Alchemy 2 Explained

Logic Pro X 10.2 integrated Alchemy 2, one of the most powerful virtual instruments ever made. In this three-hour video training tutorial series, Eli Krantzberg teaches you how to become a Alchemy wizard and unleash all of its power on your music!

Working with Presets & Performance Controls
The Magic Potion (05:10) - Welcome to Alchemy. Learn about it's basic architecture and take a tour of the user interface. See where all the main sound generating components and controls are accessed.
The Name Bar (04:14) - See how this part of the interface is used for basic browsing and file management.
Working with the Browser (04:06) - Learn to navigate presets using the browse view category and attribute columns, the search field, and the ratings system.
Working with Tags (04:00) - See how to edit the attributes, comments, and tags associated with presets, as well as how to create, assign, remove, and delete custom user tags.
Overview of the Performance Controls (03:38) - Learn how these custom controls are used to modify values of key sound parameters. There are four main types of performance controls: Performance control knobs, X/Y pads, ADSR envelope controls, and eight transform pads which are used to store and morph between snapshots of the controller knob, X/Y pads, and envelope values.
Customizing the Transform Pads (06:31) - Explore methods and strategies of customizing and controlling the settings used in each of the eight transform pads.
Knob, Pad & Envelope Controls (04:37) - See how to customize the settings assigned to the eight performance control knobs, two X/Y pads, and the performance envelope controls.
Advanced view - Source Controls
Source Master Controls (03:21) - Explore the basic per source settings available from the Global tab in Advanced view, and learn how to bypass the main filters and route sources directly to the effects section.
Importing Audio (05:01) - Learn how to import and map either single samples, loops, or multi samples into Alchemy using the various synthesis elements, including formant analysis.
Source Subpage Controls (04:03) - Discover additional per source controls that include determining where in the waveform sources will be triggered from, how to set their loop modes, how to offset their start time by musical subdivisions, and more.
Source Filters (03:22) - Hear the results of routing multiple source specific filters in serial vs parallel configurations, and see how to manage the signal flow once the sound leaves the source subpage control section.
The Additive Element (05:38) - Hear how this element in Alchemy's synth engines is used to enhance the timbre of a source by adding sine waves, or more complex waveforms, to the original sound at harmonic intervals related to the fundamental frequencies.
Spectral Resynthesis Element (02:31) - Hear how this element is used to recreate the spectral characteristics of a sounds frequency spectrum using either sine waves or filtered noise.
Formant Filters (05:17) - See how these settings are used to either recreate the characteristic resonances of analyzed audio, or synthesize and impose new resonant characteristics.
The Granular Element (05:11) - Hear how this form of synthesis is used to break apart audio into tiny grains, and then re-trigger and reshape the pitch, pan, and amplitude envelopes of the grains.
Virtual Analog Parameters (04:48) - Explore basic waveform sound shaping parameters including altering a wave's shape, symmetry and sync, setting a phase offset to determine where in the waveform the sound is triggered from, creating and detuning up to sixteen unison voices, and blending in filtered noise.
XFading Between Sources (03:01) - See how the XFade functions on the Morph page are used to cross fade between the four separate sources used in a single preset.
Elemental Morphing (05:00) - Hear how the actual element parameter values are simultaneously morphed between different sources in a single preset.
Modulation
Introduction to Modulation (05:26) - Learn about the basic concepts of modulation, how the modulation rack and modulation control panel are used, and watch as a couple of simple modulation routings are set up.
Working with LFOs (05:17) - Explore how these repeating cyclical waveform shapes are used to create movement in sound shaping destination parameters.
AHDSR Envelopes (03:34) - Explore how the five stages of these envelopes are used to superimpose modulation shapes onto the movement of targeted parameters.
Multi Stage Envelope Generators (04:52) - Learn how to create and edit custom multi stage envelopes and use them as modulation sources.
Sequencer (06:13) - Learn how this programmable step based modulator is used to play patterns of up to 128 modulation steps.
Note Properties (03:54) - See how performance gestures, like velocity, aftertouch, pitchbend, etc, are used to control modulation values as you are playing.
Performance Controls (03:18) - Learn how to map parameters to be modulated by the sixteen available controls in the Performance section.
Intro to ModMaps (04:37) - See how these are used to process the output of a modulator, mapping the original values to new ones, before they are applied to a modulation target.
Source Edit Window
Source Edit Window Overview (01:54) - Get a brief tour of this source based editor, and learn where to access the Inspector, keymap, and zone waveform editor controls.
Inspector Group Controls (06:33) - See how additional groups of samples are imported and the various ways of triggering them.
Inspector Zone Controls (03:41) - Learn how to import additional samples into the current sound source, and how to control the tuning, range, volume, pan, and crossfade parameters.
Keymap Editor (02:28) - Explore this area of the source edit window, and see how it is used to edit, replace, and move sample zones to other groups.
Zone Waveform Editor (04:13) - Discover how this section of the Source Edit window is used to trim sample zone start and end points, as well as loop and crossfade areas.
Additive Edit Window (04:43) - Hear how this window is used to edit the volume, tuning, pan, and phase of partials that are generated using the additive re-synthesis engine, and see how to slide and stretch the positioning of the partials for interesting sound design effects.
Spectral Edit Window (05:17) - Discover how this editor is used to graphically interact with the spectral content of the source by drawing and painting in over the existing spectral image.
Arpeggiator & Effects
Arpeggiator Basics (05:55) - Arpeggiator Basics
Arpeggiator Sequencer (06:08) - See how this is used to customize velocity, tuning, panning, swing, and length of the arpeggiator’s automatically generated notes.
The Effects Rack (06:49) - Explore the effects section and see how to route to and use the five separate effects racks in combination with the four sound sources and two main filters.
Master Voice Section (07:31) - Explore this final output stage of Alchemy, and see how the volume, pan, tuning, pitch bend, glide, and polyphony for the sum of all the sources is controlled.
Update
10.2.1 Update (11:52) - Explore the new spectral effects added in this update, along with the new Apple Loop import workflow. See where several labels on the GUI have been renamed, and how the Browser has been updated to allow both searches and favourite ratings to be cleared.