At the center of this whole crazy DAW universe is one important thing – recording.
For a moment let’s forget about virtual instruments, Flex, or Smart Tempo.
The ability to record drums, tubas or birds onto your computer is both fun and amazing.
Learn how to get started in Logic Pro X and finish your first track.Download the free Logic Pro X cheat sheet: https://www.musicianonamission.com/logic-cheat. Course: Creating with the Seaboard RISE and Logic Pro X. Seaboard RISE, Logic Pro. Learn how to configure the Seaboard RISE to work with Logic Pro X. Course: Seaboard Integration & Automation by Erin Barra. Equator, Seaboard RISE. Learn the skills to begin to produce your own Seaboard RISE music projects using your chosen DAW. Alchemy, the ultimate sample-manipulation synthesizer, is the most powerful instrument in Logic Pro. It comes with an enormous library of over 3000 sounds and a keyword browser to quickly zero in on what you’re looking for. Powerful Performance Controls invite you to explore and play.
With a microphone, interface and your computer you can paint a world in sound. That recording you got of a bird chirping can be thrown through an effects chain like a pinecone through a lawnmower.
And afterwards you might have the perfect sound for that new dubstep track you’re working on.
Or maybe you just want a stress-free session for the band you’re recording next week!
The great news is that Logic is fantastic for recording. The design and workflow makes recording about as hard as checking off items on your to-do list.
And even when do you hit a snag, Logic makes it easy to recover.
This post is the first of 2 that digs into my personal recording workflow. Here’s what’s on the itinerary:
- Logic Recording 101: How to Make It All Work (Part 1)
- The Perfect Settings and Modes For a Stress-Free Recording Session (Part 2)
- Damage Control: What To Do When Logic “Stops Working” (Part 2)
Let’s dig in:
Logic Recording 101: How to Make It All Work
Recording in Logic is pretty straight-forward when you know where to look. Setting up your recording session really boils down to a couple steps:
- Selecting your Audio Interface as the input and output device
- Choosing the best Buffer Size
- Picking an input on your Audio Interface for your Logic Track
- Record-Enabling your Track in Logic, and
- Hitting Record!
And once you’ve got the flow down, it’s really no thang at all.
How To Play Instruments On Logic Pro X
Audio Preferences
The Preferences menu is a place you’re going to want to get cozy with. In fact, I visit it on a daily basis.
Because if you want to get audio from the real world into your computer and back out, this is the place to make it happen.
To start, head to the top left corner of the Logic menu bar:
What will appear is everything related to getting audio in and out of your Mac. And what’s we’re most concerned with is the Output and Input Devices.
These terms are very straight-forward. An Input Device is the piece of gear that will be recording audio into your Mac. And the Output Device is the device that will playback your audio when you hit play.
So when you click on the Output Device field, you should see a list of connected devices:
If you’ve connected your interface to your Mac, you should see it in the list. In the image above, you can see my Presonus Quantum interface listed as ‘Quantum.’
Now the cool thing is Logic allows you to choose different devices for both Input and Output.
So say you’d like to record with your interface, but listen back with your Macbook Speakers. You can! Simply choose your interface as the Input Device, and the Built-in Output as the Output Device.
But say you have headphones or monitors connected to your interface. In that case you’ll want to choose your interface as both the Input and Output Device:
I/O Buffer Size
The next step is to set the Buffer Size.
How To Play Instruments On Logic Pro X 3
Think of the waiting room at the Doctor’s office. You walk in, you say hello to the receptionist, and they tell you to take a seat. And depending on how many other people are waiting, you’ll have to wait.
(Have you ever not had to wait to see a doctor?)
Your Mac has a waiting room of its own, and that’s the Buffer.
Your Mac is performing hundreds of tasks all the time. To manage all these tasks, it needs a way to prioritize the most important ones and postpone the less important ones.
![Pro Pro](https://www.zikinf.com/_gfx/annonces/dyn/home-studio-pour-1985397.jpg?1504468567)
Logic’s priorities can change over time. When you’re recording, you want your Mac to see Logic as #1. But when you’re mixing, it can take a little more of a backseat.
Setting the Buffer Size lets you choose how important Logic should be to your Mac.
There’s 6 values to choose from. The smaller the number, the less time Logic has to hang in the waiting room. And the larger the number, the longer it hangs in the waiting room:
- 32 samples
- 64 samples
- 128 samples
- 256 samples
- 512 samples
- 1024 samples
So if the smaller numbers mean Logic’s more of a priority, why not just choose 32 samples?
Well, sometimes waiting is a good thing.
32 samples means Logic barely has to wait. If you have lots of tracks, this can crush your Mac’s processing. And the result will be a System Overload. Your Mac will choke under the pressure.
So you say fine, let’s choose 1024 samples just to be safe.
But at 1024 samples, you’ll run into Latency. Latency is an audible delay in playback or processing.
Ever record a singer who says that their singing sounds delayed in their headphones? That’s latency.
