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# How to Use ES2 in Logic Pro
- URL: https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-es2/
- Published: 2026-10-15T13:12:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-21T17:22:42.000Z
- Description: Build an ES2 patch from a plain saw sound, then add the oscillator balance, filter movement and note shape the part actually needs.
- Author: Marcus Sullivan
- Tags: Create, plugins, Tutorials

To start using ES2 in Logic Pro, load it in a software instrument track’s Instrument slot, choose **Tutorial Settings > Analog Saw Init** in its preset menu, and shape that plain sound with the filter and ENV3\. Add a second oscillator or a modulation route when you can hear what the first change does.

[Download](#)

ES2 rewards that approach. Its three oscillators, two filters and modulation Router give you plenty of ways to make basses, leads and moving pads, but a busy preset can hide the control responsible for the sound. I’d build the first patch from a simple starting point, then keep the useful version before experimenting.

## Find ES2 and load a clean starting sound

1. Create or select a **software instrument track** and show its channel strip in the Inspector or Mixer.
2. Click the **Instrument** slot and choose ES2\. If an instrument already occupies the slot, hover over it and use the arrows at the right to choose a replacement. The center opens the instrument already loaded.
3. ES2 is one of the current synthesizers, so look for it in the ordinary menu, not in the **Legacy** folder that Option-clicking the slot reveals; Apple documents this [instrument and legacy plug-in menu behavior](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/add-remove-move-and-copy-plug-ins-lgcpbc218a22/mac).
4. In the ES2 window’s header, open the Settings preset menu and choose **Tutorial Settings > Analog Saw Init**.
5. Play a few notes. Without a controller, use **Window > Show Musical Typing** or Command-K to [play from the Mac keyboard](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/play-software-instruments-lgcpb19cbd34/mac).

Apple identifies [Analog Saw Init as its ES2 programming starting point](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/es2-sound-design-from-scratch-overview-lgsia1292b4/mac): an unfiltered sawtooth without the extra modulation of a finished patch. Lower the listening level before trying unfamiliar sounds. Save an existing patch first if replacing it would lose something you want to keep.

This guide covers ES2 on Mac. MIDI input and recording are separate jobs. Use the [MIDI recording workflow](https://logicpros.net/how-to-record-midi-logic-pro/) when you’re ready to capture the part.

## Choose the tone, then balance the three oscillators

The **Wave** knob selects an oscillator’s waveform. Its tuning controls change pitch: coarse tuning works in semitones, while the fine value includes cents. Click the numbered button beside an oscillator to turn it on or off; green means active and gray means inactive. These are the [documented ES2 oscillator controls](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/oscillator-parameters-overview-lgsia126e54/mac).

The dark **Mix Triangle** determines how much of each oscillator you hear. Move its pointer toward one corner to favor that oscillator. The center blends all three. A position along one side excludes the opposite oscillator, so an active oscillator can be inaudible simply because the mix is elsewhere.

![ES2 oscillator Mix Triangle with oscillator 1 at the upper-right corner, 2 at the left and 3 at the lower-right](https://storage.ghost.io/c/20/71/2071c898-de7d-454c-9b19-3de1581e628d/content/images/2026/10/logic-pro-es2-oscillator-mix.webp)

Move the pointer toward an oscillator’s corner to hear more of it. The center blends all three.

For the first patch, favor oscillator 1\. Bring in oscillator 2 for a different waveform, an octave relationship or a little detuning, then decide whether oscillator 3 adds anything useful. Apple’s [Triangle guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/balance-oscillator-levels-lgsia124df4/mac) explains the level relationships. Using the third oscillator is optional.

ES2 combines subtractive, FM and wavetable synthesis. Oscillator 1 can be frequency-modulated by oscillator 2; oscillators 2 and 3 also offer synchronization and ring-modulation relationships with oscillator 1\. The [instrument includes 100 Digiwaves](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/es2-overview-lgsia12923e/mac) for digital tones. Leave those deeper choices for after the basic waveform, filter and note shape make sense.

## Make the filter choice audible

Start by listening to one filter. At **Filter Blend -1** only Filter 1 is audible. At **+1** only Filter 2 is audible. That holds in both series and parallel configurations. If adjusting a filter seems to do nothing, inspect Blend before making a more extreme cutoff change.

Make sure the **Filter** button has the filter section turned on, then choose a lowpass filter for the first patch. Reduce **Cut** to soften the upper frequencies and raise it to let more through. Add **Res** only when you want emphasis around the cutoff. Filter 1 also provides highpass, bandpass, band rejection and peak modes. Filter 2 is a lowpass filter with several slopes, described in Apple’s [ES2 filter controls](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/es2-filter-overview-lgsi24401a9c/mac).

