Stephen Siegel s Guide for Playing Logic s Audio Instruments with Finale:

Transcription

1 Stephen Siegel s Guide for Playing Logic s Audio Instruments with Finale: Below is a detailed description of my studio setup and all the steps necessary to get Finale to play Logic 7. Obviously, some of the settings are unique to the equipment I have but anyone should be able to adapt them to their own studio setup. MIDI Input device: Kurzweil K2600 Internal Output Device: FINALE Setup: Logic Pro running on the same G5 as Finale, accessed through Interapplication MIDI (no MIDI interface needed as Logic is being accessed by Apple s Core Audio IAC drivers). If you are using a PPC Mac and Finale 2006, a configuration of MIDI Patchbay (freeware) can be interposed between Finale s IAC outputs and Logic to avoid stuck and missing notes. If you use Finale 2006 without an interposed MIDI Patchbay configuration you may experience stuck and missing notes. If you have an Intel Mac you cannot use MIDI Patchbay because it is available in a Power PC version only. MIDI Patchbay is available at: Setting up Finale to play multiple instances of Logic Audio Instruments requires that the IAC drivers be configured first. If this is not done, they will not appear as ports on Logic s Physical Input Object. Setting up the IAC drivers: Open Audio MIDI Setup (found in the Utilities folder). If necessary, click on the MIDI Devices tab. You will see the IAC driver. Double click the IAC driver. In the resulting dialog box make sure that the Device is Online checkbox is checked:

2 Using the Add Port button create as many ports as you will need. When done press the Apply Button. Open Audio MIDI Setup Setting up Finale: MIDI Setup Dialog Box as illustrated in Figure 1: Open Finale. Go to the MIDI Menu. o Choose MIDI Setup o Under input device for channels 1-16 select your keyboard controller as the MIDI Input Device; o Under output device for Channels 1-16, select IAC bus 1 o Under output device for channels select IAC bus 2

3 o Under output device for channels select IAC bus 3 o Under output device for channels select IAC bus 4 Figure 2- Finale 2005 MIDI Setup Dialog Box: I have, as I mentioned, found it useful to interpose a configuration of MIDI Patchbay between Finale and Logic because it remedies a problem of stuck and missing notes that can mar playback when Finale plays Logic through Interapplication MIDI. This problem is especially noticeable with Finale If you are using Finale 2006, you MUST turn off auto-enable external sync in Logic. (File Menu/Song Settings/synchronization). Finale 2006 has a bug that causes it to send extraneous sync messages. These extraneous messages create significant anomalies during playback of external devices including Logic accessed through the IAC ports. (Logic is external to Finale although it is running on the same computer. The IAC ports constitute a virtual MIDI interface.) I would turn off auto-enable external sync in Logic with any version of Finale as a precaution. If, as I said earlier, you have an Intel Mac you will not be able to use MIDI Patchbay because it is PPC only but you can still turn off auto-enable external sync in Logic.

4 Open MIDI Patchbay Using the Edit Virtual Outputs command under the flip menu on the right hand side of the dialog box, create outputs naming them Logic Port 1, Logic Port 2 etc. On the left side of the dialog box define the patch so that MIDI data from IAC Bus 1 is directed to Logic Port 1 Using the Add Patch button on the left side of the dialog box create a second patch. Define this patch so that MIDI data from Finale Output 2 is directed to Logic Port 2. Save the document. When you open MIDI Patchbay it always opens a default document. After you have created the new document described here and pictured below Figure MIDI Patchbay Configuration: LOGIC 7.2 SETUP: After you hae crated the IAC ports using AudioMIDI Setup Open Logic: Go to the Clicks and Ports page of Logic s Environment. To reach the Environment window simply push the number 3 on your keyboard or choose it from the Windows menu. (In Logic 8 the keyboard command is command-8.) To reach the Clicks and Ports

5 page of the Environment, click on the flip menu on the upper left hand side of the window. On the Physical Input you will see the IAC ports you created. Wire the representation of IAC bus which appears on the Physical Input Object - - to a monitor object and do the same with the other ports. Create the same number of Channel splitter objects as you have IAC ports - - naming them Finale 1-16 and Finale etc. (The ports used are simply those that reflect the settings in Finale s MIDI Setup dialog box.) Connect these to the monitor objects you just created. (Take the wire from the monitor object output and stick it in the back of the Channel Splitter Object.) Logic Environment Clicks & Ports Layer:

6 Go to the Audio layer of the Environment. Create 16 or 32 or however many audio instruments you wish, instantiate whatever virtual instruments you wish to use (Logic s EXS24 sampler for example) within these instruments. Make sure the AI s are assigned to different channels.

7 Move the Channel splitters to the Audio layer. (Select the Channel Splitters and hold down the option key while selecting the Audio layer. (Using this procedure you can move any object from one layer to another). Wire the Channel Splitters sequentially to the Audio Instrument Objects. (Use the front ports on the Channel Splitters which are labeled 1-16, do not use the SUM port). Thus Channels 1-16 on the Channel splitter named Finale 1-16 are wired sequentially to Audio Instruments 1-16 etc. Make sure that each Audio Instrument is assigned to its own MIDI channel. (AI 1 to MIDI channel 1, AI 2 to MIDI channel 2, etc.) Logic Environment Audio Layer: Load whatever samples you want into the Audio Instruments using EXS 24, Kontakt or whatever (AU) plug-in sound source you wish. Go to Logic s Arrange Window. (Press the number 1 on your keyboard.) In the Arrange Window, create a track assigned to NO OUTPUT. (You click on whatever output is listed for the track - - among the output devices it lists will be NO OUTPUT. ) Select the NO OUTPUT track. This prevents a MIDI feedback loop. Return to the Environment window. Move the Channel Splitters back to the Clicks and Ports Layer. Play something on your keyboard controller and check to see if the Monitor Objects show MIDI data. A port is live when you see MIDI data appearing within the Monitor Object. Return to Finale and set the instruments to those you want to hear in the Instrument List. Play the Finale file and EXS24 or Kontakt or whatever sound source you have installed in Logic s audio instruments will respond appropriately to Finale s output. To play

8 different instruments within Logic from your MIDI Controller, you can set MIDI Thru in Finale to Table and set the MIDI controller to send on the same Channel as the desired instrument. If an instrument is assigned to a channel other than channels 1-16, change the settings in Finale s MIDI Thru Dialog box to correspond to the channel you wish to hear when you play the MIDI controller keyboard. Or you can use choose Smart MIDI in Finale s MIDI Thru dialog box and when you place a Speedy Entry box on the desired staff you will hear the instrument assigned to that staff.