Alchemy in Logic, some tips

Question

Alchemy in Logic, some tips

Here are some tips I just discovered after checking the new Alchemy in LogicX:

Concerning 3rd party libraries:

The new location for Alchemy presets (acp files)

Library (not user)Application Support/Logic/Plugin Settings/Alchemy

So if you own libraries for Alchemy version 1, just drop the entire library folder there with the presets (acp files) then hit refresh in the Alchemy browser. There is no need to move the sample content from version 1 libraries, as the sample path is stored with the old presets. That saves 5 years of my own sound design work, time to party!

Mac Pro (Late 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), G-Raid

Posted on Aug 25, 2015 12:53 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 22, 2017 4:32 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

I was checking the new features in Alchemy 2 this morning and came up with this experiment, live on video:

Audio-morphing a female vocal sample (portato repetitions with accel/rit and cresh/decresh) with a violin col legno texture (repeating notes, bow hitting the string), unfortunately there are some clicks from the video audio encoder at the beginning of the video, but they fade away after a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDknrEDXlRI

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Answer 2

Aug 25, 2015 2:34 PM in response to Sampleconstruct

Thanks Sampleconstruct....

I was wondering how to install my original libs......

Cheers..

Nigel

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Answer 3

Aug 26, 2015 3:49 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

Of course it's much easier than this, as there is a Legacy content display mode in the browser. But if the old library does not have preset subfolders, the libs won't show up, which was the case for 3 of my libs.

Example:

New folder structure:

HD -> Library -> Application Support -> Camel Audio - > Alchemy -> Presets -> The Vase -> The Vase

Instead of:

HD -> Library -> Application Support -> Camel Audio - > Alchemy -> Presets -> The Vase

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Answer 4

Aug 26, 2015 4:42 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

After testing some old patches in the new version the conclusion is: they sound all wrong, the saved snapshots sound nothing like they're supposed to, all old sounds need to be re-programmed in order to use them in Alchemy 2. Obviously many parameter assignments have been changed, especially filter resonance levels and many other things too. Disappointing...

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Answer 5

Aug 26, 2015 4:57 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

But it doesn't affect all old patches, only some, I haven't found the culprit yet.

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Answer 6

Aug 27, 2015 1:36 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

Here are some video experiments I made last night, checking the new (old) resynth-algos and with what kind of source material they work best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqqKzfvk0No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s96C_Na3rBY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1J-4Z-T86E

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Answer 7

Aug 27, 2015 8:29 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

My first granular string pad in Alchemy 2, a little impro, adding Macro automation in a second pass. I like the filters and the granular engine still works well for paddy stuff now that we have multiple grain streams which can be offset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in4BT9QU9nA

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Answer 8

Aug 27, 2015 8:55 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

This is interesting stuff...

Thanks Sampleconstruct

Cheers..

Nigel

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Answer 9

Aug 27, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

Hey Sampleconstruct,

Are you aware that you don't need to install the old Alchemy libraries? If you go to "Download Additional Content" in the Logic Pro Library, all of the old Alchemy libraries are included with the new app. 14GB worth. I can only assume that you might possibly be referring to old Alchemy patches that you've created or tweaked?

Thx,

Laurence

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Answer 10

Aug 27, 2015 9:15 AM in response to LaurenceS

Laurence,

Not all the old library content is present.... Much of it yes, but not all, no....

Prior to importing all my libs there was indeed over 3000+ presets.. After importing my 1.5 libs there are now 5000+ presets. some of which are dupes (listed with a (1) after the preset name) but a good percentage are not...

I haven't worked out which libs are included and which are not so far.... as i have been too busy working with the new interface! 🙂

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Answer 11

Aug 27, 2015 9:50 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

Apparently they re-programmed a lot of the patches, adjusted them to the new parameter settings, changed some names. Maybe they will release more in the months to come. But I'm not an expert in this domain as I don't use 3rd party patches.

More info here:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=444960

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Answer 12

Aug 27, 2015 9:52 AM in response to LaurenceS

Yeah, I was referring to all the libraries I have created for Alchemy 1 over the last years, meanwhile I figured that they show up in the Legacy Content section of the browser, some patches need re-programming though.

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Answer 13

Aug 27, 2015 9:52 AM in response to The Art Of Sound

Cheers, Nigel!

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Answer 14

Adrian_S

Level 1

36 points

Aug 27, 2015 2:40 PM in response to Sampleconstruct

Here is my experience with Alchemy in Logic Pro X 10.2

I was a little worried, because I was using the Alchemy 1.5 plugin on some music. So I first tested it on my old (mid 2009) macbook. Since I did not use it for logic since a long time, I first had to install 10.2, then download additional content, and after that I decided to install the 1.5 plugin plus factory content, which I still have as a pkg. I never bought any additional libraries, because when I tried I noticed Apple had bought Camel...

So I copied a piece of music with 4 Alchemy tracks ("Amplexus", "Hither and Zither", "Bell Keys B" and "Atomic Harmonic") and 12 others to my MacBook.

I was pleasantly surprised that everything sounded exactly as it should, and that my six year old MacBook played everything without any problem.

The old plugin appeared as "Alchemy 1".

Then I got a bit more adventurous. I copied the directory "Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Camel Audio/Alchemy/Presets/Factory" into

the directory "Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Logic/Plug-in Settings/Alchemy", next to other subdirectories like "Atmospheric" and "Basic".

I have written the file paths in detail, because it took me about 15 minutes to find them back when I wanted to type this message.

Then I changed the four tracks from "Alchemy 1" to "Alchemy". That's all I did. I got the new interface, and all four tracks played exactly as before. They were present in the new browser (I think they were not part of the original 14.1 GB additional download). Maybe I was just lucky with these four tracks. But even if I was, it was great to see that the old plugin still worked, even on a computer it was not installed on before.

I think Apple deserves a lot of praise for this. I was expecting Alchemy to appear as an in-app purchase, or as part of a new Logic Pro X 11.0 that was not a free upgrade. I was very much worried about incompatibilities. I have become very dissatisfied with Apple over the last two years, especially regarding numerous issues with iCloud syncing. But what the Logic Pro team has done here is just amazing. It is so fantastic that I do not even understand their business model anymore. Buying a company and giving all its products away for free? Maybe it is really true that they just love their customers?

Sorry, I guess the purpose of this site is to ask questions, not too make compliments. But I just needed to say it.

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Answer 15

Aug 28, 2015 12:14 AM in response to Sampleconstruct

Here is a patch using additive re-synthesis of a sound I made in Photosounder, that sample is also being used in the convolution reverb, quite amazing what one can do with a only a single source. The new Comb PM filter sounds brilliant!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6_ThgrDlkU

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