I hope this is okay to post here. I’ve found Scaler 3 incredibly powerful but also pretty overwhelming, so I asked a Logic Pro expert if Logic could replicate its functions. Their reply suggested workarounds, but I suspect some of Scaler 3’s core features might be unique. Could you help clarify?
Below is their breakdown (with my concerns about gaps):
SCALE LOCKING / “NO WRONG NOTES”
Logic’s Suggestion: Use Transposer (MIDI FX) + Scale Quantize.
My Question:
Can Logic handle DYNAMIC scale changes (e.g., A Minor → A Dorian mid-performance) like Scaler?
Does it support per-keyzone splits or register-based scale shifts?
CHORD TRIGGERING / CHORD SETS
Logic’s Suggestion: Use Chord Trigger (MIDI FX) or Smart Controls.
My Question:
Does Logic offer context-aware voicings (e.g., inversions, extensions) based on scale/mode, or just static mappings?
Can it suggest chord substitutions/variations in real-time?
CHORD SUGGESTIONS & THEORY HELP
Logic’s Suggestion: Use MIDI chord packs or Apple Loops.
My Question:
Scaler seems to adapt progressions based on theory (e.g., “Try a 7th here”). Does Logic have equivalents for modal interchange/borrowed chords?
Can Logic replicate Scaler’s expression-aware features (e.g., velocity-sensitive strumming/arpeggiation)?
Final Ask: Which Scaler 3 features would you consider TRULY irreplaceable in Logic? I’d love to understand what makes Scaler unique before diving deeper.
Thanks for your time—and for such a deep tool, even if it’s intimidating at first!
Not really. Logic is stuck with a relatively static small set of scales. You have to just guess which way it will go on some some scales that are not contiguous such as a pentatonic. You might be able use a different scale in a different midi region but I have not investigated it too much. I don’t do a lot of chord entry in Logic. I usually do stuff in Hookpad where you can control it directly.
Meh, somewhat when the chords are driving the Session Player things. Other than that it is not very sophisticated in its voice leading. It doesn’t suggest anything at all. Not even based on key. You just have the chromatic scale.
Nope. None at all. It doesn’t suggest anything.
The default arpeggiation is actually pretty good. You can specify velocity in it’s patterns. It has the option to use full chords as well.
The variety of patterns and arpeggiators in Scaler is much more diverse than in Logic. That said, some of the basic ones, I prefer Logic’s arpeggiation. Logic’s entry of chords in the chord track is awful. Being able to populate the chord track with Scaler is much superior. Once caveat is that Logic’s deciding what chord was played is hit or miss at times. It also doesn’t do inversions. Am/C just gets you Am for instance. Then you have to go in and modify the chord to put a different note in the bass. If there are a lot of upper extensions, you might get some chord that you will find a bit odd.
Personally, I love Scaler for some arpeggiations. It has a broader library of chords and scales. I also really love it’s mapping the key to the white keys. Some of the arpeggiations are nicer in Logic. I prefer building the chord progressions and arranging the different sections better in HookPad. The piano session player in Logic is fairly good for how I use it. I basically use it as a fancy metronome. The bass and drums session players in Logic leave me pretty cold.
I believe that you will just find parts of the tools that will fit your workflow in different tools. Others not so much. Logic has a few functions that I really like and some that are (to me) useless. Same with every other tool. HookPad has decent bass and drums (although really basic). It is good with some patterns. Others sound awful. It has pretty good voice leading. It is excellent for arranging sections. It’s chords and scales are nice but rather limited. Some of Scaler’s patterns are wonderful. Some I don’t have much use for with that I want to write. I think it is lacking in some of the patterns I am interested in. It has wonderful suggestions and is a great sandbox for more sophisticated progressions.
Considered separately, I think they each have serious gaps in their functionality. Using the three together, I find very few missing things.
Thank you for this answer. It is extremely deep and helpful. I will study it but will take me a few days. You clearly know what you are doing. Thanks again for the reply. You cause a good mindset shift in me
"Stop looking for one tool to do everything.”
Scaler for inspiration, HookPad for structure, Logic for polish and production. I’ll stop forcing things to try and make one tool to be a Swiss army knife. I might even revert back to Scaler 2 on the iPad as I love its intuitive fun touch in that format and read here that S2 is simpler for many to use than S3. I might also give Bitwig a go as I hear it can sometimes work better with workflows focused on Scaler type of music, especially when it comes to making electronic music