Once one filter works, compare the two [routing configurations](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/filter-configuration-lgsia128a83/mac). With Blend at zero, **series** sends the signal through Filter 1 and then Filter 2, while **parallel** mixes their separate outputs equally. Moving Blend changes that relationship. In series, positive values partially bypass Filter 1 and negative values partially bypass Filter 2\. Apple’s [Filter Blend signal-flow guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/crossfade-between-filters-lgsia128c58/mac) also shows how Drive placement depends on the configuration and Blend value.

I’d keep Drive down while choosing the cutoff and filter type. Otherwise distortion can become the feature you’re judging, even when the question was which filter suits the part.

## Use ENV3 for volume and ENV2 for brightness

**ENV3 always controls the level of each note.** You don’t need to create a Router assignment for that basic job. Apple documents this fixed connection in the [ES2 dynamic stage](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-the-dynamic-stage-lgsidfa7e069/mac). Use ENV3 when the sound starts too slowly, dies too soon or hangs around after you release the key.

![ES2 ENV3 volume envelope with Attack, Decay, Sustain and Time, Release and Velocity controls](https://storage.ghost.io/c/20/71/2071c898-de7d-454c-9b19-3de1581e628d/content/images/2026/10/logic-pro-es2-env3-v2.webp)

ENV3 shapes each note’s volume. Release controls the fade after note-off; Sustain sets the held level.

- **A:** attack time. ES2’s upper and lower attack handles can give high- and low-velocity notes different attack times.
- **D:** decay time, from the initial peak toward the sustain level.
- **S and Time:** sustain level and its separate time behavior. Leave Time at the center infinity position while learning an ordinary held sustain.
- **R:** release time after note-off.
- **Vel:** how strongly playing velocity affects the envelope’s output.

The same [envelope controls apply to ENV2 and ENV3](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/envelope-2-and-3-controls-lgsia124b45/mac), but their jobs differ. ENV2 is already wired to filter cutoff in the documented tutorial setup. Its shape and the Router’s modulation intensity work together. Changing the envelope alone isn’t enough if its route has no effective amount.

For a short bass, try a fast attack, a brief decay and a short release. For a pad, try a slower attack and longer release. These are programming directions. They aren’t preset values, so judge the tail with the actual MIDI note lengths and the arrangement: a long release can fill the gaps that were giving the part its rhythm.

## Add one clear modulation route

ES2’s Router has ten routes. Each answers three questions: **Target** is what changes, **Source** is what drives the change, and **Via** is an optional control that scales its intensity. The slider beside the route sets the modulation amount. Apple’s [Router instructions](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-the-modulation-router-lgsia1284cf/mac) distinguish this amount from the source’s own settings.

![ES2 Router route with Cut 1+2 as Target, Off as Via, Env2 as Source and the intensity slider](https://storage.ghost.io/c/20/71/2071c898-de7d-454c-9b19-3de1581e628d/content/images/2026/10/logic-pro-es2-router.webp)

Env2 moves Cut 1+2 when the route has an effective intensity. Via Off keeps the assignment independent of a controller.

1. Inspect the existing routes before adding another. The tutorial setting already provides a filter-envelope route.
2. For envelope-controlled brightness, use **Cut 1+2** as Target and **Env2** as Source.
3. Set **Via** to **Off** for the first comparison.
4. Raise the route’s positive intensity gradually while holding or repeating the same note. Keep the filter cutoff in a range where opening it can change the tone.
5. Shape ENV2’s attack and decay, then listen to the resulting brightness change.

To make the modulation wheel control the depth, choose **ModWhl** as Via and set the route’s lower and upper intensity limits. With a Via source active, the intensity slider splits into two handles. A route that sounds inactive with the wheel down may be working exactly as assigned.

Use the route’s **b/p** switch to compare it without losing its settings. Avoid Clear Matrix while diagnosing one route: it initializes the whole Router.

For repeating brightness movement, make Filter 2 audible, keep its base cutoff between the extremes, and use one Router slot: **LFO2 → Cutoff 2**, Via Off, with a small positive intensity. Set LFO 2 Rate in its [lower, tempo-synced range](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-the-lfos-lgsib7dd3d66/mac) and hold a chord while changing only the rate or depth. LFO2 applies the same movement to all voices. [LFO1 restarts independently for each note](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/lfo-overview-lgsi619bb15b/mac), so a newly played note can begin a different modulation phase. Keep the route that supports the rhythm.

