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satans_banjo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 12, 2005
218
0
SE London
I recently bought a MIDI keyboard and Logic Express and so I started up Logic Express hoping to do some recording. The problem is, Logic Express is clearly getting the signal (when I play a note on the keyboard the 'input' light goes on next to the selected instrument) but no sound comes out of the computer speakers. However, when I plug a real instrument into the mic port of my computer, the sound comes out. My guess is that Logic is sending the MIDI out to the keyboard rather than the speakers. Of course I may well be wrong. Any ideas?

Thanks. You guys usually get these things right
 

bigbossbmb

macrumors 68000
Jul 1, 2004
1,759
0
Pasadena/Hollywood
i've got the same problem, tried to figure it out....but haven't been playing enough music to actually concentrate on it. any solutions would be good. i've looked on apple's support site and really didn't get any help.
 

faintember

macrumors 65816
Jun 6, 2005
1,362
0
the ruins of the Cherokee nation
Midi 101

Ok, MIDI 101:

MIDI is just data, not audio. MIDI data is a set of messages, usually note on/off, program changes (changes the "instrument" you hear), controller changes (changes aspects of the "instrument"), etc.

That said, there are a few MIDI Controller and Audio interfaces all-in-one now, so if you are using one of those this will not typically apply.

The main thing is to make sure that Logic has "Built In Audio" selected as the Audio Output. Make sure that this setting is in Logic, Sound Preferences (System Preferences->Sound->Output), and in Audio MIDI Settings. This should route the audio out of Logic to your speakers.

Do you have a MIDI instrument (Flute, Bass, Sax, etc...) plugged into one of the MIDI controller lanes in Logic? You will need this in place to hear any sound that is triggered via the MIDI messages. If you have a MIDI file lying around try importing it into Logic and see if any sound comes out.

Post back your results and good luck.
 

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
satans_banjo said:
Imported a MIDI file and it didn't play. What now?
I hate to mention it, but did you read the Logic manual or help files?
Start there.

In general, you have not assigned a software instrument to create sound from the output of the MIDI track (whether imported or played on the keyboard), or your software instrument is not routed to your Mac's sound output.
 

satans_banjo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 12, 2005
218
0
SE London
CanadaRAM said:
I hate to mention it, but did you read the Logic manual or help files?
Start there.

In general, you have not assigned a software instrument to create sound from the output of the MIDI track (whether imported or played on the keyboard), or your software instrument is not routed to your Mac's sound output.

i've tried searching the PDF manual but haven't read it cover-to-cover and i don't know which bit would be relevant to this

so how would i assign one of the software instruments to create output from the MIDI track?
 

Kernow

macrumors 65816
Sep 30, 2005
1,438
0
Kingston-Upon-Thames
Faintember is right - Quicktime includes a built in MIDI synth that Logic can use to play MIDI data. I use it all the time with Logic Pro. It doesn't sound great, but is good enough if you are composing etc just to hear what you're writing.
 

Kernow

macrumors 65816
Sep 30, 2005
1,438
0
Kingston-Upon-Thames
I don't know if it's still the case as I haven't mucked about with my setup for a while, but when I started using the Quicktime synth I got confused as I seem to remember it doesn't follow the audio settings in Logic. Instead, it follows the setup in the Audio/Midi setup utility which is usually located in the Applications>Utilities folder.

You say your sound settings are all correct, so you've probably mucked around with this already, but I just thought I'd mention it in case you hadn't. :eek:
 

bigbossbmb

macrumors 68000
Jul 1, 2004
1,759
0
Pasadena/Hollywood
im sure it will work...logic is recognizing the input, displays key information, etc...just has no sound output for midi...

tried some more fiddling, still nothing...
 

satans_banjo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 12, 2005
218
0
SE London
the problem was that i couldn't get logic to play the notes i played on my MIDI keyboard, even though i knew it was getting the signal (it was displaying note information)

so i followed the guide about quicktime synths provided by the lovely faintember, and the sound came out! excellent!
 

satans_banjo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 12, 2005
218
0
SE London
sorry, but i've encountered a new problem. i can now recprd and hear the music from my keyboard, but none of the MIDI channels in the arrange window have the selection thing for inserts, so i can't add effects or anything. without the effects logic is just an expensive garageband!

oh yeah, and my audio tracks do have the insert selection things
 

Kernow

macrumors 65816
Sep 30, 2005
1,438
0
Kingston-Upon-Thames
The reason why you can't put effects on the MIDI tracks is that they are being played by a sound source which is external to Logic (in this case the Quicktime synth). In order to use these effects, the sound generated has to be routed back into Logic as audio.

I haven't found a way to do this with the Quicktime synth (but I haven't looked that hard). If you were using a hardware MIDI sound generator, you would be able to use the physical outputs to bring this back into Logic.
 

faintember

macrumors 65816
Jun 6, 2005
1,362
0
the ruins of the Cherokee nation
Im not too sure about doing inserts on MIDI...i mean, technically it doesnt even make sense. Do you just want more control over your synth sounds? If so you will want to buy some MIDI plugins or a software synth like Absynth.

Glad that i helped a little bit at least...hehe
 

satans_banjo

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 12, 2005
218
0
SE London
thanks, but we've got logic express at school and you can put inserts into MIDI tracks and i think it just changes the way it's output - you can use track automation and everything else in the same way you can use on audio tracks
 

GFro1320

macrumors newbie
Feb 28, 2006
2
0
Green Mountains
phones?

If originally you were getting input to register, and logic was sending the data mack through to your interface/keyboard, could you plug headphones or speaker device into the keyboard itself to hear the sounds you are generating?
 
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