OS: X/9: Rewire 2 instruments in Logic 6.x, 7.x

Product: Platinum, Gold, Silver
Version: 6.x, 7.x

ReWire2 allows audio to be sent from a slave application to the master, and to control the slave via MIDI from within the master application. This way you can control the whole arrangement in Logic, while running a Rewire slave like Propellerheads Reason as a powerful external instrument.

The following tutorial describes how to setup a ReWire2 connection between Logic (as master) and a ReWire slave application.

Firstly, start Logic, then the ReWire application. The latter will then recognize Logic as ReWire master and automatically start in slave mode.

How to stream ReWire Audio into Logic

To feed the ReWire audio streams to Logic’s mixer, you have to setup the required number of ReWire channels in Logic’s Audio Environment.

Choose any (unused) audio object (or audio instrument object) in the Audio Environment and assign it to the object class ReWire: Set the parameter Cha in the parameter box of the audio object in question to the desired ReWire channel (in our example: MixL).

Name the ReWire objects accordingly

Tip: Instead of reconfiguring already existing audio objects, you may create new ones in the Audio Environment. For this, copy existing Audio Objects by selecting them and moving them with the mouse while holding down OPTION or create brand new objects via the local menu entry New > Audio Object (a double click on the new Audio Object will open its view as a channel strip) Then set the parameters as described above.

Now you have setup all necessary components for streaming Audio from the ReWire application into Logic. The ReWire streams behave like any audio material in Logic’s mixer:

Reason has the following assignment:

– Bus 1 addresses the Live-Track chosen in Reason.
– Bus 2-5 address Bus A to D of Reason’s MIDI-In-Device. The single Channels of these busses are addressed via MIDI channel 1-16.
– Bus 6 and higher address the modules in the Reason rack by different MIDI channels. So, Bus 6, MIDI channel 1-16 address the first 16 modules in the rack, Bus 7, MIDI channel 1-16 address the modules 17-32.
Tip: When setting the parameter Cha of a ReWire instrument to All, the Reason module can be chosen by setting the apropriate MIDI channel on your master keyboard.

After setting up these ReWire tracks in the Arrange window (you can assign them by drag & drop from the Environment window), the ReWire instruments can be played from within Logic. MIDI data is recorded and edited in Logic as usual.

Performance

There are two modes for the ReWire audio streams in Logic, to provide optimal ressource management. If you want to play ReWire instruments live, you should choose the Live mode which supplies better latencies. For the mixdown of a completed arrangement, the Playback mode should be used, as this mode requires less CPU power. You’ll find the settings for these two modes in the menu Audio > Audio Hardware & Drivers.

Knowledge Base