Managing EXS24 Sampler Instruments

As your sample library grows, the list of sampler instruments will also expand. To help you keep the list of sampler instruments manageable, the EXS24 mkII features a simple but flexible file management method.

To organize your sampler instruments into a preferred hierarchy
  1. Create a folder in the Finder—Basses, for example—and drag it into the desired Sampler Instruments folder.

  2. Drag the desired EXS24 mkII sampler instruments into this newly created folder.

    The modified menu structure will be reflected when you open the Sampler Instruments pop-up menu.

    Figure. Sampler Intruments pop-up menu.

    Note: You will need to choose the Refresh Menu command in the Sampler Instruments pop-up menu after changes are made to the folder hierarchy in the Sampler Instruments folder.

The Sampler Instruments pop-up menu will display submenus only for folders that actually contain EXS instrument files. Other folders are not added to the menu. Aliases pointing to folders that contain EXS instrument files outside the Sampler Instruments folders can also be added to the menu. Even the Sampler Instruments folder itself can be an alias to a folder on a different drive or in another location.

For information on copying sampler instruments to your hard drive, and backing up sampler instruments used in a project, see Copying EXS24 Sampler Instruments to Your Hard Drive and Backing Up EXS24 Sampler Instruments.

Copying EXS24 Sampler Instruments to Your Hard Drive

It is strongly recommend that you copy any EXS sampler instruments, along with all associated audio files, to your hard drive. This way, you always have direct, immediate access to your sampler instruments without searching for and inserting CD-ROM or DVD discs. This also enables you to organize your sampler instruments to meet your needs. In addition, load times are faster, and you can play back samples that exceed the size of your computer’s RAM by “streaming” them from your hard disk. This feature is not suitable for optical drives.

To copy sampler instruments to your hard drive
  1. Copy the sampler instrument file into the ~/Library/Application Support/Logic/Sampler Instruments folder.

  2. Copy the associated samples into a folder named Samples in the same folder as the Sampler Instruments folder.

Backing Up EXS24 Sampler Instruments

You can use the “Backup audio files of all used and active instruments of current project” key command to copy the audio and sampler instrument files (of all currently active sampler instruments in the project) to a specified file location. Folders for the audio files associated with these sampler instruments are created in the target location.

This makes it easy to keep all of your sampler instruments and audio samples in one place, and ensures that every project folder contains all the necessary sampler instruments and audio files you will need, even if you don’t have access to your full sampler instrument library.

Tip: You can also do this by setting up your project to copy EXS24 sampler instruments and samples into the project folder. For more information, see the Logic Pro User Manual.