Software Instruments Sound Completely Different in Logic

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Level 1

8 points

Software Instruments Sound Completely Different in Logic

I've been playing in Keyscape and Omnisphere and decided to lay something down in Logic, but when I load a software instrument track, the sound of the instrument sounds drastically different (awful) than it did playing natively in the Keyscape app. This is with a new logic file, and I haven't made any changes to logic that I am aware of (I've only recently installed it). What could be causing this?

Outside of Logic, the pianos in Keyscape sound wonderful, but inside it's a whole other story.

Posted on Feb 4, 2020 10:53 PM

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Answer 1

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Euthanasiast Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 5, 2020 2:57 AM in response to Euthanasiast

I think I have it figured out.

As soon as "speed" began to enter into the picture, I started thinking that it could possibly be a sampling issue, so I started plundering through the Logic settings to see if something was off. I couldn't locate the sampling rate settings for the application level of logic, but I was able to find the sampling rate setting for the project, and it was set to 44.1Khz. My interface and all else is set to 96Khz. Once I made the change, everything began to work fine. Perhaps this is something I should have thought of before, but at least I appear to be good now.

Thank you all for your help!

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Answer 2

Eriksimon

Level 6

15,422 points

Feb 5, 2020 12:04 AM in response to Euthanasiast

It would help if you could show the GUI of the standalone and the GUI of the instrument in Logic. The second one sounds like there is a layer missing, the first one sounds like an acoustic piano with an electric piano "under" it, the second has the acoustic "upper" layer missing. They are not the same preset. It is even visible, since the second example also looks quieter.

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Answer 3

Eriksimon

Level 6

15,422 points

Feb 5, 2020 1:54 AM in response to Euthanasiast

"Preview" ready... sounds like not the whole thing is loaded... I think you need to go into the enigine and find out which layers are used... it may be that the AU version is somehow not done loading the whole thing. Just to be sure, I think the "fault" is with the plugin - it is not any preference in Logic that does this. Do you have a RAM utility, so you can compare how much RAM is used by the standalone vs the amount of RAM that is used by the AU version?

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Answer 4

Eriksimon

Level 6

15,422 points

Feb 5, 2020 2:00 AM in response to Eriksimon

Also, I would compare every setting under the tabs tweak, settings and info

in each (AU and standalone) version. I would also look under the hood of the standalone and AU version, if there is any setting that "saves RAM".

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Answer 5

Iaamusic

Level 4

1,336 points

Feb 4, 2020 11:09 PM in response to Euthanasiast

Are you just using keyscape as an instrument in Logic, same patch no other plugins, going to your normal interface out?

and when you say awful, what do you actually mean, distorted, mono, no FX..?

There should be no difference from stand alone use to plug in from a sound perspective.

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Answer 6

Euthanasiast Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 4, 2020 11:41 PM in response to Iaamusic

First of all, Thank you so very much for your help. I truly appreciate it.

All I am doing is opening a fresh file in logic and loading a software instrument as a track (Keyscape or Omnisphere). In stand alone, everything is fine, but when I load that same setup in Logic, all of the warmth from the instrument vanishes, and the mid and upper tones go from sounding like a cinematic piano to more like a Wurlitzer. It's quite jarring.

The link below is a demonstration of the instrument in the standalone application followed by the same instrument in Logic.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nekgcbwoc5s2rj5/TASCAM_0002.wav?dl=0

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Answer 7

Euthanasiast Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 5, 2020 2:33 AM in response to Eriksimon

I went back and reloaded the instrument in Logic, and this time I waited for the entire "preview" to load. I normally don't have to do this in standalone mode, because it happens much faster. The results were the same, but I did discover something interesting...

I loaded Noire, a Native Instruments sampled Piano library. It has particle effects to create unique sounds, and these particle effects are displayed within the instrument as ripples on the GUI panel. The sound is also off (similarly to Keyscape), but I noticed that the particle ripples are moving MUCH faster than they should be. It's almost like the PITCH of the instrument is what is being changed, because everything is somehow being sped up in Logic. I have no idea why this could be, but it makes sense that this would be causing the sound issues I have, because it does sound like the pitch is higher and more metallic. Running the Kontact Player outside of Logic runs the Noire Instrument fine, and the particles move at the normal speed.

I have no idea how this could be. Since Native Instruments is a completely different corporation than Keyscape, I'm beginning to think that it is Logic that is altering this somehow (and it could, of course, totally be my fault).

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