Course For Mastering Edm For Logic Pro For Mac

Here you can see a good all-purpose mastering configuration within Logic, made up of Multipressor, Channel EQ (or Linear Phase Equaliser), and Adaptive Limiter plug-ins in series.Photo: Apple

Although it’s a Mac-only DAW (being owned by Apple), Logic Pro X has been the staple of many electronic music producers for years. Logic is focused on high-quality sounds and a robust interface. It’s designed with musicians in mind, hence the very simple-looking interface and preset-heavy library. Aug 25, 2016  You don’t need to learn mastering in Logic, you just need to learn mastering. First read up on the various tools required- they are available in every DAW, and of course there are also twenty gazillion 3rd-party tools claiming to ‘do it better’.

More tips on mastering your tracks this month, specifically for those musicians who find themselves limited to using Logic 's own bundled plug-ins.

Last month, I had a look at how I approach mastering tasks in Logic. However, I used a number of third-party plug-ins which musicians on a budget may not have access to, so this month I wanted to pass on some advice for those trying to master their own tracks using Logic alone.

Mastering Using Logic 's Bundled Plug-ins

If I had to do a mastering job using only Logic 's own plug-ins, I'd set up a three-band Multipressor to handle the overall compression, and team this with Logic 's Channel EQ, though I'd also try the Linear Phase Equaliser to see which gives the best results on a specific mix. Normally I'll set my Multipressor crossover frequencies to around 120Hz and 5kHz so that the vital mid-band isn't split. By balancing the levels of the three bands, you can also control the bass and treble regions of the mix quite effectively. As with all mastering jobs, I tend to start out with very low compression ratios (1.2:1 or thereabouts) and then use a low threshold (which typically ends up between around -30dBFS and -40dBFS) to get just a little gain reduction happening. Any more than a few decibels (3-6dB maximum) in mastering is usually excessive, though some styles of music can accept more squashing than others.

Logic 's Adaptive Limiter makes a useful end-of-line limiter, and it can also be used to bring the signal peaks up to maximum without you needing to add gain elsewhere in the chain. One process that I haven't been able to replicate in Logic is the multi-band tube-distortion emulation included in my Drawmer DC2476 mastering processor. This is really handy if you have track where the bass end just doesn't seem dense or warm enough, for example. You can add 2-5dB of tube drive to really pump it up without messing up the mid-range or the high end. Similarly, if you have a track where the high end is weak, you can add tube drive just to the top band to spice up the harmonics and add density. You can also increase the compression ratio of the high band slightly. I rarely need to add tube drive to the mid-band, but there are occasions where it works.

Getting back to Logic and its plug-ins, Match EQ can be useful for fine-tuning one mix to make it sound more like another, but even if you decide not to use it, the 'difference' curve that it calculates based on the source and destination material can give you useful clues as to where you may need to apply EQ. In my experience, Match EQ is seldom entirely successful if you just apply 100 percent of what it comes up with, but if you adjust the curve manually, change the smoothing settings, and adjust the amount of correction applied, it can be extremely useful. As with any mastering task, your ears must be allowed to have the final say — don't let flashy graphics and frequency curves convince you that something must be right if it still doesn't sound right to you.

For final limiting, though, I find the Powercore Brickwall plug-in particularly good, though I've also used the Waves L1 and L2 plug-ins on numerous occasions and always found them extremely effective. Whatever limiter I use, I try to set it so that it only limits the loudest signal peaks by a few decibels — if your final audio file looks like a freshly mown lawn side-on, you've probably overdone it, though some commercial mixes have gone out in this state. Limiting comes at the end of the track processing chain, but you still need to mix your final work to 24-bit files rather than 16-bit, as there may be further small gain adjustments to be made at the playlist stage, and dithering down to 16-bit resolution has to be undertaken as the very last process before burning your master disc.

Burning Your Master CD

I like burning CDs from Roxio Jam, because it can dither for you, so you just assemble a playlist comprising 24-bit, 44.1kHz files and it does the rest. Within Jam I audition the transitions between songs and look for a subjective similarity in loudness. Don't trust the meters or assume that all normalised tracks will sound the same volume, because they won't. My technique is to pretend that I'm listening to a band on stage and then to adjust the relative levels where necessary so that the performers don't seem to get closer or further away between tracks. Although Jam can turn levels up as well as down, you'll almost certainly have processed your individual tracks to peak very close to 0dB, so it's best not to increase the gain for risk of going into clipping. Track gaps or crossfades have to be created by trial and error, as the subjectively correct gap length depends on how different the songs are, how quickly or slowly the last track fades to silence and whether the new track creeps in or comes in with a bang.

