Learning Logic Pro X

[gregb]

Hi @scott1 and thanks for keeping this going.

I’ve been really happy with Ravenscroft + Logic, so much so that it’s all that I use now for everything–practice, playing, and recording (obviously). What I like about practicing and playing with this setup as opposed to Ravenscroft by itself is the ability to use the Logic metronome for practice, the ability to add an additional layered VST from Logic, and the ability to record ideas on the fly–it’s especially helpful when I’m working on an arrangement, since sometimes I’ll play 4 bars that I like but then while figuring out the next 4 bars I forget what I played previously!

But I don’t think there are any settings for Ravenscroft in Logic that wouldn’t apply to Ravenscroft by itself. I’m attaching a few screenshots that show my main template and here’s what’s different from default:

1. Mikes are 100% “Close” + ~ 30% “Player” (Ravenscroft);
2. Pull down the velocity a little bit (Ravenscroft);
3. Turn off pedal noise (Ravenscroft);
4. Add Channel EQ with Grand piano 1 default (Logic);

#2 and #4 will obviously depend on idiosyncracies of your keyboard, touch, and speaker setup. Speaking of which, my setup is extremely sensitive to monitor placement and room acoustics; for quite some time I thought the sound from my setup was way too harsh, but I eventually realized it was all because the monitors were too close to the wall behind them. So–I would suggest that you “tune” your sound first using high quality headphones to get it exactly the way you like it, and then try and mimic that with monitors/speakers by varying placement and/or EQ.

I looked through Hayden’s template and he has pretty close to default settings on the Ravenscroft, and the only thing he adds is a compressor that is most important when you bounce, i.e. record a project. But I haven’t done anything special to bounce, I just use the default Logic settings and it comes out OK. Everything I’ve posted here has been recorded that way.

I’ll be interested to hear about any other experience/opinions/feedback.

[Hayden]

Thanks @scott1 - I wish I had more knowledge to share here. I’m a bit of a rookie with this stuff and luckily I had a friend with some knowledge of audio engineering who set up the Ravenscroft in a Logic workbook for me.

As @gregb mentioned, my Ravenscroft settings are close to default.

One thing I have done recently is upgraded my mic setup and I have learnt a lot about choosing mics, hooking up a mic to logic, using the “cloudlifter” to increase the gain, and then tweaking the settings on the audio interface and in Logic to make sure that the audio is loud and crystal clear without peaking or distortion.

I will create a thread on this topic later this month and hopefully it will be useful for singers, podcasters, and folks who do any type of voiceover work.

[scott1]

I’ve started including the study of Logic Pro into my daily practice sessions. The courses I’m using are on https://www.ask.video/, as I mentioned in an earlier post. Some of the beginning lessons, as well as some of the more advanced ones, are led by Joshua Carney, whom @gregb recommended before.

As with any new software program, it’s somewhat daunting at first. But on a closer look, it’s not that complicated to get to the point of recording your playing for study purposes. Think of when you first learned how to use a word processor. It looks overwhelming, but then you figure out that there’s a lot of stuff you’ll never use, so you just focus on what you need. And when you need something more advanced, you can learn it as you go.

Things to like about Logic, as gregb mentioned in another post:

*  ability to use the Logic metronome for practice
* the ability to add an additional layered VST from Logic
*  the ability to record ideas on the fly–it’s especially helpful when I’m working on an arrangement, since sometimes I’ll play 4 bars that I like but then while figuring out the next 4 bars I forget what I played previously

I’ll add to the last point that session late at night when you’re well into your cups and play those most amazing licks that you won’t remember playing the night before .

But seriously, that is a very good point. There are ways to create a take folder where you can loop through a certain passage and improvise over it again and again, and then choose the best version, or even create a composite version incorporating several of the various takes. That’s impressive.

Another point that I just came across. You can take notes about the session at both the Project and the Track level. I can see how important that would be for large projects. But it can be of use for those who are at the very basic level. Listen to your recording. Note where you need to focus. Make a note of what you need to work on.

And a final note for now–on transcription. I have a pretty good ear and can work out most things on a note and chord level (with time). But I’m totally hopeless at writing the transcription. Solution? Record it in Logic. Then open the Piano Roll Editor and select Score. All is transcribed there correctly. Open page view and print.

I hope some of this will be of use.

[scott1]

@gregb and @hayden,

I have a couple of questions:

What is the best audio format to bounce a tune in order to share it in PianoGroove: .wav or .mp3?

More importantly, how do I upload the file to the site?

I just finished transcribing the basic outline of a tune that I’m working on and was fiddling about with it as I try to learn the program. I thought I’d share.

Thanks.

[gregb]

Hi Scott,

Definitely mp3; wav is unnecessarily big. Logic gives you different options for mp3 conversion (bit rate, etc) but I just use the default choices.

Then start a thread or reply to an existing one, add a sentence or two of explanatory text and click the upload icon (bar with upward arrow) and you should be good to go.

Look forward to hearing what you’re working on!

[scott1]

Thanks @gregb! I just uploaded my first try.

[kirk1]

I tackled the learning curve in Logic a few years ago. One of the best resources for me beyond YouTube was the Logic Pro Help forum. I’ve always gotten great help from the community there. The owner of the forum, Dave, literally wrote the book that is used for Logic certification training and he is also very active on the forum.

