Using Logic 10.4 Articulation Sets with Spitfire Libraries

Articulation sets are a new feature in Logic 10.4 which allow you to program articulation changes easily. With a correctly configured articulation set you can select a note (or notes) in the Piano Roll editor and simply choose the desired articulation as pictured below:

There are many methods of selecting articulations in Spitfire instruments and the best method for Logic's Articulation Set is UACC KS. As an example of how to best configure an articulation set we will create an Articulation Set for the f - Ensembles.nki patch of Spitfire Chamber Strings. First create an instrument track and load the patch in Kontakt, then choose New from the Articulation Set dropdown menu in the track settings as pictured below:

                                          

This will open the Articulation Set editor pictured below, we will add as many articulations as need by clicking on the + button.

The Chamber strings Ensemble patch includes 15 articulations so we add these with the + button and rename these to the names of our articulations. Once complete the list should look something like this:

Next we will choose the output behaviour for each articulation (the method of selecting the articulations). Click on Output at the top of the window and for each articulation set the Type to Note on and the Selector to C-2. The list should look like this:

As mentioned above, the best articulation switching method for an Articulation Set is UACC KS (Universal Articulation Control Change - Key Switches). This sounds complex but is in fact very simple, articulations are selected by setting a single key switch to the velocity value associated with it. These velocity values correspond to to the UACC standard explained here. 

Our next step is to lock the Spitfire Chamber strings to UACC KS. First click on the spanner in the red square below, then click the padlock circled in red. The option we need to select is Locked to UACC KS. 

Please note if you are using an older library the UACC key might not be on C-2 and should be transposed with the keyboard shimmier. 

 

With this selected you can see the velocity value for each articulation by simply clicking on the articulation as pictured below, for example the selected Long articulation is selected with a velocity of 1:

 For each articulation in our list we should now enter the corresponding velocity value into the Value column as pictured below: 

The Articulation set is now complete! don't forget to save it with a memorable name, this one was saved as SCS Ensemble for example, and is attached at the bottom of this article. For further information on Articulations in Logic please see here and if you need further assistance please contact support.