Setting the Output Format of Channel Strips

You can manually set the output of all audio, instrument, aux, and output channel strips to the chosen project surround format. Logic Pro also has a set of rules for automatically determining the output format of specific channel strip types.

Manually Setting the Output Format of Channel Strips

You can set the output format for individual or multiple selected channel strips to surround (or other formats).

To set a channel strip’s output format to surround
  • Click-hold the Output slot of the channel strip, and choose Surround from the pop-up menu.

    Figure. Choosing Surround from Output pop-up menu on channel strip.

    The Pan control of the channel strip is replaced by a two-dimensional surround control. The loudspeakers are represented by colored dots and the pan position is indicated by a white dot that can be grabbed and moved.

    Figure. Surround control on channel strip.
To set the output format of multiple channel strips to surround
  1. Select all channel strips that you want to set to surround output.

  2. Click the Output slot of one of the selected channel strips, then choose Surround from the pop-up menu.

Automatically Setting the Output Format of Channel Strips

Logic Pro automatically sets the output format of specific channel strip types, based on a set of rules for each.

Audio Channel Strips

The channel strip of an empty audio track is automatically set to the format of the first audio file added to it.

If you add an audio file to a track assigned to a different output format (adding a stereo file to a track routed to a surround output, for example), the audio file is automatically up- or downmixed to match the output format of the channel strip.

Note: The highest possible surround format is determined by the project surround format.

Instrument Channel Strips

Instrument channel strips automatically adopt the channel format of the inserted instrument.

If you insert a stereo instrument, the channel strip output will be stereo.

If you insert a surround instance of a software instrument (ES2 or Sculpture, for example), the channel strip output will match the project surround format.

Aux Channel Strips

Automatically created aux channel strips adopt the format of their input source (if a stereo channel is routed to an aux channel strip, the channel strip will be stereo). If you manually change the output format of an aux channel strip, Logic Pro automatically upmixes or downmixes the signal to the required format.