Loading up a Synth Player will create a new MIDI clip full of MIDI notes and data, as well as auto‑loading an instance of Alchemy with an appropriate preset ready to go.
Logic’s new Synth Players add yet more keyboardists to your virtual band.
Software companies are developing more and more tools that mean conventional training in composition, sound design or instrumental technique is no longer a prerequisite for bringing musical ideas to life. This is, of course, a story as old as technology itself. But whatever your feelings about technological determinism, it’s legitimate to ask whether the absence of a formal musical education should prevent anyone from realising their creative vision.
Perhaps this is the philosophy underpinning Logic Pro’s growing suite of Session Players, which offer a compelling way for producers to rapidly build ideas. With Apple’s introduction of Synth Players in Logic Pro 12, the concept has expanded again, bringing new sonic and workflow enhancements. You may baulk at the idea of using AI to play musical parts in your productions but, as a quick tool to flesh out instrumentation whilst you concentrate on, say, writing a melody, this technology is undeniably useful.
Like A Player
If you’ve previously worked with Logic’s Drummer, Keyboard Player or Bass Player, you’ll already be familiar with the fundamental structure of Session Players, which consist of two components: a software instrument and a dynamic, editable pattern generator, which sends MIDI to that instrument.
Whilst the output of these tools includes chance elements, such as fill variations, they’re not generative AI in the same way services like Suno are. Rather than using genuine machine learning, their patterns are generated from predominantly preset‑based phrases that can be modified.
Still, the appeal is real. Even seasoned producers use Logic’s Session Players to establish the foundations of an arrangement before refining parts manually. Whilst there are limitations, I regularly use Logic’s Drummer as a starting point for production, precisely because I can dynamically change the intensity and feel, as well as take control of the individual sounds, unlike with static loops or samples.
Their ability to adapt is, indeed, the benefit of all Session Players in Logic Pro. They generate musical material that can change depending on the context and adapt to cues to suit different parts of your arrangement. Moreover, unlike standard loop‑based workflows (and some humans), Session Players do have the ability to listen: once you’ve pointed it towards the rhythmic content of another track in your arrangement, it does a decent job of reacting to and working around that source material in a musical way.
The arrival of the Synth Players — Simple Pad, Modulated Pad and Rhythmic Chords — is enticing because they should, in theory, play to the strengths of Logic’s sound‑design capabilities and workflow, without needing to sound like authentic acoustic instruments.
Simple Pad
To explore these tools, begin by creating a new Logic project and adding a new software instrument track. The Session Player panel still shows Drummer, Bass Player and Keyboard Player — the new Synth Players are sub‑sections of Bass Player and Keyboard Player respectively. Expand the Details disclosure triangle and you can choose between one of the three new Synth Player types. We’ll start with the simplest, Simple Pad. We can then take a look at how it works and how we edit both sound and pattern.
Upon loading Simple Pad, Logic generates a region containing MIDI notes that drive an instance of Alchemy, Logic’s powerful hybrid synthesizer.
To truly unlock the potential of Synth Players you need to use the Chord track, which tightly integrates with all Session Players. In September 2024, Paul White covered the (then) new iterations of Session Players, describing the integration between Session Players and Logic’s Global Chord and Arrangement tracks. In short, press Option+G to show and configure your Global tracks, and zoom in (Control+Option‑drag) so you can clearly see the chord markers.
Adding or editing chords is straightforward, once you get the hang of it. Move the playhead to the bar, beat, or division where you’d like a chord, then either double‑click the existing chord or press ‘+’ to create a new one. Spell out each chord by picking the root note, chord qualities, and extensions/suspensions. Choosing an alternative bass note can help with voice leading or to create inversions/suspensions. Helpfully, there’s now a MIDI input button; you can play notes for Logic to analyse, so you needn’t stress about how to spell your chords. Once input, you’ll have a chord block that behaves like any other region, so it can be copied across the arrangement using Option‑drag.
