We go beyond the headlines to explore Logic 11’s less obvious new features.
Back in SOS September 2024 we explored the new intelligent keyboard and bass players that were introduced alongside an updated Drummer in Logic Pro 11. We also checked out the new stem‑splitting facility in SOS December 2024, but there are actually lots of other little workflow enhancements in version 11, which, while perhaps not as glamorous, are no less useful (such as the ability to use a text search to locate effect plug‑ins or to interrogate buses — for example, to see which buses send to a delay). This month I’d like to look at a few of these overlooked new features, starting with the ability to bounce in place external MIDI instruments, or indeed to have them bounced during the course of a full mix.
External Instruments
Logic can now bounce external instruments in the same way as soft synths, albeit in real time only. You can bounce external instruments individually, or as part of complete mixdowns.To use external instruments, the procedure is much the same as before. Create a new track, and from the window that pops up, select External MIDI Instrument. Here you can also select which of your interface’s audio inputs will carry the audio from your MIDI hardware instrument. You can set the MIDI channel your synth responds to here, too (this applies whether you’re using traditional 5‑pin MIDI or MIDI over USB).
Once you create the External MIDI track, an External MIDI Instrument plug‑in window shows up. This too allows you to change the MIDI and audio input settings if required. There’s a latency compensation button that can be ticked to ensure your timing stays spot on. You also get the option to send Program Change and Bank Change messages from the plug‑in window if you need to.
From this point onwards in previous versions of Logic, to capture your synth performances or sequences you’d have to play the MIDI track while recording the output of the external instrument as a new audio track, and then trim the region to length. Now you can just use the same Bounce In Place command you use for software instruments, and Logic will automatically recognise that an external instrument is in use and do the bounce in real time. The same goes for bouncing a full mix. When bouncing a mix, the new Bounce mode, Automatic, will automatically force a real‑time bounce if external instruments are involved, or do an offline bounce if no external instruments are in use. Note that you can do a Bounce In Place involving several selected regions in different tracks all at the same time by selecting One File per Track in the Bounce menu that opens once you go to Bounce Regions in Place. The other new option is One File per Region, which is useful if you want to bounce several regions on the same track but still keep them separate.
Another little nicety is that Logic Pro 11 has added an input monitoring button for MIDI tracks, so you can now send MIDI to that track and hear the result (but without recording it) while at the same time recording to a different MIDI track. A related function is that it is now possible to send the MIDI data from one track to an external instrument on a different track by setting its internal MIDI source to the track you want it to follow. This saves having to copy MIDI data or create aliases.
Before getting onto the next biggie, you can now also drag mixer channels into a new order and the main page tracks will follow. These little workflow enhancements are thoughtful additions, and there are many more that I haven’t even stumbled across yet.
QRS
The other major addition I’d like to cover is the new Quantec Room Simulator reverb plug‑in, which was developed after examining the hardware and operating code of two original versions: the QRS and the Quantec Yardstick, a second‑generation update of the original QRS launched in 1997. The Quantec Room Simulator models acoustic reverberation and its essential resonances using a proprietary methodology that is quite different to the more common algorithmic approach of generating multiple delays and then recirculating them via all‑pass and EQ filters. This gives it a unique character that can be heard on many records, and it is now available on both the macOS and iPadOS versions of Logic Pro 11. It is also notable that the Quantec Room Simulator was the first commercial reverb unit to include a Freeze function, which is also replicated in the plug‑in.
Quantec Room Simulator is a new reverb plug‑in based on a classic rack unit. It comes in two flavours: the Yardstick models a newer revision...
The controls are fairly intuitive, though there are three operational modes for the Quantec Yardstick: Complex, Medium and Simple. These appear to relate to reverb density and, on some sources, the Simple mode produces a more flattering result than the more dense, more natural room emulation of the Complex mode. All the key controls are available as soon as you open the window — room size, decay time, high‑ and low‑frequency delay adjustment, first reflection level and delay, reverb delay and so on — but there are also tabs for Secondary and Extended functions, which access further controls for tweaking the first reflection spread and delay as well as adjusting the reverb correlation (stereo width) plus more EQ functions and left/right channel swapping options for both the dry and reverb signals.
...while the QRS models the original ’80s unit.
For the older QRS model, the control set is similar but with fewer Secondary functions, and rather than offering Complex, Medium and Simple modes, it has instead an Enhance button that replaces the reverb tail with a series of early reflections, which can be adjusted in density using the Room Size slider. The Reverb Time control is greyed out in this mode and the subjective result is somewhat like playing inside a large, slightly metallic tank. Using the Reverb Delay slider, it is possible to create metallic‑sounding slapback delay effects that can be effective on drum loops.
To my ears, the original QRS sounds rather like a plate reverb, with its very high‑density, slightly resonant‑sounding tail. The Quantec Yardstick is rather more versatile...
To my ears, the original QRS sounds rather like a plate reverb, with its very high‑density, slightly resonant‑sounding tail. The Quantec Yardstick is rather more versatile, not least because of its Reverb Density slider and choice of modes, and leans more in the direction of other early digital reverbs when used in its Simple or Medium modes, especially at at lower density settings. It has a more natural, almost plate‑like sound in Complex mode with a greater sense of density, but again, reducing the Density Slider can work well on some types of material. I found that both versions added a really distinctive character to drum tracks and drum/percussion loops, creating a sense of space and richness without diluting the impact of the original sound. I also had good results on guitar, and of course it functions as a practical vocal reverb too. Both versions make useful and characterful alternatives to the existing SilverVerb, Chromaverb, Enverb and Space Designer, so I’d recommend that you explore their potential.