## Set chords, glide and effects after the core sound

Use **Poly** for chords and check the **Voices** setting when notes are cut short by new notes. Mono and Legato are single-note choices. With a nonzero Glide time, ES2 glides in Poly and Mono. In Legato it glides when notes overlap, according to Apple’s [Glide conditions](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/set-the-glide-time-lgsia129585/mac). The [Piano Roll workflow](https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-piano-roll/) covers those note overlaps.

**Unison changes the voice budget.** In Poly it doubles the voices used for each note and halves the available polyphony. In Mono or Legato it stacks voices for the single note. Apple’s [Unison and Voices guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-the-unison-and-voices-controls-lgsia124d7f/mac) explains that distinction. Do not treat the Voices readout as the number of independent chord notes in every mode.

The effects section combines Soft or Hard distortion with one of Chorus, Flanger or Phaser. Setting Distortion to zero disables that distortion; setting Intensity to zero disables the modulation effect. Use those [effect controls](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/es2-integrated-effects-processor-controls-lgsia126eca/mac) to hear whether a patch still works without its finish. Match listening level when comparing: louder is an easy distraction.

## Make a pad evolve with the Vector Envelope

The Triangle balances oscillators. The separate square **Planar Pad** addresses parameters chosen in its X and Y target menus, with their own intensities. The **Vector Envelope** moves those pointers over time. It shares the Router’s display area, so click **Vector** at the right to show it.

For a first moving patch, keep the job small:

1. Choose distinct oscillator tones and a balance that produces an audible note.
2. Set **Vector Mode** to **Mix**, which controls the Triangle alone.
3. Select the envelope’s first point and set the Triangle position. Select the next point and choose a different balance.
4. Drag the numerical Time value vertically to change the interval from the preceding point. Apple’s [Vector time instructions](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/set-vector-envelope-times-lgsia127104/mac) note that this also shifts later points.
5. Turn **Solo Point off**, then play a fresh held note.

The last switch is easy to misread: **Solo Point on freezes the selected point’s positions** and disables the envelope’s movement. Off makes it active. Apple’s [Vector mode instructions](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-the-vector-envelope-lgsia125eee/mac) define Mix, XY, Mix+XY and Off, while its [point-editing guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-vector-envelope-points-lgsidfa7e293/mac) explains how each point stores pointer positions.

The Sustain point holds its value until note-off when no loop is engaged and the held note reaches that point. Each voice starts its own Vector Envelope on note-on. Set the timing before adding more points. A note that ends early won’t reveal a later transition. For XY movement, first assign the [Planar Pad’s targets and intensities](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-the-planar-pad-lgsia129b9d/mac), then select XY or Mix+XY.

## Save useful versions before randomizing

Choose **Settings > Save Setting As** in the plug-in header to create a named preset. Save Setting overwrites the existing setting. The project stores its plug-in settings too, but a separate preset lets you reuse the sound, as Apple’s [settings guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/work-with-plug-in-settings-lgcp4dcb0092/mac) explains.

ES2’s **RND** button changes the current state, so repeated clicks accumulate changes. Save the starting version and reload it between variants you want to compare. Use the restriction menu to randomize a smaller group, such as Waves or Filters, instead of disturbing the entire patch. The [randomization controls](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/use-randomization-parameters-lgsia126c3c/mac) and [parameter restrictions](https://support.apple.com/guide/logicpro/restrict-randomization-lgsia125f63/mac) give you that control.

If the useful sound relies on downstream effects, keep those with the channel-strip setup as well. Name the preset by its musical job. A Short verse bass is easier to find than another anonymous variation.

## When an ES2 change seems to do nothing

- **An oscillator is silent:** check its numbered on/off button and the Triangle position.
- **A filter adjustment is inaudible:** check the Filter on/off button, Filter Blend and which filter is in the signal path.
- **ENV2 or an LFO does not move the sound:** inspect Target, Source, intensity, Via and b/p. Source settings alone do not assign modulation.
- **The Vector Envelope stays still:** check Vector Mode, turn Solo Point off and play a new note.
- **A chord loses notes:** check Poly, Voices, Unison and long ENV3 release tails competing for voices.
- **A note starts late:** inspect ENV3 attack before moving MIDI notes. If a fast-attack patch is late too, follow the [Logic Pro latency diagnostic](https://logicpros.net/how-to-fix-latency-in-logic-pro/).

Once the patch works in the song, save it and leave the rest of the controls alone until the part needs a change. The [Create Music hub](https://logicpros.net/logic-pro-create-music/) connects that instrument sound to recording, arrangement and the rest of the writing workflow.