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How to configure LP play/pause button to play/stop Scaler 2
Hi All,
Been trying to configure LP play/pause button to play/stop Scaler 2 with no luck. Trying to have both start and stop with the push of the play button, but seems I'm missing something.
I have Scaler 2 currently in LP as a audio unit input source.
I have 'DAW sync' turned on and 'enable idle' turned off.
Do I need to create a button with an action to trigger this?
Thanks
Comments
This sounds like an issue of configuring Scaler 2 and learning what Scaler 2 needs.
You will need that information before we can help. Typically, an AU that has host sync turned on automatically runs when the host transport runs without configuring the host at all.
After much head scratching, I found an answer.
I was setting up a progression in section A of the Main screen and trying to get that to play back. It's section C that syncs to host playback. Drag the chords from section A down to section C. You can refine section C on the SEQ page.
Were you trying to get section A to play like I was?
Thanks. It is section C that I’ve been trying to get to play/sync. I did some more testing based on your response, and it appears that every time I close and reopen Loopy Pro, the Scaler 2 audio unit input instance is resetting its parameters, so I hadn’t noticed that DAW Sync keeps reverting to be “off”. When I turn it on, it does work as expected… Any idea how to get Scaler 2 to remember its settings when used within Loopy Pro in this way? Or is that a Q for the scaler 2 team?
I see why this has been tricky to diagnose… If I have a user preset saved in Scaler 2 and try to bring that in using the ‘user’ button while running Scaler 2 within Loopy Pro, Scaler 2 shows that DAW Sync set to “on“ but it appears to actually be off after importing this user setting, for some reason, but not showing up that way in the UI… And that setting has to be cycled to off and on within the Scaler 2 settings to actually behave as though it is “on”.
Anyone else seeing this kind of issue?
Yes, I see both those issues. It's the same in other hosts as well. So, this is a problem that would need to be addressed by the Scaler 2 developer.
If saving and reopening the project doesn’t restore the saved settings, that is a question for the Scaler 2 folks.
Create two presets for Scaler that you save as presets to Loopy Pro: one with host sync on and one with it off. See if changing presets changes the setting. That will tell you if Scaler saves that setting as part of its state.
Thanks @wim and @espiegel123, I've started a thread on the Scaler 2 support forum.
Not sure if I should post that link here or not.
Seems @wim (and perhaps both of you use Scaler 2), so wondering as an aside:
1. Do you find it useful for generating Bass lines to add in to your LP creations? I'm struggling to get much going here and wondering if you have any specific tips/settings you use to achieve this...I'm starting to explore this on my own, but figured I'd ask your thoughts, if you don't mind
2. On that note! ... Any thoughts on Scaler 2 vs iBassist for generating Bass lines within LP
Again, not looking for anything detailed, just your thoughts/impressions or pointers.
Thanks!
@danm : I am not familiar with Scaler 2 and have found that I prefer playing my basslines to sequencing them. So, I haven’t used iBassist much ch.
My answer is much the same. I never thought of using Scaler 2 for anything else but chords, and I'm not crazy about it as an app. I feel like the rather complicated interface gets in the way of my creativity. If I want help with bass lines I reach for iBassist, but tbh, that would be more just to get a session started if I'm feeling inclined that way. I generally find little satisfaction with that, and prefer to "hear" a bass line in my head and get it down as quick as I can.
Generally, I pick a scale and start poking around until inspiration hits. Then I keep refining the line until I can repeat it. I keep repeating until I get a take that I'm happy with and then dump that to a loop with retrospective record. This is a good time to generate additional variations if I still feel it.
Then I'll usually throw up a really basic drum beat if I didn't already start with one, and then shift to hunting for chord progressions to put over it. I do this just by poking around because I rarely want to interrupt my creativity by setting up a chord app. Repeat with leads, accents, counterpoints, etc. until I run out of inspiration. In the increasingly rare event that I feel something is worth arranging, I experiment with combinations, then it's over to the timeline.
I tend to stick with the modal scales all on white keys. All I need to do is pick a root that will result in the general feel I'm after. C for major (rarely used), D for Dorian (way over used), E Phrygian (ohhh ... exotic), F for Lydian ('cause I'm bored with everything else), G for Mixolydian (cheesy pop), A for Minor (feeling depressed).
