- Logic Pro X Tutorial: Get Mixing in a Powerful DAW - Produce Like A Pro

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How to prepare your Logic Pro project for your mixing engineer.

 

Our session is pretty small at only 12 tracks, if you have a large session, color coding is vital. Most people apply colors based on instrument type e. Hit X to bring up the mixer, select the tracks, and apply some color again. A static mix involves setting the volume or level for each track, and creating some stereo depth using pan. Hit X to bring up the mixer, and use the faders to balance out the volume of each track.

For example, kick drums and bass guitar often battle for space in the low frequencies, while electric guitars and vocals can have issues in the mids. Pay close attention to the Stereo Out track, which is the master output. Try to keep the level at around -6dB. Remember, 0dB is the ceiling, and once you start pushing levels above this, digital distortion occurs.

This is the pan pot panoramic potentiometer , and you will use it to position each track within the stereo field. Whereas the fader controls the level or volume of each track, pan controls whether the track appears in the left or right side of the mix, or anywhere in between.

Again, there are no hard and fast rules here, though typically lead vocals, bass, kick and snare are kept at centre. You should experiment with opening up the cymbals or overhead tracks as wide as possible, and if you have multiple guitar or keyboard tracks, try panning them left and right too. Try sitting the guitars just inside the cymbals, or vice versa. If you have several vocal tracks, for example one lead vocal and two backing vocal harmonies, try panning the harmonies a little to either side of the stereo field for a thick sound.

EQ is the process of manipulating the frequency spectrum of a track, and is used to either cut offensive frequencies, or boost desired ones. It features low and high cuts, low and high shelves, and 4 bell peak type nodes. You can edit the peak frequency by simply clicking and holding a node and moving it left to right, and you can apply a boost or cut by dragging it up or down.

You can also click and drag on the numerical equivalent at the bottom of the interface, or double click and enter a specific value. Where equalization is concerned with controlling the frequency range in a mix, compression is used to control the dynamic range of your tracks. It can also be used to change the tonal character of an instrument. Certain guitar or bass notes may have been played more softly or louder than others, or your vocalist may have moved closer to or further away from the microphone during recording.

As with equalizers, compressors are incredibly complex, as you can see from the number of controls in the above GUI. Compressors work to control the dynamic range by compressing or turning down , audio signals when they go above a certain level.

You use the controls of the compressor to set the point at which compression occurs, to what degree, and how quickly among other things. The five most important parameters to get the hang of are threshold, ratio, attack, release, and make up. The threshold controls the point at which the compressor kicks into action. You can think of it like setting the ceiling. When the track level reaches above this ceiling the threshold , the compressor will engage and compress or turn down the audio.

The ratio control tells the compressor how much to compress the signal above that level. This is expressed as a ratio such as , etc. The higher the ratio, the more the compressor reacts. At a ratio of , our dB signal will be compressed to dB the difference between the threshold [db] and the signal level [dB] divided by 2.

The attack and release controls determine how fast the compressor kicks in when a signal passes the threshold attack , and how quickly the compressor disengages after the signal falls back below the threshold release. These two controls affect how much compression is applied, for how long, and greatly contribute to the sonic quality of the compression. Sometimes labelled make up gain, this control is used to match the compressed and uncompressed signal levels. Because compressors often make things sound louder, it can be difficult to compare and accurately gauge the effect of a compressor when switching between the affected and unaffected signal.

Because the human ear naturally favours louder signals , the louder, compressed track often sounds better by comparison. Use the make up control to ensure the levels are consistent so you can judge the effect of compression more accurately. Compression is best used to control overly dynamic instruments, for example, an inconsistent vocal recording. Use the loop control in Logic to select a section of vocals, and open up the compressor plugin.

Start with a modest ratio of is generally seen as the middle ground in compression ratios. Roll back the threshold control until the compressor starts engaging when the loud vocals kick in. The goal here is to allow the compressor to kick into gear only when the vocals get too loud, not at all times.

That said, you may want to apply a little compression to the vocal tracks e. If the compressor is acting on vocal transients too slowly, make the attack quicker. Experiment with different attack, release, threshold, and ratio settings until you find the perfect setting.

Logic, being Logic, has tonnes of built in effects that you can use to spice up your tracks, add some depth and interest, and make your productions sound just like the pros do. Imagine a ball of blue light directly in front of you. The horizontal field left to right , is controlled by pan. Whereas the vertical up and down , represents frequency, which is dependent on the type of instrument bass guitar vs violin for example , as well as any equalization applied.

The volume or level controlled by the fader as well as compression , is represented by the light becoming brighter or duller. This is controlled using reverb. By using all four fields or spectrums stereo, dynamic, frequency and depth , you can give each instrument its own space in a mix, meaning every track can be heard clearly.

Before the world of plugins, and even before outboard hardware effects, reverb was literally created in a physical space. For example, if you wanted a big chamber sound on a choir, you had to record the choir in a big chamber!

