Rearrange, and arbitrarily play back, loop elements

OBJECTIVE: Break a loop down into individual slices, and then map them to the EXS24 sampler.

BACKGROUND: In conjunction with the EXS24, Logic can convert any region(s) into a sampled instrument. You can also convert slices within a region, with each slice assigned to a MIDI note—then rearrange these to rearrange the loop, or play discrete slices to create entirely different grooves.

1 Select the region containing the sonic elements that you want to convert into an EXS24 instrument, then go Audio > Convert Regions to New Sampler Track.

2 In the dialog box that appears, click on “Transient Markers” to convert sections between transients into EXS24 zones. Here, you can also name the EXS24 instrument, and specify a note range for the slices to cover. After making your selections, click on “OK.”

3 Logic creates an EXS24 software instrument track below the original track, automatically selects the new track, and deselects the original track above it. The new track includes MIDI regions with ascending trigger notes.

4 Click on the MIDI track, then the Piano Roll tab, to see where the MIDI notes fall on the EXS24 keyboard, or to edit them.

5 To make the project selfcontained, when you go to Save, check “Copy EXS instruments to project folder” and “Copy EXS samples to project folder.”

Tips

• Step 1: If Logic is set up for right-clicking, you can alternately right-click on the region, then go Convert > Convert to New Sampler Track.
• Step 2: If you select “Regions” instead of “Transient Markers,” the selected region(s) will be converted into an EXS24 zone.
• Step 2: You cannot derive more than 128 zones from the selected region.