the Arrange area..

Select the Grid value to snap to (e.g. Beat) and check the option to Snap Automation

Automation Edits always snap to Absolute Value regardless of the ‘Snap to Absolute Value’ status.

* This is especially useful when performing edits, if previously, you have written Automation Data via Touch or Latch modes on the fly and need events to trigger precisely on the beat. Bypass or Solo are good examples.

-MC-

1) With the Tempo Track visible, set locators to fit the Tempo Changes that you want to copy, beginning at the first tempo change and ending at the last tempo change… (in the example below there is a tempo change at every 1/16 note position from bar 129 to bar 161).

2) Click on the Tempo Track Header (Mouse Tool changes to Hand ‘Grabber’) to SELECT the Tempo Changes inside the the Locators.

 
3) The Tempo Changes within the Locators turn White to indicate that they are selected.

 
4) Edit > Copy (Command C) to copy the selection

5) Position the Playhead at the point that you want to paste the 1st Tempo Change 

( You don’t have to set locators  - I have only to give myself a visual reference regarding the length of the newly copied tempo passage. There is a good reason for doing this as mentioned in point 7). 

 
6) Press Command V or Edit > Paste. The copied passage is now pasted into the Tempo Track with the 1st tempo change at the Playhead position. (Once the Paste process is complete, the Playhead is repositioned at the Last Tempo Change of the pasted selection).

 
7) If you are not happy with the resulting positioning of the Paste Process you can still move all of the data to within a tick of the position currently occupied by the 1st Tempo Change in your newly pasted passage.If you have deselected the  newly pasted passage, simply set your locators to match the positions of the 1st and Last Tempo Changes and click on the Tempo Track Header to select the copied data again.

 
Open the Tempo List  to the right of the Arrange area and scroll down to the 1st selected tempo position.

 
Double Click the Position field of the 1st selected Tempo Change and dial in your preferred start point…

 
Hit Enter and you will see that all of your selected Tempo data has moved relative to the new start position…

 
In this example, the selected Tempo data in the Tempo Track has now moved left 1.5 bars to correspond with the updated Tempo List positions as shown below…

-MC-

1) Open the Tempo Operations Function via Options > Tempo > Tempo Operations

2) Select ‘Scaling Existing Tempo Changes’ from the Operation Menu and choose a range in position (bars, beats, divisions) or by time

(I have whacked in some tempo changes in the tempo track for demo purposes and selected bar 17 to 49)

3)  I have decided to scale the tempo changes above by decreasing them 25%.

The picture below shows a graphic of the result (white line is original tempi and red line corresponds to new scaling)

4) The next Screenshot displays the result of my chosen Tempo Change Scaling after I click on Apply…

The anchor sets a temporal reference point for an Audio Region.

When you move a region in the Arrange area, Logic Pro displays the position of the anchor in the help tag, and snaps the region’s anchor to the selected Snap menu grid division. 

It is an Orange indicator in the Sample Editor and Black in the Audio Bin Window (Command 9).

A newly created Audio FILE always has the Anchor and Region Start points at the beginning of the file.

Positioning the Anchor to lock to an obvious amplitude peak of a swell sound or attack point (Kick Drum) in a drum loop will force the region to snap to the grid of the Arrangement (as defined in Transport Bar, below the Time Signature value), using the anchor as the pivot point. These are good examples of beat / grid time reference points. Therefore, when moving an Audio region with a well-positioned anchor point, you can be confident that the Audio Region will maintain its temporal relationship to your arrangement as you move it back and forth.

Positioning the Anchor at the highest (single bit) zoom resolution will ensure tight synchronization and quantization between the Audio file and  MIDI regions. * of course offset anchor placement could lead to interesting ’humanized’ synchronization or rather more desirable ‘idiosyncratic’ playback akin to early sample based recordings such as 1980’s Hip Hop which interestingly enough, was often down to ‘badly’ looped sample editing as much as the conflicting grooves of layered sample loops.

The Help Tag displays the Anchor point rather than the Region Start point when you move an Audio Region.

• Any changes to the Anchor point will change the relative position of the audio region in the Arrangement.

To maintain the Audio Region position in the Arrangement:

In the Sample Editor Choose Edit > Compensate Region Position Ctrl C.

• When active, moving the anchor won’t change what you hear in the Arrange area.
• When inactive, moving the anchor changes the position of audio regions in the Arrange area. The region shifts in relation to the Time Axis, while the Anchor remains tied to the same bar value and is marked by a dotted line.

Anchor points can not be positioned before a Region Start Point.

Hold down Option  while moving the End Marker of an Audio Region to prevent the Anchor from moving.

-MC-

The Pickup Clock function has been described here. 

Here’s a handy real-time arrange application of this function for dropping in regions or notes right on the Song Position the Line (SPL) while in cycle mode or normal play mode.

1) In the Arrange Area select a region and press the space bar to play.

2) A little further along the time line activate your Pickup Clock Key Command or click on the Pickup Clock Shortcut icon in the Toolbar. (Control Click the Toolbar area and click on Customize toolbar to add new icons). 

3) The selected region jumps to the point of the SPL.

4) You could get some really creative grooves happening by applying this function to individual notes in Cycle Mode while in the Piano Roll Editor. (You might want to slow the tempo to get more precise placement.)

5) It’s cool because the Pickup Clock overrides your current Quantization Grid Value.

