This is another less than exciting task but also super important to your mix prep stage: Gain staging. This is when you make sure each audio file is sitting a healthy level. What is healthy? Well there are tons of forums and debates about this... but the main thing is this:

1. Don't let the input come in too hot... ie peaking the meters.

2. Don't let the input be so soft that there is no way to turn it up enough even after jacking up the fader.

A good general level to aim for is -18 to -10 db. But don't stress about it too. much.. not too loud and not too quiet. : ) 

An easy way to meter this is with Pre Fader metering... that will give you the best picture of what the audio file is actually coming in at. 

From there you can use Clip Gain to adjust the level until its sitting in a good place. 

NOTE: Gain control in Logic is a little weird. You can find it the inspector but there is not really anything next to it. So you have to click and drag in the blank...

LFO tools are a great way to add excitement, motion, and dynamics to any track in your session. In this video I will explain what an LFO tool is and give some applications for your music.

If you have ever thought about buying the LFO tool from Xfer records you should watch this video first. 

I'll also show you the free LFO tool hack that already comes with logic.

Check out the video, try out the techniques for yourself, then you can decide if you want to drop the 50 bucks or stick with the free version.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Have fun and GO MAKE MUSIC!

Kirk

INTRO I want to start with a disclaimer that a good mastering engineer is worth their weight in gold. They master music everyday and they are not as close to your music as you are. Having a trusted second set of ears can be invaluable to your music. They the room, the gear, and most of all the experience to make sure your mix is the best it can be before being released to the world. That being said, you do need to understand and even experiment with the mastering process to really improve your own mixes and productions. I am not going to go into the history of mastering here. I will not talk about the loudness wars either. I just want to give you some practical advice about mastering so that you understand what mastering actually does, and use that understanding to make better music! I use the following concepts and tools for every production I do.  

STEP 1 - Metering

Your EARS AND EMOTIONS ARE WHERE YOU START AND END, that being said, you will want to use and become familiar...

This is one of my favorite 808 Drum kits! The secret to its feel is the round robin samples. Meaning they took multiple "snap shot" samples of each sound in the original hardware unit and every time you press the same key it is triggering a new sample of that sound.. Its pretty powerful and the hi hats are especially amazing! : ) 

In this video I take you on a tour of the entire drum kit but you can also have a FREE version that is still round robin, its just a few less sounds and samples but still an awesome instrument to have in your tool kit!

Check out the free kit HERE.

Now Go Make Music!

Kirk

 P.S. Use the code gomakemusic at checkout and get the R&D version of this kit for only $5! Check it out HERE 

This is a great hack to quickly write arpeggiated parts that you can then tweak later in the piano roll editor. Have fun composing your next tune with this hack!

Kirk

Go Make Music

Today I want to show you something that will revolutionize your mixing, develop your ears and teach you tons about about mixing:

Using reference music IN your mix session!

This one activity can be the difference between a good mix and a great mix. Its pretty simple, and after you set it up one time you’ll see why it can be so helpful.

Ill show you:

How to set up your sub mixes (AKA buses) and mix bus when using a reference. 
How to match levels between your mix and your reference. 
How to quickly toggle between mix and reference to make critiques quickly. 
Why having some kind of mastering chain on your mix will help you make good mix decisions

This is not about copying, its about having a stable point of “reference” that you can make your decisions with. Countless professional mixing engineers use references as a part of their process. The key is to find music that you love or music that fits the vision you are...

Do you write songs but but have no drumming experience?

Does the idea of programming drums make your head spin?

Are you prepping demos to give to a producer and you want more than just an acoustic and vocals?

Are prepping to go into the studio but you want to do part writing at the house?

Do you just need a rhythmic spark to get an idea going?

Logics Drummer can be a great SOLUTION for all these problems:

In this tutorial you will learn how to:

• Choose the right drummer and kit for your song.
• Tweak individual drum sounds for your kit.
• Add dynamics and interest to each song section.
• Go deep on individual drum parts by converting Drummer tracks to MIDI tracks

Sometimes you might be working on a track and the Hi Hats need a little excitement. Here are a few tips to get things going. 

In this video you will learn about:

Adding Chorus for WIDTH

Using a tremolo plugin as an auto pan for MOTION

Adding Reverb for DEPTH

Check out the video and try it out for yourself!!

Now GO MAKE MUSIC

Logic Pro X - 4 Steps to Optimize Your CPU

Tired of getting CPU overloads during productions?

Tired of latency killing the the vibe in tracking sessions?

Follow these steps to avoid these frustrations in future sessions!

Step 1: Outside Applications

Turn off all other programs. Even applications like mail can be a real CPU hog. Try launching activity monitor to see what applications are taking up some of your precious CPU.

Pause any cloud based syncing or wait until its done. Ie Dropbox or Google Drive. Be sure to resume syncing after the session to back up your work! You can monitor your CPU inside Logics custom display.

Step 2: Freeze tracks

Enable the freeze icon in track header components.

Freeze any CPU heavy tracks

This could be CPU intensive virtual instruments (ie string libraries complex synths) or any tracks with lots of FX on them.

You can modify level pan and sends with Frozen tracks but not the plugins themselves. To make changes you can unfreeze, make...

5 Steps to a BIG FAT SNARE

Step 1 - Tune the Snare

To do this you must first know the key of the song then you listen to the snare and find its natural fundamental. This song is in Em and the natural snare resonate is in F. You can use your ears and a piano or synth to listen and fins the key from there you can transpose the sample to fit the note you want. using the first pitch of the key (AKA the tonic) is always a safe bet. In this case its E. You make have to use fine tuning as well to get it just right, but mostly use your ears!

Step 2 Stack the Octaves

Once you get the snare tuned you stack the octaves one above or one below or all three.. experiment here. You might have to do some math during the process of tuning 12 semi tones. I believe in you!

Step 3 Boost the Fundamental

Now that you have the stacks its time to boost the fundamental again use your ears or an EQ analyzer (usually in the plugin) or a frequency chart to find the frequency you want to boost....