Obviously this is incredibly inconvenient, so sound engineers quickly figured out how to emulate this effect using springs and plates. Predelay The predelay parameters control the amount of time in milliseconds between the dry signal and the first reflection. Reflectivity Have you noticed how some rooms are more reflective or noisy than others? Think of the difference in reflectiveness between an empty hall, and your living room with carpet, sofa and thick curtains.

The higher it is set, the longer the reverb effect will last for. Higher settings are great for creative effects, though if you are trying to create a small amount of space on a vocal or lead instrument, try rolling this back a bit.

Turn Wet all the way up and Dry all the way down, and you will only hear the affected signal. Music Production. Table of Contents 1. Gain Staging 2. Balancing 3. Panning 4. Bussing 5. Problem-solving 6. Committing 1. Gain Staging If you know me, you know I am hot pun excused on the issue of gain staging. Balancing This is the key to mixing. The sound stage is a 3-dimensional space. Mixing IS balancing. Panning This is the natural next step after fader work.

It really helps to understand the psychoacoustic nature of stereophonic sound. Bussing I like to make life as simple as possible. Simplicity is something I feel is highly undervalued in audio today.

Bussing can help us here. Problem-solving This is where common processes such as compression and EQ come in. These processes should be seen as problem solvers. For example, if there is a resonant frequency in the vocals, deploy an EQ. Committing This is the big one. Come back to the printed mix the next day and listen with a fresh perspective.

No distracting project lanes and plugins, just listen. Take notes and execute them. Unlock Your Sound Ltd uses cookies to improve the experience and the content of this website. Functional cookies Functional cookies Always active The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.

 

- Professional mixing logic pro x free

 

Microphone Basics is supported by readers. When you buy with our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more. If you want your tracks to keep up on the sonic stage, you need to learn how to mix in Logic Pro X.

Same goes for producing electronic music in Logic, or any other software for that matter. Sure, the instruments sound pretty great out of the box, but once you layer in several synths, a couple of drum kits, a sweet bass line and some vocal chops, you start to realise something. In minutes, you can use Autotune in Logic Pro X to clean up a vocal track, switch to the Scissors tool to make some quick cuts, and apply automation in an instant. And if you mess it up, Command Z is your best friend!

Audio editing meant physically slicing tape with a razor, and splicing them back together — no Command Z here…. Applying compression to a track meant physically patching in an outboard compressor and fiddling with actual knobs. And with physical outboard gear comes a limitation, you only have as many compressors as you have!

Luckily, we live in an age where your wildest dreams are at your fingertips. Every engineer, producer or audio enthusiast has their own process for mixing, and there is in no way one best way to mix.

There are a few best practices though, and so in this tutorial you will learn about 5 key areas of mixing in Logic Pro X:. Remember though, every rule is made to be broken, and what matters is the end result. So, experiment a little and find what works for you. Chances are the names of your tracks are all over the place, like they are in our session. This is especially important when in the mixer view as the text display is fairly narrow. Our session is still looking pretty bland, so we are going to add a splash of color.

Our session is pretty small at only 12 tracks, if you have a large session, color coding is vital. Most people apply colors based on instrument type e.

Hit X to bring up the mixer, select the tracks, and apply some color again. A static mix involves setting the volume or level for each track, and creating some stereo depth using pan. Hit X to bring up the mixer, and use the faders to balance out the volume of each track. For example, kick drums and bass guitar often battle for space in the low frequencies, while electric guitars and vocals can have issues in the mids. Pay close attention to the Stereo Out track, which is the master output.

Try to keep the level at around -6dB. Remember, 0dB is the ceiling, and once you start pushing levels above this, digital distortion occurs. This is the pan pot panoramic potentiometer , and you will use it to position each track within the stereo field. Whereas the fader controls the level or volume of each track, pan controls whether the track appears in the left or right side of the mix, or anywhere in between.

Again, there are no hard and fast rules here, though typically lead vocals, bass, kick and snare are kept at centre. You should experiment with opening up the cymbals or overhead tracks as wide as possible, and if you have multiple guitar or keyboard tracks, try panning them left and right too. Try sitting the guitars just inside the cymbals, or vice versa. If you have several vocal tracks, for example one lead vocal and two backing vocal harmonies, try panning the harmonies a little to either side of the stereo field for a thick sound.

EQ is the process of manipulating the frequency spectrum of a track, and is used to either cut offensive frequencies, or boost desired ones. It features low and high cuts, low and high shelves, and 4 bell peak type nodes. You can edit the peak frequency by simply clicking and holding a node and moving it left to right, and you can apply a boost or cut by dragging it up or down. You can also click and drag on the numerical equivalent at the bottom of the interface, or double click and enter a specific value.

Where equalization is concerned with controlling the frequency range in a mix, compression is used to control the dynamic range of your tracks.