-MC-

Moves a Region Selection to begin at the exact location of the Song Position Line in the Arrange Window.

1) In the Transport Window, enter the bar position where the selected regions will begin. The Song Position Line jumps to this location.

2) Activate the Pickup Clock (Move Event to Playhead) Key Command. Mine is set to  ; (semicolon).

3) All selected regions are moved with the first one located exactly on the Song Position Line. 

4) You can also customize the Toolbar  with a Pickup Clock icon. Right (control) click on the Toolbar and choose ‘Customize Toolbar’. You will see the Pickup Clock Icon, so just drag it on to the Toolbar and close the Customize window.

MC.

Scenario:

Working on a pattern based project where regions are in looped format (not real copies or aliases) and Track Automation Data creates the variation.

You want to delete several bars halfway through the Arrangement and you’ve tested the transition by jumping forward using skip cycle. ( To Make a Skip Cycle Selection:Drag a selection from the end point to the start point in the Bar Ruler).

As it stands you can’t delete the selected bar section because all these regions are ‘ghosted’ (activated from the Loop option in the Inspector’s Region Parameter box).
1) First you have to convert the loops over to copies (or aliases).

This is achieved by selecting the region that is currently looped and then: Region > Loops> Convert to Real Copies 

Key Command: Ctrl L

2) Select all Regions inside the skip selection: Edit > Select Inside Locators Shift + i

3) Delete the selected Regions.

4) Select the first region that is positioned after the deleted section

5) Edit > Select All Following  Shift + F

6) You can Drag all selected regions back to close the gap. However try this Power User Tip:

In the Transport Window, enter the bar position where the selected regions will begin. The Song Position Line jumps to this location. Activate the Pickup Clock (Move Event to Playhead) Key Command. Mine is set to  ; (semicolon).

All regions jump back with the first one located exactly on the Song Position Line. 

MC.

When a region’s length and groove are determined via multiple tempo changes, all tempo changes must be accommodated for in every region repetition to playback properly.

For example, I mapped multiple tempo changes to create a MIDI region that has a funky humanized groove, but generates a 21-step cycle instead of 16 steps in a time signature of 4/4. (16 independent tempo changes ranging from 42 bpm to 146 bpm are required to create this unique rhythm)

If I repeat the region, the multiple tempo changes that determine the groove are not copied over, even if I choose: Select Inside Locators, which also selects the tempo data in the Global Component tempo track, as well as all regions within the locators.

So, to speed up the process of mapping multi-tempo changes per repeated region I recommend the following.

Preparation

1. Trim the region with the unusual ‘groove’ to be exactly the correct length (in this example 21 steps).

2. Repeat that region enough times to cover the desired length of your composition.

3. In the Arrange Window, Press G to display Global Tracks. (view > Global tracks).

4. With all repeated regions selected click on ‘From Regions’ in the Global Marker Track.

(Tip: Toggle-off cycle mode and select the track to select all regions on that track).

5. Make sure you have a key command for both Goto Next & Previous Region.

Copying

6. Select the original region and press Ctrl =  or from the menu choose Region > Select Locators by Region

7. Make sure Cycle mode is active and the green locator bar is displayed.

8. Open the Tempo List, Options > Tempo > Open Tempo List…

9. In the Tempo List… press Shift i or from the menu Edit > Select Inside Locators.

10. Copy the selection, Command C , then close the Tempo List.

11. Back in the Arrange Window… Goto Next Marker (Ctrl Command Right Arrow).

The SPL will move to the beginning of the next repeated region.

12. Paste (Command V) will paste in the multi-tempo change data into the TEMPO Track.

13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 as many times as is necessary.

- MC.

This is something that really ought to be an option in the Transport Bar, but isn’t!

Especially useful when working on Movie Projects or Time sensitive Audio only projects.
The work around is quick & easy. So here it is.

1. QUICK ACCESS To see a region’s START Time and LENGTH

Change the Bar Ruler to display Units in Time by pressing Shift+R (or by clicking on the Clock icon at the top right of the Arrange Pane).

With the Arrow Tool, Click and hold down on a Region to view the Yellow Help Tag.

The Tag displays the Region Name, Start Point and Length in SMPTE format.

2. TO DISPLAY TIME IN Ms (Milliseconds) INSTEAD OF FRAMES
THIS IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN WORKING ON AUDIO ONLY PROJECTS.

Click the LOGIC PRO Menu and choose Preferences > Display

The Display SMPTE: option defaults to With Bits so change this to With Milliseconds from the drop-down list.

Your Help Tag will now display Times in Hours, Minutes, Seconds and Milliseconds.

3. DISPLAY THE LOCATOR (CYCLE) LENGTH IN UNITS OF TIME

Make a CYCLE length selection in the Bar Ruler

Open GLOBAL TRACKS either by pressing G or (view > Global tracks)

Drag the green Cycle Bar down onto the Marker track.

Open the MARKER LIST pane by pressing K

In the Marker List you will see your Cycle Length as a Marker.

Select View > Event position and Length in SMPTE Units Shif+R to display your Locator length in time.

By following the instructions above in (2) you will see the time in Hrs:Mins:Secs:Ms.

idea: Using the (Create Marker by Regions) Shift+K command will also give you a permanent reference to Region Lengths in the Marker List.

- MC.