All of which I'm sure horrifies the real musicians here. I'm not a real musician (any more). I just entertain myself. Virtually everything of mine ends up in the dustbin these days. So, don't do what I do if you're serious about getting shit done. 😎
@wim, appreciate these details, thanks. Aligns a lot with my approach, especially coming at all this as a guitar player who is not yet overly familiar with many of these apps and is getting up to speed on how best to incorporate midi and related tools.
One question I have for you, based on the above, is about this part of your process:
I know this is an area of much discussion and I've read many of the posts about various drum options, so wondering how you approach this. I'm asking because as someone who writes songs typically with vocals, guitar, bass, and drums and prefers acoustic drum sounds, I'm currently just using the metronome in LP until I figure out some better options.
My instincts tell me that I'll probably be most satisfied by purchasing some acoustic drum samples/sounds with some different variations in several different BPM's and just import those into clips, since I determine the BPM of my compositions up front and probably can get away with just one or two different beat styles per section (ie: intro, verse, chorus, bridge).
Anyway, interested in any specifics you can provide in this area and if you or anyone else have any preferences when it comes to specific acoustic drum samples/sounds, what you like / what you don't, and how you use them within LP.
Thanks
@danm, it sounds as though when you mention drum samples, you're thinking drum loops. I really don't make use of drum loop samples much, except for breakbeats, which I mostly use to mangle in dastardly ways.
Drum samples that I use are one-shots which I then trigger to lay down patterns. Ideally I just tap something simple in on the fly and only to give a basic feel that I like so I can jam over it. I do use sequencers too when the mood hits me, but I find tweaking the sequence becomes the focus then more often than not. The way I work best is just to think of the drum part(s) as more of just a glorified metronome with far more ability to impart inspirational "feel" than a metronome. To me that initial drum part is expendable and can be refined later.
That said, favorite drum sequencers are currently Octachron and Drambo. Sometimes I'll throw AutoFills in after them to give me some fills every eight bars or so. I've also occasionally taken a middle road, tapping in MIDI loops rather than audio, with the Loopy beta version. That works pretty well if I can resist the urge to focus on tweaking the patterns too much.
As for realistic drum samples? OneShot has finally put that one to bed for me. It has all the realistic drum kits that I think I'll ever need. It has no sequencer though and comes with no patterns.
Before that, the standalone DrumPerfect Pro was the go-to. The advantage with that one is it has a large library of patterns. The disadvantage is it being primarily a standalone app, though it does have an AUv3 song player I've never really bothered with.
The Lumbeats Drummer apps are fun to jam over. I don't use them as much as you'd think I would mainly because I'm pretty much married to the creative feel of laying down my own basic beat. ymmv.
One powerful thing you can do in Loopy if you do have a lot of drum loops is to set up a page in a template with nothing but a bunch of empty loops on it, then, with the files app in split screen mode you can select a whole folder of loops and just drag them onto the first loop of the page. The files will populate the loops all in one operation. I put all the loops into a single play group set to play only one at a time. Auditioning loops is then just a matter of tapping around the screen. In the upcoming 2.0 release this will work for midi loops as well as for audio loops. I have a large-ish collection of midi drum loops and this works great too.
Here's a screenshot of a template I made I don't use as much as I expected I would, but in concept it might fit your use. Note the four one-shots at the bottom left. I generally have these loaded with some LinnDrum samples I have, which are "good enough" for just about anything. Sometimes I'll substitute acoustic or 808/909 samples as well. The purpose for these is a quick way to lay down that basic beat. I just pick or tap in a tempo and set a number of bars (usually two or four), enable the metronome, and poke around until I get a full round of a good enough beat. Then I dump it to a loop with retrospective recording, and off I go. (I have Swipe-Left set to retrospective record in Global Clip Settings).
@wim, you mention "if you do have a lot of drum loops" ... are your drum loops purchased or created?
I'm wondering bc I do think I would benefit from having a store of a bunch of drum loops and using them in this way
Thanks
For audio loops I only have a bunch of free breakbeats downloaded from somewhere or other a long time ago. For midi loops I have a large-ish collection that I copied over from my desktop FL Studio installation.
I'm not the best person to help on this subject as I just don't make heavy use of loops. It will be a long slog, but you might find benefit from the perusing the huge Free Sample Fodder thread. Or, start a new thread with a specific title about what you're after.
I don't know if it's important to you but keep in mind that audio loops are going to be stretched to fit whatever tempo you set, unless you stick to the original tempo of the loops. That will degrade the sound quality a bit depending on how far they're stretched.
@danm: you might want to create a new post in the general category if you want drum loop recommendations.