BabylonWaves, a company founded and run by composers, has heard the prayers of many Logic Pro users, and has developed what could very well be the Logic equivalent to Cubase’s VST Expression Map.

As a composer, my daily work involves large templates with numerous multi-timbral MIDI tracks, hosting instruments by many different developers. Until recently, being able to work quickly and seamlessly meant memorizing various keyswitches, and more often than not, ending up using a trial and error approach while writing. Because, let’s face it….when you are in your creative mode, you can’t possibly remember so many keyswitches and still maintain the flow of your ideas. 

BabylonWaves’ Art Conductor script is here to solve this problem. 

So what is Art Conductor?

Art Conductor is an incredibly smart script that is inserted as a MIDI FX in a MIDI track, and through Region Automation, allows you to easily change and monitor keyswitches. While it comes with a number of pre-programmed presets that cover several popular sample libraries, it is highly customizable and can be easily tailored to the user’s needs. 

Features Overview

Taken from the BabylonWaves website : 

•We built this script with musicians in mind. You can easily edit it without knowing how to program code.

•Works with virtually all instruments with note based key switching.

•Spitfire version supports UACC.

•Vienna Symphony Library version fully supports their matrix/cell/slot philosophy

•East West Play version is based on switching channels 

•Finally enables you to transpose parts without destroying key switches.

•Articulations can be renamed to make them consistent over all instruments.

•The script saves with the project. No additional software installation is needed when you run the project on another Mac.

•You can keep using traditional key switches in parallel if required.

•Art Conductor scripts can be easily stacked within one instrument

•All versions support TouchOSC UACC template. You can remote your instrument from a tablet.

•Highly optimized* and resource friendly (you can run many simultaneous instances of this script)

•If you need help customizing Art Conductor, contact us for an offer.

Price : 14,99 €

Installation, Presets and Usability

Installation is easy and straightforward. The script comes in a 1.4MB mpkg installer that completely automates the process. 

As soon as the installation is complete, Art Conductor can be loaded within the Scripter MIDI FX :   

Art Conductor comes with a number of presets, designed to address some of the most common keyswitching libraries available. It includes presets for VSL instruments, Audiobro LASS, Cinematic Strings, EWQL PLAY, and various Spitfire libraries, and it works seamlessly with instruments hosted inside Logic or externally via Vienna Ensemble Pro. 

The way to use each different preset, as well as how to customize it, is explained in detail in a clearly-written user manual (that is placed on your computer’s desktop upon installation for ease of use). If you have never touched the Scripter before, it might be a bit daunting at first. However, everything is clearly explained and straightforward, and you  can start creating your custom presets in no time. 

After a preset is loaded, all you have to do is turn on the Region automation for this particular MIDI track and select the Scripter plugin.

From there, on, it is just a matter of drawing your ‘automation’ curve to  switch to the desired articulations at specific points in the timeline : 

What I would like to see in future versions

• A larger variety of presets
• A more straightforward way to modify presets, although it seems that BabylonWaves has long reached the the limitations of Logic’s Scripter plugin. (I guess I either hope that Apple acquires BabylonWaves, or that BabylonWaves magically creates a whole new UI for the Scripter.)

UPDATE October 2015: Version 1.6 was released, and according to the press release, it adds a plethora of presets. Those bring out-of-the-box support for the following sample libraries: 8dio Adagio, Soundiron Brass, Spitfire Phalanx Brass, Mural 3, and Emotional Cello. With the existing presets for Spitfire Mural/Sable/BML Brass, Cinematic Strings 1+2, and Audiobro LASS, a total number of 225 presets are included. All you need to do is to dial them up and start working.

There are also generic templates that can be easily customized. Sampler Instruments featuring Key Switch and Channel based articulation selection are supported. And, there are also special versions for EastWest Play, Vienna Symphony VSL Instruments, and Spitfire Audio.

Conclusion

Despite it still being at version 1.5, Art Conductor is an excellent tool that has the potential to speed up your workflow and make it much easier. It is already grabbing the attention of veteran Logic users like Tom Salta, and it is a great value-for-money tool that is definitely worth checking out.