IO CST-MAGNETRiXX

TEAM MAGNETRiXX | 22 March 2013 | 3.9 MB

Effects recipes for Logic Pro. I/O by 9 Soundware is a downloadable kit of Channel Strip setting files and instructions in a PDF document for repurposing Apple Logic Pro as performance-oriented effects processors, using MIDI hardware. The effects recipes are designed for use with an expression pedal, a sustain pedal, and the pitch wheel. Breaking the mold of conventional patch products, the included documentation guides the user through the necessary setup to configure uniquely interactive signal processors within Logic Pro.

At the heart of the sound design behind I/O is atypical signal routing, glitches, and extreme settings. Consequently, the sound set features, among others, less prominent Apple plug-ins such as AURogerBeep, AUDistortion, Test Oscillator, SilverVerb, and AVerb. True to the 9 Soundware mantra “It’s not what you use, but how you use it.”, the kit was designed to be a cost-effective tool for adventurous music composition and performance using Logic.

The 17 controller assignments for 12 Logic Pro plug-ins highlighted in the documentation are designed to work in tandem, as a portion of the sound set involves simultaneous control across multiple plug-ins. While intended to be configured with “optional” devices, I/O is theoretically built around 3 types of controls – continuous (e.g., knobs), ”non latching” on/off (e.g., keys), and center detented (e.g., pitch wheel) – which are commonly found in MIDI keyboard controllers, and therefore one can be used in substitution.

The sound set is composed of 8 categories.

Pitch Shifter
Foot-controlled pitch shifter. Designed for expression pedals, the “Pitch Shifter” component of the sound set transposes the classic, yet underused, hardware effect to the Logic platform for use beyond divebomb simulation and guitaresque paradigms.

Wah-wah Pedal
Wah-wah pedal based on the EVOC 20 Filterbank plug-in. Harnessing the filtering capabilities of a vocoder-based signal processor, the Channel Strip settings in this category offer a non-purist take on the ubiquitous filter effect.

Envelope Follower
Incorporating expression and sustain pedals, along with the pitch wheel, the EVOC 20 TrackOscillator-based patches were designed for the real time manipulation of vocal tracks with an emphasis on radically synthetic transformations. They require key signature input into the EVOC 20 TrackOscillator plug-in GUI for diatonic results.

Downsampling
The concept behind this category was to transpose downsampling, a tool typically associated with harshness, to produce ethereal timbres which respond to foot controller input. Built around the Bitcrusher plug-in, these .cst files and hardware recipes allow for instant or gradual gliding between full resolution and severely fragmented audio.

Delay
The Channel Strip settings in this category, when controlled by the pitch wheel, are intended to repurpose what is commonly treated as a static ambience effect as a performance instrument. Based on the Tru-Tape Delay component of the Pedalboard plug-in, they are likely to yield tempo synced, yet chaotic, results.

Reverb
Based on the SilverVerb plug-in, these patches, if set up with the intended MIDI controller assignments, allow for the performance of audio glitches produced by the low CPU overhead plug-in.

Fuzz
The theme behind this category is foot-controlled distortion effects with an intensity and dynamics well beyond what is typically characterized as “fuzz”. Built around the multi-faceted AuDistortion plug-in, and not a simple chain of distortion plug-ins, these Channel Strip settings are designed to radically transform audio, leaving little remnants of the input signal. Seekers of fuzz box simulation will be met with a rude awakening if these files are opened.

Signal Generator
Based on the Test Oscillator plug-in, these .cst files allow for the use of audio channel strips as performance-triggered signal generators, using a sustain pedal and the pitch wheel. This category features theremin-like timbres, as well as extreme noise-based settings capable of producing glitched audio and textures reminiscent of human screaming.

Each category consists of 5 recipes, with the exception of “Pitch Shifter” and “Wah-wah Pedal”, both of which comprise of 10, for a total of 50 Channel Strip settings and corresponding controller assignments.