DAWS are complex, inherently demanding, and challenging to use efficiently, particularly when it’s necessary to execute a series of commands. Sure, we have keyboard shortcuts, knobs, buttons, and sliders on our controllers and iPad apps to help navigate the complexity, but performing tasks requiring multiple steps can be arduous. We've seen various macro editors over the years, with varying degrees of usefulness. Now there is a new player in town. Flexi-deck. Flexi-deck has developed an app called Creator to script custom macros and link them to stylishly designed menus. 

Creator from Flexi-deck is comprised of a menu editor and a macro editor.  But what makes Creator unique is its ability to address every graphic element in our DAW. So, rather than merely performing a series of shortcut commands, Creator performs our mouse moves, menu choices in dialogue boxes, parameter value movements, and more. In other words, we automate our entire interaction with the DAW and not just specific shortcut functions. 

All of this can be complicated to script and set up for the average user. Flexi-deck has us covered with pre-scripted macro libraries. They have various options, depending on how much of the scripting you want to do on your own. Open or closed libraries are available in standard or premium formats, all without the necessity of actually getting your hands dirty with the Creator app. 

In this video, I take a look at their Logic Pro Macro Library S+. In addition to the expected functions we can easily access with something like Logic Remote, several macros make this tool very appealing. 

An often-heard frustration with Logic Pro users who need to provide deliverables, like film composers or tracking engineers, is the difficulty in stem bouncing. There is no natural way to automate this in Logic until now.  The Logic Pro Macro Library has a beautifully elegant and simple feature to handle this. Select your tracks, hit the stem bounce macro button, go grab a quick lunch, come back, and it's all done. 

Another common repetitive task when pre-mixing is setting up region-based gain offsets so that the signal hitting the mixer is consistent. Usually, it involves selecting a region, heading over to the Region Inspector, and mouse sliding in the gain field. Flexi-deck's Logic Pro Macro library has beautifully designed macros for adding preset gain offsets of various positive and negative values. A huge time saver for those who do this regularly. 

Scrolling through the plug-in list to instantiate plug-ins is another pet peeve of Logic users. The Macro Library has plug-in launcher menus laid out, where all your plug-ins are available on a single screen. This feature alone will appeal to many Logic users. 

Currently, Flexi-deck has libraries available for both Logic Pro and Pro Tools. But they are continually tweaking and developing their products. Flexi-deck pricing also includes options for up to three years of updates to ensure no user gets left behind.

Creator is an interesting Macro tool that will appeal to many power users. And Flexi-deck makes it easy whether you just want to buy a preset library, or roll your own, or anywhere in between. There is a free thirty-day demo available, after which Flexi-deck reverts to a perpetual free player. Give it a try, and see how it can speed up your workflow.