Logic Pro: Synth Players

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.

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