This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Routing Individual Sounds for Processing
As if the options offered by the EXS24’s modulation and filter sections weren’t enough, Logic allows you to further process the EXS24 sound by placing plug-ins into the signal chain. When you do so, the entire EXS24 signal is processed. Although processing the entire signal normally isn’t a problem, in some instances you may want to apply separate processing to individual zones in a sampler instrument. To do so, you need to isolate the zone or group on its own mixer channel for individual processing.
Fortunately, the EXS24 allows you to route individual sounds through separate virtual “outputs” to accomplish just that. These routings are selected by the Output menu in the Mixer parameters in either the Zone or Group parameters.
- Click the Groups view button.
Click the Output field for the Filter group (currently set to Main), and choose 3-4.
From the local Instrument menu, choose Save.
To use this special function, you need to instantiate the EXS24 as a multi-output instrument. So far you’ve been working with the EXS24 as a stereo instrument and have done quite a bit of work modifying the zones and groups. Luckily, Logic allows you to keep all your current settings when changing from stereo to multi-output instantiations.
- Close the EXS24 Instrument Editor window.
- Click the Mixer button to open the Mixer.
On the Basic Drums channel strip (Track 4), click and hold down the mouse button over the Instrument slot to open the Instrument Plug-in menu. Choose EXS24 (Sampler) > Multi Output.
The EXS24 interface opens after reloading the associated samples and current settings.
- If necessary, move the EXS24 window so that you can see the EXS24 Basic Drums channel strip (Track 4).
Just under the Solo button, click the small + (plus sign) button on the EXS24 Basic Drums channel strip (Track 4).
A new Aux 1 channel strip is created immediately to the right of the EXS24 Basic Drums channel strip (Track 4). It will be the receiving channel for your Filter group. By default, Logic creates an aux channel with the default stereo input of 3-4 for the associated multi-output instrument (in this case, the EXS24).
Play the project, stopping playback after you’ve had a chance to hear the output of the Aux 1 channel.
The zones assigned to the Filter group play through the Aux 1 channel, while the remaining zones play through the EXS24 Basic Drums channel (Track 4).
Now that the snare slices are isolated on their own mixer channel, you can insert plug-ins or apply send effects for further processing without affecting the other slices in the sampler instrument. In the following steps, you will send the snare slices through a simple Echo plug-in to create rhythmic echoes.
Click the Aux 1 channel’s top insert slot, and choose Delay > Echo >Stereo.
The Echo plug-in is instantiated, and its interface window opens.
Click the Time menu, and choose 1/8 T to set the repeat time to eighth-note triplets.
- Drag the Wet slider down to 23% to lower the repeats’ volume level so they do not overpower the original signal.
Play the project, listening to the effect of all the EXS24 programming you’ve done in the previous exercises.
The result is a surging, shuffling, processed drum loop, quite abstracted from the original audio file.
- From the Echo plug-in’s preset menu, choose Save As.
Name the preset Snare Repeats and then click Save.
To gain perspective on just how much you changed the original loop, let’s finish by listening to it.
- Close both the Echo and EXS24 windows.
- Close the Mixer.
- Using the Mute tool, select the Basic Drums.1 region on Track 3, thereby unmuting the original region.
- In the Transport bar, click the Solo button to enable it.
- Play the project.
- While the project is playing, select the original Basic Drums audio track (Track 3) and EXS24 Basic Drums software instrument track (Track 4) alternatively to solo them.
- Stop playback.
- In the Transport bar, click the Solo button to disable it.
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