How To Use Ultrabeat Logic Pro X

Not everyone finds drum programming easy, and if yous're one of the rhythmically challenged, Logic's Ultrabeat drum synth could be your ticket to more interesting and sophisticated percussive parts.

Understanding Ultrabeat: Part 1: The Basics Introduced with version 7, and further developed with version 8, Ultrabeat is a software instrument specially designed with drum and percussion sounds in mind. It has 25 voices, each having admission to a fully-featured pace sequencer, and is described as a drum synth, only it's handy for other sounds as well, and it also has some corking hidden features. Included with the manufacturing plant installation are over 800Mb of sampled sounds, along with more eighty preset kits that can be loaded in the usual way from the preset menu in the plug-in window header. I recommend that you explore these presets: they all come with drum and percussion patterns pre-programmed and they offer a wide range of voices and styles.

All Kitted Out

Ultrabeat's layout tin can be cleaved downwardly into three areas: the Assignment section; the Synthesizer section; and the Pace Sequencer (see the screen below). We'll start with the Assignment section.

You can audience sounds past playing your MIDI keyboard or by clicking on the pocket-sized keys on the left-hand side of the Assignment section. Clicking on the blue name selects that audio and highlights it with a white box. With the 'Voice Automobile Select' part enabled at the pinnacle of the Consignment section, a played voice is automatically highlighted.

Each kit preset has 25 voices in it, 24 of which play stock-still-pitch sounds (assigned to MIDI notes C1-B2), while the 25th voice can be played chromatically above C3. This would let you, for example, to include a single pitched sound in a pulsate pattern (perhaps for a bass line), which might salvage you having to load another soft synth if yous were short on CPU power. The built-in mixer allows you to adjust the volume, panning and outputs for each sound (multi-output operation is explained later), and at that place are Mute and Solo buttons for each, plus a Main Volume slider for the whole instrument, right at the summit. Diverse copy and swap functions are bachelor to let y'all set up things the way you'd like them, and we'll come to those in due grade.

Having selected your preset, you can simply plan or record your drum parts in Logic's Arrange window, as you would with any other software instrument, or you could utilize Ultrabeat'southward built-in stride sequencer, which is covered afterward in this commodity.

Copying & Pasting Voices & Sequences

Copy and paste options for voice and sequence data. Copy and paste options for phonation and sequence data. In the Assignment Section, dragging and dropping has four functions:

Drag and drop alone swaps voices; sequences are non afflicted.
Drag and driblet with the Option cardinal copies the voice; sequences are not copied.
Drag and drop with the Control key swaps the voices and the sequence data.
Elevate and drop with Selection and Control copies the vox and the sequence.

If you prefer to apply the Command-click (correct-click) contextual carte, yous must first re-create the vocalization and sequence data to the clipboard. You tin can then paste the voice or sequence data. When pasting the sequence data, you can either paste the sequence for a particular pattern or for all of them. (Note that you lot must select the correct blueprint.) This also works when importing voices and sequences from the Import menu.

Organising & Importing

Logic comes with many kit presets for Ultrabeat, also equally a library of individual snares, kicks and so on. Information technology'southward likely that you'll desire to mix and friction match the sounds to make your ain presets, and this is quite straightforward. Inside a preset, sounds can be moved, copied or swapped, with or without copying or replacing of any step sequence data that goes with them. This is done in the Assignment section using two basic methods: drag and drop, or the Control-click (right-click) contextual menu.

Import mode. Information technology'south besides possible to import individual sounds from other Ultrabeat presets (again, with or without their sequences), either past dragging and dropping or via the Command-click (right-click) contextual menu. Click the Import push to summon the file dialogue, and so cull which preset to open (see screen, right). You tin can then audition the voices (in version 8.0.2 this feature really works!), and either drag and drop to import one or apply the contextual menu. If the imported vocalisation includes sequence data, holding Control while dragging and dropping will import the sequence information as well.