[scott1]

Thanks Kirk,
That sounds like a great resource. Thanks for sharing.

[scott1]

@gregb,
You said that it "[s]ounded like [I] had three tracks—one for the LH and two for the right, slit between piano and strings. I thought it worked very well.

Thanks for that! However, I only have two tracks.

I recorded the piano midi track just playing the Ravenscroft 275 (both hands). Then, I created another track and copied the piano midi track and pasted it. I then assigned a pad called “Universe returns” to that second track. I fiddled with the volume of that track, trying to balance the sound until it seemed to work.

That’s something fun to play around with. There are so many pads. I spent an hour or more just listening to the various options. Some were totally unworkable with this piece. Quite a few sounded interesting.

Here are my piano settings–key noise, reverb level and hall, etc.

I’m only about 10 days in learning the program. After that brief time, I can now highly recommend the classes I mentioned in my first post above. Apart from the nuts and bolts of recording, mixing, editing, etc. there is a lesson devoted solely to the electric pianos that come with Logic and another to the Hammond B3. The B3 lesson alone is worth the monthly fee. The pianos included in Logic are okay, but the electric pianos are very good, and the B3 is as powerful as any third party plug-in that costs the same as Logic itself.

[scott1]

@gregb,

Again, thanks for listening to “Corcovado.”!

The sound is the “Watery Rhodes” found in the Experimental section of Logic’s electric piano offerings. And that’s what it was in my choosing it–an experiment.

Thanks for your suggestions. That would definitely be one way to play it. I envisioned the track as one to be accompanied by at least a bass and a drum track. I’m trying to figure out how to create a full band in the program. So all this is a learning experience for now.

It really is amazing how much depth there is in such a relatively inexpensive program for what it offers. (Some piano VSTs are around $600.)

[scott1]

I just came across a video that shows how to create a track in iRealPro that you can export to a MIDI file to use in Logic Pro X. The example he uses is pretty basic–as in you probably don’t need iRealPro to create this progression–but it shows how to do it. It might prove useful for practicing solos, especially using take tracks.

Fast MIDI Song Structures with iRealPro

[scott1]

I’ve been working on Clare Fischer’s “Morning,” and started fiddling around to see how I might approach it using Logic. It’ll take a lot of time to work out the whole song, so I figured I’d play around with a few bars to see what might be possible. Here’s a snippet with four parts–electric piano, vibraphone, bass, and drums. @gregb, thought you might be interested.

[scott1]

I’ve been working on the intro to “Rabo de nube” by Silvio Rodríguez in Logic. Here’s a take on the introduction. You may want to turn down the volume a bit. Enjoy!

[paul1523727]

Nice Scott - sound is so crisp!!!

[scott1]

Thanks @paul1523727!

[celia]

Very nice Scott. Sounds like you are having fun!

[scott1]

Here’s something new from Apple. You can now download a full version of Logic Pro X for a free 90-day trial. You can learn quite a bit in three months and decide if it’s for you. Have fun!

Logic Pro - Free Trial

[scott1]

Apple has released Logic Pro 10.7!

It requires macOS 11 (Big Sur) or greater, but Ravenscroft 275–which many here use–works with any macOS from 9 on, so it’s all good there. [I downloaded Big Sur to my desktop today, and it works just fine.] And all VSL (Vienna Symphonic Library) samples and software work on a macOS 11 system, as well as with the new M1 chips and with Apple’s Rosetta 2 installed.

Here’s a free video showcasing the new version. You might be interested in the first three short lessons (more or less 10-12 minutes for all). The first is an overview. The next two explore this new concept of spatial audio and Dolby Atmos. Get your headphones on and listen. It’s fascinating.

(This video is from Ask.Video, the site I’ve subscribed to in order to learn Logic Pro.)

https://ask.video/video/what-s-new-in-logic-pro-10-7/1-introduction-to-logic-10-7

[scott1]

Everyone who uses Logic Pro records their tunes in order to hear what needs work, but it’s also useful to capture informal improvization.

After I close out a formal practice session, a couple of times a week I like to fiddle about freeform, where it’s anything goes. Most is something that I’ll delete. But I often wind up hearing something interesting that I’d like to come back to later. As I can’t easily notate what I’m playing, I have found using Logic Pro to capture whatever I’ve come across to be a perfect solution.

I can then use the Piano Roll Score editor to print (or copy to PDF format) what
I’ve recorded so that I can revisit what I’ve done. If I don’t, it was just an enjoyable musical interlude that I’ll never remember.

[If anyone would like to know a way to clean up the way the transcription prints–eliminating ugly pedal point markers–let me know. There’s no point in posting such information if no one knows what I’m talking about.]

At any rate, a couple of days ago, I was finished with my practice and came across a descending minor phrase that interested me. I tried to incorporate it into my fiddling about and came up with this bit. The phrase shows up a few times. The clip is sloppy in parts, but it was a one take and out. Maybe you might find it of interest. Turn the volume down a bit and enjoy.

[scott1]

Here’s something that might be of interest from a recent tweet from iRealPro.

Exporting to MIDI and MusicXML — iReal Pro.