Naming tracks in Logic’s mixer can be tricky. There’s always a trade off between having a descriptive name versus a cluttered view at the bottom of the mixer strips. Things get further complicated when using a Mackie Control Universal (MCU) mixing surface. The display is limited to even fewer characters than in Logic’s screen display.

 

Here’s a few things I like to do to help keep things neat, organized, and informative. I like to keep a reference to the track number in the name so that using the Create New Track With Next Instrument Key Command still functions properly. But instead of having names like Audio 1, Audio 2, or Audio Instrument 1, Audio Instrument 2, etc; I like to abbreviate the name in order to save space and leave room for something more descriptive. I like to use a lower case “a” for Audio Tracks, and an “i” for Audio Instruments. So, I have my Autoload setup with Tracks named a01, a02, a03 and i01, i02, i03, etc as a default. This saves space and still gives me the information I need.

 

Then as my project is developing; I’ll add a \ character after the number followed by a short name. So, I may have Object names like a01/LdVcl, a02\BUVcl, a03\LdGtr, i01\ElPno, i02\Snr, i03\Kik, etc etc. Leaving out vowels is a way to reduce clutter while still communicating the name effectively. These names are short enough not to clutter up the Mixer Window too much; and they still retain their numerical order for visual organization in the Arrange Window flip menus.

 

But what’s particularly useful about this nomenclature is how it interacts with the MCU ] display. There is a little know feature in the MCU programming: when an object name in Logic contains the \ character, only the portion of the name that proceeds the character will be displayed on the MCU LCD.

 

This is a great way of managing visual clutter. The prefix of the name can still retain it’s alphanumerical component which is necessary for proper organization within Logic; and the suffix can contain a short descriptive component for simple visual display. Think of the \ character as dividing the name - the prefix for Logic’s use, and the suffix for MCU’s use.

 

I have found this naming convention to be a useful and practical way of managing things effectively. Even without an MCU, it is useful to name Objects sparingly - and this is an effective method with or without a control surface in the picture.