Logic News

Reports have been trickling in from the few lucky Logic users who have purchased Apple's new Quad G5 Power Macs. Everything seems to be working smoothly — unless of course you have a PCI-based audio card, in which case you'll be kicking yourself because the new Macs come with PCI Express slots, which are totally incompatible with PCI. One area of concern is that several users aren't getting the Logic performance they may have expected from a computer which is, effectively, a four-processor Macintosh. Several people have reported that Logic is throwing up Out Of CPU Power error messages when the Mac OS X Activity Monitor is showing plenty of CPU overhead. Using the old 'stop then start Logic ' trick, which spreads CPU load evenly over the two processors in dual-processor Macs, seems to work with the quads as well.

This problem is all the fault of Logic 's primitive CPU monitor. Mac OS X itself spreads the processing load evenly for all programs, but Logic 's CPU monitor seems to live in a world of it's own. Once one of the CPU monitor bars hits the red Logic complains that it has run out of processing power, instead of off-loading the extra processes onto the next CPU. This behaviour is a left-over from dual-processor G4's running Mac OS 9, when Logic itself controlled processor load by using one CPU for audio and the other for everything else, and it really needs to be updated very soon. The fact that Logic 's CPU monitor only shows two CPU usage bars on a quad-processor Power Mac doesn't inspire confidence that Logic is aware of the extra processing power available on the new computers. I assume Apple are working hard on a new version of Logic that can take better advantage of the new Mac's power.

Logic also has some memory-usage limitations, so loading your new G5 Quad with 16GB RAM may not provide the performance boost you were hoping for. Logic itself can apparently use up to 4GB of RAM — but that includes some RAM for sample libraries as well as for the plug-ins and core software. This figure has been disputed — some people will tell you that Logic can only use 2GB Ram, but I've been able to get the software to use over 3GB on my G5. Hopefully this will change in the future if and when Logic becomes a true 64-bit application. Of course, extra RAM will allow you to run all those extra programs alongside Logic without impacting on the sequencer's performance, so it's still a good idea to get as much RAM as you can afford.

Finally, there have been some reported problems with Logic and the latest Mac OS v10.4.3 update. These include MIDI and audio not working anymore and Logic crashing on booting, although I've not had any problems personally. Each OS update is a shot in the dark for Logic users and I'd advise caution whenever a new update is announced. It's always a good idea to have the latest OS revisions and Security updates, but these can have subtle and unpredictable effects on complex combinations of hardware and software. My advice is to back up your whole hard drive before updating and keep an eye on the various Logic forums before jumping in with any OS updates. Stephen Bennett

Mastering in Logic Pro X, or any other DAW for that matter, can be super intimidating. Even though mastering engineers use the exact same plugins as you or I, how come mastering always feels like a mystery?We all know mastering is important.But it’s like meeting the great and terrible Oz. You know something’s going on behind the curtain, but just aren’t sure what!And unfortunately, not knowing can do more harm than good when you try to master your own mixes.It’s all about having the right system in place when you approach mastering. Safety nets that can catch you before you make a mistake.So today I want to help you dig into mastering in Logic Pro without harming your mixes.

Hiring a Mastering Engineer Vs. Doing It YourselfThe first option, of course, is to hire a mastering engineer. And in my humble and sincere opinion, hiring out is always a good option.Why?Mixing is like a race. Although I bet you’ve never thought of it like that.The race is against your biased perspective. Try listening to a recording you think sucks.In no time flat, your ears will adjust. And soon enough you won’t notice that the mix stinks.

In fact, it’ll even sound pretty good!When you’re in the 11th hour of a mix, you’ve lost the ability to be objective decisions hours ago. And the more involved you become, the more biased your ears and mind have become.When a mastering engineer double-checks your work, that only helps you.Your mastering engineer hasn’t listened to your mix 1000+ times. So it will be obvious to that engineer where your mixes need improvement.You can also have a conversation with the mastering engineer and learn how to improve your mixes on your own. It’s hard to have that conversation when you’re both the mix and mastering engineer! Mastering Your Own MixesBut of course, why pay someone else to master your mixes when you can do it yourself?Maybe you’re not ready to hire a mastering engineer.

Or maybe you’re looking to improve your own mastering skills.That’s cool! You just have to be super thoughtful in your approach.Like I mentioned earlier, mastering engineers use the very same tools that you use for mixing.However, mastering has several key differences. And it’s incredibly important to shift your mindset when you’re mastering. I call this shift in mindset The 4 Tenets of Mastering.Rather just get down to mastering?No worries, that’s why I created a free Logic Pro X Mastering template just for you 🙂The WLPR Mastering Template follows the exact workflow outlined in this post. So get down to cranking out great sounding masters right now:DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATEThe 4 Tenets of MasteringWhile the tools are the same, the mindset of a mastering engineer is very different from a mix engineer. It’s all in how you think about your tracks: Tenet #1 – You’re processing every single instrument in your mix at the same time.The biggest difference between mastering and mixing is that you’re never processing just one instrument.In a mix session you have the freedom to adjust individual instruments. Does the kick need some more low end girth?

