PHYSICAL INPUT Tutorial (reposting)
For those who might find this informative, I'm reposting my original tutorial. I've also added my "part 2" below. Hope you find it useful:
===========================================
Physical Input Tutorial -- Part 1
I'm going to refer to the Physical Input as "PI" from hereon in.
First, though, I think it's important to mention the golden rule of audio and MIDI signal flow: "outputs go to inputs". This rule never changes, and is important to embrace. If you're ever confused about signal flow, remember, "outputs go to inputs" and you'll never be lost. For example, the MIDI input of a device never gets connected to a MIDI output. It's always the other way around. A MIDI output gets connected to a MIDI input.
Signals, whether they're MIDI or audio, always flow from a source to a destination. Another way of putting it is this: audio signals (or data, like MIDI data) are transmitted from a source and received at a destination.
=========================================
OK, on to the PI. Here's the deal: the Physical Input object IS your MIDI interface, but only the INPUT side of it, hence its name "Physical Input". It doesn't deal with the transmission (sending) of MIDI data from Logic to the outside world at all. Ever.
The PI object shows you the "inside" of your MIDI interface, as Logic see it, not as you see it. Here's what I mean...
Let's say you have a two–port MIDI interface. Two inputs, two outputs. For now we're only going to talk about the inputs because this is what the PI is all about.
Let's say you have two keyboard controllers, a blue one and a yellow one.
Blue Keyboard's MIDI output------>Interface Input, Port 1
Yellow Keyboard's MIDI output------>Interface Input, Port 2
When you play a note on the blue keyboard, a blue marble rolls out of its output and down that tube we call a MIDI cable. It rolls along until it appears at the actual physical MIDI jack on the interface called Input Port 1.
When you play a note on the yellow keyboard, a yellow marble rolls out of its output, down the MIDI cable, and appears at the actual physical MIDI jack on the interface called Input Port 2.
Now, take a look at your interface. No, really, look at it. What do you observe about the MIDI input ports? Well, for one, you are seeing only the FRONT SIDE of those MIDI jacks. You can't see the backside of those jacks unless you open up the housing. But on the flip side, Logic can't see the actual the front panel of your interface where those marbles are rolling into it, but it DOES see the other side of those MIDI jacks. To Logic's perspective, those marbles are not "coming into the interface from various MIDI devices." Instead, those marbles are being OUTPUT by the interface itself! Blue marbles are coming out of the interface on Port 1. Yellow marbles are coming out of the interface on Port 2. This explains why the PI shows only outputs. But since you can see the front of your MIDI interface, those marbles are actually being sent (transmitted) to MIDI Inputs on your interface. And this is where the confusion lies...
[to be continued]
PPC Quad G5, 6G RAM Mac OS X (10.4.5)
===========================================
Physical Input Tutorial -- Part 1
I'm going to refer to the Physical Input as "PI" from hereon in.
First, though, I think it's important to mention the golden rule of audio and MIDI signal flow: "outputs go to inputs". This rule never changes, and is important to embrace. If you're ever confused about signal flow, remember, "outputs go to inputs" and you'll never be lost. For example, the MIDI input of a device never gets connected to a MIDI output. It's always the other way around. A MIDI output gets connected to a MIDI input.
Signals, whether they're MIDI or audio, always flow from a source to a destination. Another way of putting it is this: audio signals (or data, like MIDI data) are transmitted from a source and received at a destination.
=========================================
OK, on to the PI. Here's the deal: the Physical Input object IS your MIDI interface, but only the INPUT side of it, hence its name "Physical Input". It doesn't deal with the transmission (sending) of MIDI data from Logic to the outside world at all. Ever.
The PI object shows you the "inside" of your MIDI interface, as Logic see it, not as you see it. Here's what I mean...
Let's say you have a two–port MIDI interface. Two inputs, two outputs. For now we're only going to talk about the inputs because this is what the PI is all about.
Let's say you have two keyboard controllers, a blue one and a yellow one.
Blue Keyboard's MIDI output------>Interface Input, Port 1
Yellow Keyboard's MIDI output------>Interface Input, Port 2
When you play a note on the blue keyboard, a blue marble rolls out of its output and down that tube we call a MIDI cable. It rolls along until it appears at the actual physical MIDI jack on the interface called Input Port 1.
When you play a note on the yellow keyboard, a yellow marble rolls out of its output, down the MIDI cable, and appears at the actual physical MIDI jack on the interface called Input Port 2.
Now, take a look at your interface. No, really, look at it. What do you observe about the MIDI input ports? Well, for one, you are seeing only the FRONT SIDE of those MIDI jacks. You can't see the backside of those jacks unless you open up the housing. But on the flip side, Logic can't see the actual the front panel of your interface where those marbles are rolling into it, but it DOES see the other side of those MIDI jacks. To Logic's perspective, those marbles are not "coming into the interface from various MIDI devices." Instead, those marbles are being OUTPUT by the interface itself! Blue marbles are coming out of the interface on Port 1. Yellow marbles are coming out of the interface on Port 2. This explains why the PI shows only outputs. But since you can see the front of your MIDI interface, those marbles are actually being sent (transmitted) to MIDI Inputs on your interface. And this is where the confusion lies...
[to be continued]
PPC Quad G5, 6G RAM Mac OS X (10.4.5)