Apple Logic Express 7 - Manual (Page 103)

Chapter 3 Arrange Window 103
Hiding an Instrument
The small box to the left of the icon determines whether the instrument appears in the
instrument selection pop-up menu of the track list. You will generally always have this
checked for Instrument Objects.
Note: This option is primarily used to reduce the size of the instrument pop-up menu,
by hiding other Environment Objects, such as faders or MIDI ports.
MIDI Channel and Port Connection
The Port parameter, found in the Instrument’s Object Parameter box (see “Global
Preferences” on page 476), defines the MIDI Output that the instrument’s data is sent
to. Your MIDI sound module is connected to this output jack.
Note: If the instrument has not been connected with cables in the Environment, this
line can be used to set the Instrument’s output port via a pop-up menu (containing the
names of all installed MIDI drivers). This means that the instrument is directly
connected to one of your MIDI interface’s MIDI Out ports. As such, this line represents
an unseen direct connection, as there is no visible cable connection for the instrument
in the Environment window.
The purpose of a hidden direct connection is to enable you to address the individual
MIDI ports directly from the Arrange window without needing to access the
Environment window. For most situations, this is the best way to assign instruments to
ports, as it eliminates the need for cabling.
Keep in mind that if you directly assign a port, and also connect the instrument to a
MIDI Out Object with a cable, all MIDI data sent via that instrument will be doubled. If
you attempt to do this, Logic displays a dialog box asking whether or not you should
“Keep or Remove?” the direct connection. You will generally select Remove in this
situation.
The MIDI channel is set with the Channel parameter. This defines the channel used for
MIDI data output by the instrument, allowing your “real” instrument to receive the data.
Setting the MIDI Channel: Multi Instruments
In the Instrument’s Object Parameter box, you can also alter the MIDI channel of an
instryment part (a “sub-channel” or “part” of a Multi Instrument). This does not reassign
the channel for the current part, but rather selects another sub-channel from the
current Multi Instrument.
You can’t actually change the receive channel of a part in the multitimbral synthesizer.
This is only possible in a few models (and is not particularly useful when using a
multitrack sequencer, at any rate). The Channel parameter is really an alternative way of
changing the track instrument, allowing the track to be played by a different part (sub-
channel) in the multitimbral synthesizer.