The range of sounds bachelor to Ultrabeat is further enhanced by the power to import EXS sampler instruments. If the .exs instrument file is selected from the Import bill of fare, the EXS instrument zones announced in the import box (if in that location are more 25 zones, a scroll triangle gives admission to the rest), allowing you lot to add all sorts of sounds to the Ultrabeat preset. Yous tin can too import a complete EXS musical instrument by dragging and dropping, though this method will only import the first 25 sounds.

It should be noted that the Ultrabeat sample file format (.ubs) tin can contain velocity-switched samples, but without using Redmatica's Keymap utility (www.redmatica.com), there is no style to brand your own .ubs files. One manner around this limitation is making a velocity-switched EXS instrument and then importing that.

Stride Length & Resolution

The interaction between the length and resolution of the steps in the sequencer needs some consideration. As an example, when sequence length is set up to 32 steps with a resolution of ane/16, nosotros have a total of 32 1/16th notes, making a two-bar pattern. Irresolute the resolution to 8th notes gives a four-bar pattern. Changing the resolution to ane/12th notes produces an eighth-annotation triplet, and with a length of 24 steps a two-bar pattern would event.

The length and resolution parameters are set for each pattern inside a preset, so yous can mix and match if you lot need to. For those interested in polyrhythmic fabric, information technology is possible to become Ultrabeat to play a 15/eight pattern across a 4/4 time project (set the length to 30 steps, with a resolution of 1/16)!

The Step Sequencer

Each vox in an Ultrabeat preset kit has its own step sequencer, and all 25 sequences are combined to make a pulsate pattern. Up to 32 steps per design are bachelor, and they can take resolutions of between an eighth note and a 32nd annotation (encounter the 'Step Length & Resolution' box).

Before you tin employ the Step Sequencer, you accept to enable it using its on/off switch. When this switch is on, Ultrabeat will play whenever Logic itself is in playback, and will be synchronised to the main Logic tempo. At that place's also a Play button in this surface area, which starts the sequencer without starting the main Logic playback. Yous tin thus audition Ultrabeat when Logic isn't playing back. Ultrabeat does always run at the tempo of the Logic projection, as merely mentioned, but there are bug when time-signature changes are involved, because Ultrabeat doesn't have them into account!

The velocity/gate contextual menu. The trigger row contextual menu. Simply click on the numbers in the trigger row to switch a given stride on or off ; clicking and dragging across the trigger row buttons will too plow them on or off. Alternatively, y'all can click in the velocity/gate row below to switch steps on. Here you can also adjust the velocity of individual hits, and (if the Gate parameter in the Synthesizer department is enabled) the length of each hit. A glance at the Assignment Section for each sound reveals a minor 'sq' light, which indicates that there are events in the sequencer for that particular vox.

Accents can be added to private hits by clicking on the buttons above the numbers in the trigger row. An emphasis applied on a given stride applies to that footstep every time it occurs in the pattern: an accent on Pace ane, for case, volition accent every vox in the design that plays on Step 1. The amount of emphasis practical is adjusted by the slider to the left (and it actually turns up the volume, which can produce a unlike issue to increasing velocity). Accents tin can be disabled per voice by clicking on the button just to the right of this slider, assuasive you lot to have accents but on the boot drum or congas, for example (run across screen below). In a like way, the Swing function applies to the whole pattern simply can be disabled for individual sounds: you could, for example, have a slight swing on just the how-do-you-do-hats, although it should exist noted that swing only applies when the step resolution is set to 1/viii or one/16.

A couple of very handy contextual menus are available in the Step Sequencer. For case, you can apace modify, randomise or reset the velocity or gate parameters by Control-clicking (or correct-clicking) on one of the bluish bars in the velocity/gate expanse (see screen at summit of page). Doing the same in the trigger row or in the Full View area (see beneath) opens a second contextual bill of fare offering all sorts of absurd and quick functions including copy, paste and several 'Create and Replace' options (see screen above).

New to Logic 8 is the Full View mode, which allows you to chop-chop work on the trigger rows for the whole pattern. Steps tin can be switched on or off for all the sounds in one window, although you notwithstanding accept to accommodate velocity and gate settings in the main Step Sequencer area below.

