Logic is built on the paradigm of music creation, composition, and production. Pro Tools is focused more on the editing, mixing, and manipulating of raw audio (and now midi) data. All differences between the two, relative strengths and weaknesses, etc can be distilled down to this fundamental conceptual difference between them.

 

Logic, as we know, is object based. Working in the Arrange Window is a process of editing regions and sequences. Regions and sequences contain audio or midi data, and we edit and manipulate these containers the data is held in. We can cut them, quantize them, move them, shorten them, lengthen them. These objects, or containers of data, are the building blocks of the music we are creating. They contain the different arrangement elements, instrumental or vocal parts, automation or controller information, etc.

 

But we cannot get at the data within these containers from the Arrange Window. This is a fundamental difference between Logic and Pro Tools. You can edit the data at it’s fundamental level in Pro Tools; yet only the containers of this data in Logic. It is impossible to make selections in the Arrange Window that are not region based. Until now. Well actually since Logic Pro 7 technically.

 

Enter the Marquee Tool. In my humble opinion, this is a significant small first step in breaking down the object based work flow we have been tied to in the Arrange Window. The Marquee Tool allows for selections based on the timeline and grid rather than on object boundaries. This is a significant. Although we still can’t get directly at the container contents; at least we can make selections based on portions of the contents. I wish there were key commands to alter the Marquee Tool selection boundaries. Like being able to lengthen or shorten the selection by format values, frames, ticks, etc. For now, selection boundaries are controlled by the familiar Control and Shift modifier keys used for altering object and note lengths throughout the rest of the program.

 

Today’s tip is an undocumented feature of the Marquee Tool. One unfortunate hardwired feature is that once you release the mouse button after making a selection, the object will be cut at the selection boundaries. In normal Logic work flow, this isn’t a bad or unusual thing. It allows for moving, cutting, copying, pasting etc of the specific section of the data container - otherwise called region or sequence. Normally cutting is the only way to access a portion of the region/sequence.

 

But with the Marquee Tool, there’s another way. You can make your selection, have it perform it’s default cut; and then switch to the default pointer tool while the selection is still intact, and then option drag the selected area. The material will be copied. And the cuts will heal themselves, leaving the original region intact.  If you drag without holding the Option key, it will move the data and leave a gap in the source region - as would be expected and desired. But with the Option key held - the material will not only be copied, but the original region will be left intact.

 

This may be a small thing, but when you think about it - it is the first time in Logic that it is possible to copy portions of regions/sequences in the Arrange Window without altering the source. And the first time possible to make selections not based on region/sequence boundaries. This is a step closer towards some of the much sought after Pro Tools editing features. Let’s hope it is a precursor of things to come........