Go ahead and adjust the kick with the Channel EQ.But when it comes time to master, all you have is one stereo track of the whole mix:So if you try to boost the low end for the kick drum, you’ll boost the low end of all the other tracks in the mix. You can’t separate the guitar or synth tracks out. So their low end will be boosted as well.This first tenet is super important. And it should guide you in every mastering decision you make.Mastering is all about subtle adjustments. Tenet #2 – Your masters are only as good as the mixes you receive.No mastering engineer can turn a bad mix into gold. I don’t care how much “analog vibe” you throw at it.For example, I once had to a client ask me to master their record.

But no matter what I did, my mastering efforts wasn’t actually improving anything.Not to knock the client! But their mixes needed some help. And I knew the mixes could be better. So after some convincing they let me remix their record.When I remixed the record, it was like night and day. Which led to way better masters! But if they had said no, my mastering would’ve been pretty pointless.At the end of the day, your masters are the final polish on your tracks. 80% of the work occurs before the mastering stage.

Tenet #3 – You need room to master.The third tenet of mastering is your tracks need room for processing.Room = volume.If the mix output is in the red when you bounce out your mix, you’ve left yourself with no options. The mix is too loud for your plugins to do their thing.Which is why you should always bounce out your mixes with at least 3 – 6 dB of headroom. That is, your stereo output never exceeds -3 dB on its peak meter.I leave about -10 dB on my own mixes for my mastering engineer.

That’s my personal preference.But at the end of the day just make sure your tracks aren’t peaking at 0 dB on the Stereo Output meters. If your tracks aren’t peaking, you’re in good shape. Tenet #4 – File types matter.When you Bounce your Logic Projects out for mastering the resulting file should be a WAV file. Preferably 24-bit, but nothing smaller than 16-bit.Mp3s will not work for mastering.When it comes to Sample Rates, there’s a lot of debate over what sounds the best.The real question is what Sample Rate was your Project set at? Because you’ll need to Bounce out the Project at that same Sample Rate.Personally, I don’t fret much about Sample Rates.

Two reasons:. Higher Sample Rates are CPU-intense.

This means your Mac has to work harder to play them back. Which can result in more. 44.1k covers the whole Audio Spectrum (and more). I run all my mix sessions at 44.1k without an issue.The Tools For Mastering in Logic Pro XWhat plugins do mastering engineers use? Here’s a few:. EQ. Compression.

Multiband Compression. DeEssers. Reverb. Stereo Wideners. LimitersThis isn’t a complete list, but it is a list of frequently used plugins.Not so different from what you might use, right? But some processors, like Stereo Widening, might not be something you use very often.If you’ve read any other posts on the WLPR blog, you know I’m always looking for easy solutions.And though multiband compressors are great, they’re rarely easy.So you’re gonna need strategies to keep protect your masters from:. Getting too complex.

Saving yourself from your mix biases. Avoiding over-processingNow that we’ve covered The 4 Tenets of Mastering, it’s time to dig into The 6 Life-Saving Tips For Mastering.Mastering is both science and art. And though this blog post won’t tell you how to exactly master the track you’re working on, these tips should help.Think of the Life-Saving Tips like the bumpers in bowling. If you follow these, you shouldn’t have to worry about a master that ends up in the gutter: 1. Import Reference TracksDo this – please.I know from talking to other home producers that this step often gets skipped.

Often because Mix Referencing can be a very humbling experience.But you need this to help your mixes be best they can be.Start by loading 3 reference tracks into your Logic mastering session.These 3 references should match the musical style of your mix. If you’re mixing pop, import pop reference tracks. If you’re mixing rock, import rock references. Just be sure to pick mixes you love and would love your master to be comparable to.Next, follow these steps:.

Mute the reference tracks and leave your mix unmuted. What’s awesome about Logic is that you can quickly Solo each reference to compare. And when you then Unsolo the Reference, the reference will return to a Muted state.

Match the levels of your references to your own mix. Pull down the faders on each reference until each reference matches your mix’s volume. You don’t want your references to be louder than your mix. Because this will mess with how you perceive the differences.

Pull out a piece of paper and a pen and write down what you hear. Before you do anything else, listen and compare your track against your references.Write down any differences you notice:. Does your reference have more low end or high end?.

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Does your mix sound more brittle, or muddy?. Does your reference sound less compressed? More compressed?. Does your mix sound in the ballpark with your references?Write down your impressions, and then move onto step 2: 2. Reference with Match EQLogic’s Match EQ is so awesome. Us Logic users have no idea how lucky we are!Match EQ measures the frequency differences between two audio tracks. This is huge when you’r mastering.I’ve written about getting that pro sound with Logic’s Match EQ in a.

And I would pull up a new Audio Track and load 3 instances of the Match EQ on it.