A Pattern Emerges

Ultrabeat can have upwards to 24 complete patterns of sequences, accessible from the pattern carte du jour on the lower left hand side of the plug-in window. Once over again, an 'sq' indicates that the pattern does incorporate sequences. The patterns are assigned to low notes ranging from C-one to B0, allowing you to call them up using your MIDI keyboard (see 'Pattern Mode' box). Patterns can be copied, pasted and cleared using the contextual carte, which is opened up with a Control-click or right-click.

Accent buttons are found above the step numbers. The basic MIDI data of the pattern can be dragged into the Arrange window to create a MIDI region, which can then be used in the normal style. Information technology's important to retrieve to plow off Ultrabeat's 'on' button afterward you do this, because otherwise the Step Sequencer will go along to operate when you play the Logic project, and you'll take the same thing playing back simultaneously from Ultrabeat and from the Suit folio. You'll discover that if voices are muted in Ultrabeat, the note data is transferred to the MIDI region as muted notes, which appear greyed out in the Piano Roll and Score editors, or with a black spot in the Event List. Conversely, if you've soloed a voice in Ultrabeat, all the other notes will be muted when you drag the pattern data into the Arrange window. Accent information is transferred to the region as polyphonic aftertouch data.

Multi-Output Operation

Above: Ultrabeat Multi Output plug-in selection in the I/O box of the instrument channel strip. Higher up: Ultrabeat Multi Output plug-in option in the I/O box of the instrument channel strip. Likewise every bit being available every bit a basic stereo plug-in, Ultrabeat has a multi-output version, with eight stereo and 8 mono output channels (24 outputs in total). Routing individual voices to separate outputs allows you to add effect insert plug-ins to particular sounds — such every bit reverb on the snare or pinch on the boot.

Beginning, select the Multi-Output Ultrabeat in the I/O box of the instrument channel strip (run into the screen below left). In Logic'southward Mixer, click on the '+' button of that channel strip to create as many Aux channels equally you need. These will automatically exist assigned sequentially to the Ultrabeat output channels. If you lot need to alter this assignment, click and hold on the I/O box on the Aux channel, and select the required instrument and channel. Finally, in the Assignment Section of Ultrabeat, choose which voices are routed to which outputs.

Ultrabeat is an amazing tool offer loads of telescopic for creativity and fun. Nosotros've only addressed the basics here, and then in part ii, next month, nosotros'll go further, investigating the Synthesis department of Ultrabeat, explaining the new Stride Edit mode and uncovering some secrets. In the concurrently, as y'all work with and explore Ultrabeat, please remember that all its data (voices, sequences and patterns) is saved within the plug-in preset. Don't forget to save your piece of work!

Blueprint Mode

A MIDI region in the Piano Roll editor, showing control notes for Ultrabeat's pattern mode, plus some extra notes I added to trigger individual sounds for a drum fill. A MIDI region in the Piano Gyre editor, showing control notes for Ultrabeat's pattern mode, plus some extra notes I added to trigger individual sounds for a drum make full. Ultrabeat's Pattern Fashion can be used to start and stop patterns, and change which design is playing, using the low keyboard notes assigned to each design, equally mentioned in the primary trunk of this article. (You may need to transpose your controller keyboard to get to these low notes.) One time Blueprint Mode is enabled, there are 4 types of operation available to yous, fix from a menu.

Toggle modes let you to first and terminate the pattern playing, or change patterns, either immediately or the next time stride 1 comes around.
One-Shot Trig will but trigger and play the pattern once.
In Sustain fashion, the pattern will merely play as long as you hold the annotation downwardly.

These modes are not bad for alive piece of work and for jamming, but you can also record or plan the trigger notes into a region in the Adapt page to create your rhythm parts. Sustain way works well for this, because you can command how long Ultrabeat runs past using the length of each note. Don't forget that you lot can too add extra note events for additional crash cymbals and fills, for example (encounter accompanying screen). There'southward too a Vocalisation mute style that allows you lot to mute and unmute individual Ultrabeat voices, using MIDI notes, while the pattern is running, adding even more than flexibility for live performance. Once again, this can exist programmed into Arrange regions.