Editing The Synth
The Simple Pad interface offers a limited but useful set of controls. Just like the Session Keyboard Player, you can edit Intensity (velocity shaping), left/right hand mute (taking away the left hand can be useful to stay out of the way of the bass, for example), left/right hand voicing (determines how the virtual player voices the left hand within combinations of root, fifth and octave; and the range of the right, from single voices, through ‘Full Chord’, to ‘Stacked’, which adds notes on top); and Inversion (either helpfully auto‑adjusts chord inversions, keeping them within a similar tonal range, or keeps chord inversions intact with ‘Fixed Inversion’ to create more dramatic tonal shifts).
Other than parameters for swing value, note length and pushing/pulling the timing, the only other parameter of note is the very handy (pun intended) RH and LH sliders, which move the range of each hand higher or lower, helping to avoid clashes with other instruments.
Since Simple Pad is designed to create broad, warm textures, it offers little in terms of modulation or timbral complexity. If you want more expressive movement, you’ll need to adjust Alchemy directly; create subtle filter sweeps using the filter and LFOs or engage the Transform Pad for wilder options. Otherwise, you’ll need a more elaborate Synth Player. Such as...
Modulated Pad
The Modulated Pad Synth Player introduces substantially more depth. When selected, Logic loads instances of both Alchemy and Phat FX. The latter is not doing much to start with, but is primed to add plenty of dynamic and textural movement when engaged.
We’re now presented with plenty of potential to dive deep into a pool of parameters. To start with, we have a bunch of presets that radically change the timbre and, crucially, the rhythm of the modulations. This is achieved primarily through the interaction between an LFO and an envelope.
As an example, the modulation for the default ‘The Feels’ preset reveals a steadily rising cutoff (MIDI CC74) throughout each bar, controlled by the LFO tab, with extra rhythmic pulses that give the pad a syncopated feel, controlled by the Envelope tab.
The ability to not just view, but actually edit the MIDI data without having to convert to a regular MIDI region is exceptionally helpful.
Interestingly, these textural rhythms are embedded into the region in the form of region‑based automation: enter the piano roll (press P), click Show Automation (or press A) and, in the drop‑down menu, you’ll see pre‑programmed region‑based automation. You can then switch between this view (P) and the regular editing window (E) to see the interaction between LFO and envelope. Indeed, the ability to not just view, but actually edit the MIDI data without having to convert it to a conventional MIDI region is exceptionally helpful.
Want to change the pattern or even the MIDI CC target? No problem. Open the Envelope tab to change the shape of each rhythmic pulse. Then either choose from one of eight preset rhythms, tap out your own on the Manual tab, or point it towards the rhythmic content of any other track. Easily move the envelope shape to the left or right in increments (Shift Start) or invert the envelope shape (Invert).
The LFO offers triangle, sine, square and random waves that can all be offset, sped up, and sync’ed to regions, chords, beats, or kept free or even randomised.
Strum will spread out the chords, either subtly or dramatically, adding extra rhythmic and textural flavour. And speaking of rhythms, head to Tempo to change the rhythms from standard to half and double time. Personally, I found half time most effective with this Session Player.
If any of those options becomes too repetitive or predictable for your taste, Phrase Variation, in the Details tab, allows you to set a probability, from 0‑100, of rhythmic variations over time. And, as with previous Session Players, you can click on Regenerate to quickly create a variation without adjusting any other parameter. Remember you can copy regions and change each one up as you see fit.
Rhythmic Chords
Finally, the Rhythmic Chords Synth Player is where producers will turn for more distinctive, rhythmically engaging keyboard parts. I don’t think Greg Phillinganes will be losing any sleep, but there are some very on‑trend parts being generated by the Chord track, with some decent attempts at comping. It’s also fair to say I had the most fun with this one. In terms of parameters, we lose the envelope, but gain a bundle of new ones. With controls for note lengths, probability of rhythmic variation, and even humanising, there’s huge scope for nuance. Even modest presets, such as ‘Lost Hours’, become richly sophisticated and syncopated when Complexity is increased and left‑hand voicing is set to Complex.
Although I found the sound to be somewhat static, remember you can head into Alchemy, change the sound, change the preset, or even replace it with another synth. I even tried using the Clavinet from Logic’s Vintage Keys to great effect, using the same generated performance.
In all, the new Synth Players represent another well‑implemented addition to Logic’s creator‑friendly functionality. They’re fun to play with and, with the right approach, may yield eminently usable results.