If in the Logic Audio environment you ever created a transformer set to "Use Map" and had to fill in all 128 map-values by hand, you know what a tedious and RSI-inducing job this is. Wouldn't it be easy if you could use e.g. a spreadsheet to generate the required data and then simply send that to the transformer map?
Well, now you can, since the Magic Mapper package was precisely designed to do just this.
The package consists of 3 parts:
To use this package you don't necessarily need Excel, although having some sort of spreadsheet application is handy. You also don't necessarily need Logic, although the package was designed to solve a very Logic-specific problem. The package does have other uses though, so if you use whichever MIDI sequencer, it might come in handy anyway. And, yes, since the Magic Mapper application deals with MIDI data you will need some sort of MIDI-processing application, like a sequencer, Max/MSP or whatever. You also will need to have Opcode's OMS installed.
The Magic Mapper application takes numerical data from either the clipboard or a tab-delimited textfile (the standard exchange-format for spreadsheet data), and sends these numbers as MIDI notes, MIDI Controller data or MIDI Poly Pressure data to whichever OMS output port, or saves the data as a standard format-1 midifile. By sending this data to Logic (or opening the midifile), you're able to capture the incoming data and transform it to the appropriate commands to set the 128 values in a transformer map, or to some specific automation curve, or whatever you can come up with.
The Magic Song is a Logic song with a very simple environment that is designed to capture the data sent out by Magic Mapper and set the transformer map accordingly. Once all data is sent, you can copy the transformer map from the environment and paste it in your own song where you need it.
The Magic Sheet is an Excel program (i.e. a spreadsheet with a bunch of buttons and attached macros) designed to facilitate the creation of appropriate data. If you don't have Excel, don't worry, since the data format required by Magic Mapper is extremely simple and can be generated by every other spreadsheet application. You can even type in the required data in any text editor and use that. That's still way faster and more convenient than setting an entire map "by hand".
The possible use of this package is in no way limited to the creation of Logic transformer maps, even though that was its original design goal. Since the Magic Mapper application generates MIDI note-, controller- or poly-pressure data, you could also simply capture this data and use it "as is". Or transform it to some other MIDI event. Or whatever your imagination can come up with. Do you need a sinewave-shaped automation curve for panning? Or a sample & hold-like random opening and closing of your EXS-filter? This is the tool for you...
The program was developed and tested on a Mac G4 with Mac OS 9.0.4. I expect it to run without problems on other machines though, as long as they're "sort of not outdated". If the program doesn't run on your machine, please let me know, so I can include that information here.
You'll definitely need Opcode's OMS, which (if you don't have it already) can be downloaded here.
Convinced? Then download Magic Mapper 1.0 now. Extensive html-documentation included.
(c) H.J. Veenstra 2002.