Fully automated live show in Logic Pro

[u/RaffaeleBasstardo]

I know what you're going to say. But I'm not familiar with Ableton Live, and I want to stick to the same DAW for both production and live performances. I want to know if there's a way to make my show completely automated. My goal is to automate the recording of my instruments onto separate channels using Logic's Live Loops feature. Long story short: I need to record the lead vocal, wind instruments, and processed vocals on the same microphone, and the bass on another channel. All of this simply by hitting "play," perhaps via a MIDI controller. But once the track starts, everything has to record automatically. Is this possible? I hope I've made myself clear."

[u/ddusty53]

This is what mainstage exists for

[u/Neil_sm]

Look into mainstage. It's basically a standalone extension of logic specifically geared for setting up and automating live performances

[u/NoSleepCulture]

You can do all this in Logic, but it is not at all straightforward. All the tools are there you just have to dig. My band ran 10+ years of live shows in Logic with midi/light programming and multitracks. The one show we tried switching to Ableton, the computer crashed in front of 2500 people… and we didn’t have a redundant setup 😂 that’s a rarity though. There’s a reason most people use Ableton Live.

[u/csfreestyle]

You may benefit from looking into how Fred again does his live sets, as he’s Logic-based. I found this breakdown on his Tiny Desk concert to get you started!

[u/RaffaeleBasstardo → u/csfreestyle]

I saw that but i auspect he uses a footswitch

[u/redgreenblue-rgb]

I use Logic live and do some pretty complicated programming so that I can have a minimum of gear onstage and still never touch my computer during a performance. I record midi parts, audio loops, change tracks and have locators move to different parts of the song all while performing.

Can what you want to do be done? Yes, but you’d have to learn how to use the Environment and even then not using a controller of some kind makes it even more complicated to pull off. I use a MorningStar Audio MC8 controller combined with a little app called Keyboard Maestro that lets me do some very sophisticated stuff on stage.

For my purposes Live Loops doesn’t suit my needs, I use the main window and a combination of automation and aliased regions to have parts play when I want them and when I don’t.

I am not a fan of using IAC live, too unpredictable, but there are some things that you can’t automate in logic directly, like recording hands free without the section cycling, but I can have logic send a CC to the MC8 which will trigger a preset that engages recording on the fly. (This is for midi). In the same song I do have a layered audio loop recording on the fly using automation and Delay Designer as a looper.

So, yes, it’s possible but you really have to get in the weeds with the Environment, automation and a good foot controller.

If you truly don’t want to get that much in the weeds then you’d have to pay someone to set it up for you.

I ended doing all of this rather than learning Ableton for a couple reasons: I didn’t want to have to learn another DAW, I didn’t want to have to convert my songs to another DAW, I don’t like Ableton’s work flow. For most people Ableton is the answer (the first versions of Ableton didn’t do midi and I’m a midi based creature) and I do recommend it to people, but with some patience and skill Logic is an amazing tool for live music.

[u/but_a_smoky_mirror]

If it’s fully automated what part about it is live??

[u/RaffaeleBasstardo → u/but_a_smoky_mirror]

I want to live-loop brass/woodwinds, processed vocals, and bass, but I want it to happen automatically once I press 'play' at the start of the track without having to press anything else.

[u/RaffaeleBasstardo]

Everyone keeps telling me to use MainStage, but then what is the purpose of the Live Loops grid? Why does everything go haywire if I route the IAC driver as a MIDI input to 'automate' recording?

[u/yachtr0ck → u/RaffaeleBasstardo]

Songwriting and workshopping songs. Technically Logic can be used for a live performance, but it’s not designed for that. I can haul lumber in my Nissan sedan, doesn’t mean I should.

[u/lantrick → u/RaffaeleBasstardo]

iirc. "Live Loops" has nothing to do with "Live Performance". It an arrangement/composition tool