Hey KGray,
You need to purchase a USB to DMX interface. I can recommend the DMX USB Pro by Enttec.
Then in order to use midi you'll need to purchase a subscription to EMU as the free version doesn't allow you to do this.
Setting up the midi side of things in Logic Pro is the same as setting up DMXis, I'm pretty sure I linked this video in my original post.
In the meantime if you wanted to get a headstart on programming while you wait for the interface to arrive, I can confirm you can link EMU to the free visualiser inside Chamsys MagicQ (free download). There is a how to video on YT about linking external consoles to MagicQ which is how I worked it out, in this case EMU being the external console.
Hope this helps!
Adam Sinclair
Hey pals,
Just thought I'd share my experience using Emu in Logic Pro X.
First of all - Thank you! I'm really enjoying using this overall. I bought the DMX USB Pro and Emu software to program lights to my drum covers. Once I got everything set up, for the most part it's easy enough to use. Though I have to admit, I do miss how normal consoles approach certain things, but I'm not complaining.
Here's my first attempt at this if you'd like to check it out. The song is "Smokey" by Emmure.
https://youtu.be/v19hNtTy7NA
All lights are programmed within Logic Pro X controlled via midi (fixture list at the bottom of this post).
This video helped immensely with the initial midi set up in Logic - https://youtu.be/f5n33ZglLWA
The EMU AU plug in is in each lighting midi channel, but disabled and both channels are even muted in Logic. I was reading earlier about how if the channels aren't muted it'll feedback loop within EMU and/or the DMX USB Pro itself causing crashes. Thankfully I have not run into this issue, even after programming 3 songs.
The beautiful thing is that even though the plugin is disabled, for some reason it still triggers DMX.
It's a real shame the plugin for Logic isn't currently working properly. I don't know if this would streamline the process at all but for now it's working great for how I'm using it. Hopefully this is fixed soon and we can give it a shot.
I was able to use the visualiser within Chamsys MagicQ to program from the comfort of my desk, rather than the cold of my garage which was a huge win for me too.
For those of you interested, this video showed everything you have to do within MagicQ to get it running, with some trial and error within EMU of course - https://youtu.be/DvNS3eKQ_1Y
It's also worth noting that during the filming of this video, I am live triggering GGD (GetGood Drums) Invasion from my Roland TD50 used as a midi controller at the same time with zero issues. As the drums are coming through midi Ch1 and the lights are triggered from Ch15 (banks) and Ch16 (programs) I'm not surprised it worked, but equally glad haha. I did find that when recording the midi from the drums, the midi notes from the bank and program changes were recorded within the drum track, but as GGD doesn't trigger that low (C-2 etc) it didn't affect anything.
If I was to wish for anything it would be:
1. The same usability as Ableton users have, like being able to manually draw the midi velocities in and have that translate to the faders (dimmers, pan, tilt etc) for better precision.
2. The ability to have movements smoothly transition between programs would be cool as well, though I have a feeling this may be down to user error as I have not played with the fade times at all (actually only realised this as I was typing, yet to play with it). For example, changing from one slow moving program to the next it will jump between the positions, almost making it look like a restart. Not ideal, but again, it could be user error.
3. I'm not sure how to program this between Logic and EMU, but the ability to have the master tempo changes within a song translate to EMU. Not sure if this can be done between banks or if it's just something that has to be manually changed this far. Ideally, it would be between programs imo.
4. I've found the Oscillator can be quite finnicky with certain chases.
Chases that are relatively quick to program on other consoles can take quite a bit of fiddling around to get the correct look. I'd love some more options to maybe streamline this, but overall I'm glad I can mostly get the look I'm going for.
5.
As I said, overall, I'm pretty happy with how Emu works so far. It suits my purpose for the most part and I'm happy with the end result.
Also, enjoying it much more than DMXis! Thanks pals!
Fixtures:
2 x Chauvet Colorrail IRC
2 x AVE Cobra Wash King (Moving 135 Matrix patch)
3 x Chauvet Intimidator Spot 250 LED