Apple Logic Pro 7 - Manual (Page 145)

Chapter 3 Arrange Window 145
4 The delay parameter will now show the delay time.
The delay parameter is mainly used for musical purposes. It is also a way of fixing
timing problems that may occur for a variety of reasons. Some examples of these are:
• The attack phase of the sound is too slow. A good musician will automatically
compensate for this by playing the notes slightly early. With very slow sounds, you
may need a pre-delay of over 100 ms to even them out.
• The sound generator is reacting too slowly to the incoming note-on messages. Older
multitimbral sound generators often take tens of milliseconds before outputting a
voice. This effect may be better compensated for with the Instrument’s Parameter
box Delay parameter, as this will affect all Regions on all tracks that are transmitted to
the slow-reacting device.
• The delay in outputting the voice is not constant as it is dependent on the order of
notes arriving serially at the sound generator. You should therefore try pre-delaying
rhythmically important tracks by as little as one tick—it can work wonders!
Fixing/Neutralizing MIDI Region Parameters
You can normalize the MIDI Region parameter settings of all selected MIDI Regions and
Folders with the MIDI > Region Parameters > Normalize Region Parameters command.
This means that all settings are actually written as data, and playback parameters revert
to normal values. The audible result remains the same. The Loop and extended MIDI
Region parameters are not affected. Use of this function is effectively like saying “make
these MIDI Region/instrument parameter values permanent”. In most circumstances, it
is better not to do this, as leaving the original data untouched provides more flexibility.
This includes unlimited opportunities to change your mind about MIDI Region edits.
Merge/Normalize and MIDI Channels
As per the Merge function or the Glue tool, the Normalize function is intelligent in the
way it handles stored MIDI channel numbers. If all stored events have the same MIDI
channel number, the channel will be changed to that of the Instrument assigned to the
current track. If the events are on different channels, Logic will ask whether or not you
would like to convert the event channels.
The following Normalize options are are also available by selecting MIDI > Region
Parameters > …:
… Normalize without Channel leaves the stored channel number untouched.
… Normalize without Channel & Delay leaves the stored channel number and Delay
parameters untouched.
If the playback Instrument has a channel setting of “All”, or you’re dealing with a
completely different type of Environment Object (a Channel Splitter used as “A-
Playback” for example), the stored MIDI channel numbers are unaffected by the
Normalize function.