It can also be used to change the tonal character of an instrument. Certain guitar or bass notes may have been played more softly or louder than others, or your vocalist may have moved closer to or further away from the microphone during recording.

As with equalizers, compressors are incredibly complex, as you can see from the number of controls in the above GUI. Compressors work to control the dynamic range by compressing or turning down , audio signals when they go above a certain level. You use the controls of the compressor to set the point at which compression occurs, to what degree, and how quickly among other things. The five most important parameters to get the hang of are threshold, ratio, attack, release, and make up.

The threshold controls the point at which the compressor kicks into action. You can think of it like setting the ceiling. When the track level reaches above this ceiling the threshold , the compressor will engage and compress or turn down the audio. The ratio control tells the compressor how much to compress the signal above that level. This is expressed as a ratio such as , etc. The higher the ratio, the more the compressor reacts.

At a ratio of , our dB signal will be compressed to dB the difference between the threshold [db] and the signal level [dB] divided by 2. The attack and release controls determine how fast the compressor kicks in when a signal passes the threshold attack , and how quickly the compressor disengages after the signal falls back below the threshold release.

These two controls affect how much compression is applied, for how long, and greatly contribute to the sonic quality of the compression. Sometimes labelled make up gain, this control is used to match the compressed and uncompressed signal levels. Because compressors often make things sound louder, it can be difficult to compare and accurately gauge the effect of a compressor when switching between the affected and unaffected signal.

Because the human ear naturally favours louder signals , the louder, compressed track often sounds better by comparison.

Use the make up control to ensure the levels are consistent so you can judge the effect of compression more accurately. Compression is best used to control overly dynamic instruments, for example, an inconsistent vocal recording. Use the loop control in Logic to select a section of vocals, and open up the compressor plugin. Start with a modest ratio of is generally seen as the middle ground in compression ratios.

Roll back the threshold control until the compressor starts engaging when the loud vocals kick in. The goal here is to allow the compressor to kick into gear only when the vocals get too loud, not at all times. That said, you may want to apply a little compression to the vocal tracks e.

If the compressor is acting on vocal transients too slowly, make the attack quicker. Experiment with different attack, release, threshold, and ratio settings until you find the perfect setting. Logic, being Logic, has tonnes of built in effects that you can use to spice up your tracks, add some depth and interest, and make your productions sound just like the pros do.

Imagine a ball of blue light directly in front of you. The horizontal field left to right , is controlled by pan. Whereas the vertical up and down , represents frequency, which is dependent on the type of instrument bass guitar vs violin for example , as well as any equalization applied.

The volume or level controlled by the fader as well as compression , is represented by the light becoming brighter or duller. This is controlled using reverb. By using all four fields or spectrums stereo, dynamic, frequency and depth , you can give each instrument its own space in a mix, meaning every track can be heard clearly. Before the world of plugins, and even before outboard hardware effects, reverb was literally created in a physical space.

For example, if you wanted a big chamber sound on a choir, you had to record the choir in a big chamber! Obviously this is incredibly inconvenient, so sound engineers quickly figured out how to emulate this effect using springs and plates.

Predelay The predelay parameters control the amount of time in milliseconds between the dry signal and the first reflection. Reflectivity Have you noticed how some rooms are more reflective or noisy than others? Think of the difference in reflectiveness between an empty hall, and your living room with carpet, sofa and thick curtains. The higher it is set, the longer the reverb effect will last for. Higher settings are great for creative effects, though if you are trying to create a small amount of space on a vocal or lead instrument, try rolling this back a bit.

Turn Wet all the way up and Dry all the way down, and you will only hear the affected signal. Experiment with the two controls to find the perfect balance for your application. Typically, bass instruments are left out of the reverb game. This is because tracks tend to get muddy when reverb is applied on the low end. Have a play if you like, but make sure you are paying attention to the clarity in the low end when using reverb on kick drums or bass.

To help bring the kit together nicely, try sending some of the other drums to the same reverb, such as the toms. One of the most widely used effects amongst guitarists, delay is an effect often employed by sound engineers to create depth and interest in a mix. The difference between delay and reverb is that delay is not space focused it is not emulating a physical space , it is a time based effect that makes use of a repeat as opposed to a reflection.

It might help to imagine delay as the reflection from a single surface. Delay Time As delay is a more musical effect than reverb, its time factors are often represented by note lengths i. This is a cool way to produce an interesting ping-pong type effect in a mix.

Alternatively, you can set the left and right signals to the same delay time for a more traditional delay effect. Feedback The feedback parameter essentially controls how many repeats you will hear, and therefore how long the delay effect continues for. When this is set to 0, you will hear only one repeat. As you turn up the feedback, more and more of the affected signal is fed back into the delay effect.

For example, you may have several vocal tracks for which you wish to use just one reverb type. If your head is spinning trying to understand the difference between sends, busses, and aux tracks, try thinking of it like this.

The bus is a path that picks up all the passengers tracks , and takes them to the next location.