TouchOSC & Logic Pro (without Osculator)

I recently downloaded TouchOSC for my iPhone and set it up to control Logic Pro. As of the latest version of Logic Pro 9.1.2 you can use TouchOSC without even needing to install Osculator. Apparently you just install and it works out of the box. BUT – if it doesn’t work for you as smoothly as suggested (like I experienced) then it is a bit hard to work out what to fix when going through the myriad of online tutorials on setting it up as most of them are out of date and tell you to install Osculator and then configure CC numbers etc. Boring.

So for a far easier setup:

  1. Purchase and install TouchOSC on your iPhone.
  2. Make sure your computer and iPhone are on the same network.
  3. Launch TouchOSC on your iPhone and go to the network tab. Find your computer. TouchOSC should set up the IP Address and Host name. For now enter 7000 for Port (outgoing) and 9000 for Port (incoming).
  4. Now launch Logic Pro. It should say something like: “Logic Pro has detected a new OSC device named “Your iPhone”, which is supported but the control surface plug-in “TouchOSC”.
  5. Click Add. Logic will automatically setup your iPhone as a controller along with an icon in the Controller Setup dialog. If not open it and check by going Preferences > Control Surfaces > Setup. You should see it there as per the image in this post.
  6. NOW FOR THE IMPORTANT BIT: Take note of the Output Port and Input port. These should be the same as those you setup in TouchOSC on your iPhone but in reverse – this is the key. So if on your phone in TouchOSC you had Port (outgoing) as 7000 then in Logic the Input Port needs to be set to 7000 also. The same for the Port (incoming) and Output port number.
  7. Now in TouchOSC on your phone go to Layout and select LogicTouch.
  8. Have a fiddle with the controls and voila – you should see some action!

Brilliant app but sadly only one default layout (LogicTouch) that works with Logic as far as I can tell. With 3 different panes to control Logic though – its pretty damn good for $4.99 US. One day I will make some custom layouts but for now Im happy having a handy transport controller.

I hope this helps someone out one day as the tutorials on the web are all pretty advanced if you just want to get up and running quickly.

As a follow up I found this article from the author of TouchOSC that goes into a bit of detail about this.

8 thoughts on “TouchOSC & Logic Pro (without Osculator)

  1. Thanks for sharing your experience with OSC! Nice to see that it in fact works for someone. When I found your article I had already taken the steps you are describing, but in my case TouchOSC (on my iPhone) and Logic doesn’t talk much. Network ports are detected correctly at launch, but that’s about it. I have no extra firewall software. Maybe my cable internet provider has? I don’t know. When I get some time I will test this again with a network provided by my Airport Express.

  2. OK, I seem to get close then nothing. My ports are Port 7000 out on the touch and login is 7000 on the incoming port.

    9000 for the incoming on device and and 9000 on Logics’s outport. All I am getting is Logic’s output.

  3. Any Ideas. I am still getting Logic output of faders to the iPad, but not the output. I see the device in Logic, under >Preferences>control surfaces>Setup. I then clicked scan for new models and get the message that the models italicized in the install window cannot be scanned because this is technically impossible. please install these devices manually, by clicking the add button. I tried to add, but I get a message that there are no more device ID’s. Any ideas? Sure would like to get on with this.

  4. note: after selecting your network and port, you should then be able to select the host computer below. If you miss this step you’ll have access to certain controls but not all until you go back and select the host.

  5. I can’t get my iPhone to communicate with my MacMini. Do I have to use Airport on my Mac or can I use a portable internet (usb) or even ethernet? I have all three options and I’m totally confused.
    Whatever I will end up using I just don’t understand the Host/IP-address box in TouchOSC.

    When I open System Prefs/Sharing it says “Other computers in the local network can reach your computer at Per-Soderbloms-Mac-mini.local”

    Is that my Host name??

    If I open System Prefs/Network I can see an IP-address (46.194.194.169) underneath Status.

    Is that my IP-address??

    If they are I still can’t get my iPhone to talk to my Mac, which kind of drives me mad at the moment!

    I’d really appreciate any help on this!

    PS.I’ve added TouchOSC as a controller in Logic and set the output port to “All” but can’t set the input port to anything but Midi Port, Sync Port or 3 others related to my Midi Keyboard. Which is right or did I screw up on that one too???

  6. Heureka!!
    I figured it out – simply by looking at the top picture taken from logic and discovering internet sharing on my iPhone. Everything works like a charm, anI’m impressed by the range of the signal as well – I was halfway down the stairs of my house and could still control Logic. Cool!!!!

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