And latency can make recording impossible since the timing is all messed up between the singer and Logic.
Setting the Buffer Size is a dance. You’re aiming for the lowest Buffer Size possible without any hiccups.
System Overloads or pops and clicks in the audio are things to avoid.
Nine times out of ten I’ll use 128 samples for recording, and 1024 for mixing.
Assigning Your Track’s Input
Now that you’ve sorted out your:
- Input and Output Devices, and your
- Buffer Size
How to scan paper on hp printer. It’s time to connect your Track’s Input to your Interface.
Logic can’t always guess which input you want to record with. So it’s up to you to let Logic know.
It’s important that you’re familiar with your Audio Interface’s channels. For example, my Quantum has 8 mic/instrument inputs.
So if I plug my mic into Input 1, I’ll want to set my Logic Track to that same input.
To do this, select your chosen Track on the Arrange Page. To the left you should see your Track’s Channel Strip in the Inspector:
If you don’t see the Inspector, use Key Command I to reveal it. Or view the track in the Mixer using Key Command X.
Towards the top of the Channel Strip you’ll see a field labeled as Input. Click on this field, and Logic will show you a list of all the available Inputs you have from your interface:
Go ahead and choose the same input that you plugged your mic or instrument into. Now Logic is ready and waiting to record any audio from your chosen Input.
Arming Your Track
Even though you’ve told Logic which input you want to record with, Logic still needs to know when you want to record from that input.
By Arming or Record-Enabling your track, you’re telling Logic “I want to record this track.”
It’s simple, really. If you’ve got your Audio Device and Input set up correctly, your Track should have an “R” icon in the header or Channel Strip:
‘R’ stands for ‘Record-Enable.’ And by clicking on that icon, Logic is now listening and waiting to record that track.
Make sure to play or sing a little to double-check all is well! If you’ve followed the steps in this post, you should see a green signal on the meter:
The goal is to get a nice, healthy level without hitting the red on the meter. A great level is between -12 and -3 dB on the meter.
If the meter lights up in red, your signal is too loud:
Logic can’t exceed 0 dB. It’s a fact we all have to live with. So any signal that hits the red will meet an unfortunate end.
That is, Logic will saw off the signal right at 0 dB.
The result? Distortion. Nasty digital distortion that will make your track sound like it’s going through a digital bee’s nest. This is typically not favorable.
Bottom line: Use the gain knob on your interface to turn that signal down below 0 dB on the Logic meters!
Record!
Ready to record some sweet riffs?
Hit Key Command R, and Logic will begin recording. Jam to your heart’s content!
And once you’re done, hit Spacebar to stop recording.
Conclusion: Part 1
In Part 1 of exploring Logic’s record workflow, we dug into:
- Selecting your Audio Interface as the input and output device
- Choosing the best Buffer Size
- Picking an Input on your Audio Interface for your Logic Track
- Record-Enabling your Track in Logic
- Setting a healthy Level for your track, and
- Hitting Record!
In Part 2, we’ll dig into more advanced tactics for a stress-free recording session ?
Related
- macOS 10.15.7 or later
- 6GB of available storage space for minimum installation or 72GB of storage space for full Sound Library installation
How to open excel. iOS 13.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone,* iPad and iPod touch.
* Smart Controls, Sound Library navigation, Smart Help, full mixer and access to plug-in controls are available only on iPad.
- 1,929 definable key and MIDI commands
- 90 recallable screens
- 200-step undo history, including plug-in and mixer editing undo
- Full plug-in latency compensation, also for external audio and MIDI gear
- 1/3840-note resolution for MIDI events
- Audio file and I/O resolution up to 24-bit/192kHz
- Maximum project length greater than 6 hours at 96kHz; 13 hours at 44.1kHz
- Professional dithering algorithms (POW-r, Apogee UV22HR)
- 64‑bit summing engine
- Up to 16 independent voices per part
- Over 4,000 predefined chord grids
- Tablature supports up to 16-string instruments with any tuning
- Notes and rests for various lengths
- Auto-adapting multi-bar rests
- Key and time signature symbols
- Clef signs
- Slurs and crescendo/decrescendo symbols
- Various note head types including percussion styles
- Accents, bowing marks, fermatas and other symbols that apply to specific notes
- Phrasing marks
- Trills and other ornaments, tremolo symbols
- Sustain pedal markings
- Bar lines, repeat signs, and segno and coda markings
- Chord symbols
- Chord grids and tablature symbols
- Page and line break symbols
- Support for Bravura font
- MusicXML import and export
- 70 effect plug-ins including Pedalboard, which includes 35 stompboxes
- 24 software instrument plug-ins
- 9 MIDI plug-ins
- Custom instrument-tuning system including 97 fixed tuning presets, equal-tempered, custom and Hermode tuning
- 18 instrument and effect plug-ins with True Surround support
- 4,300 Patches for Audio, Auxiliary, Software Instrument and Output tracks
- 10,500 Apple Loops covering a wide range of genres
- 2,000 Sampler instruments
- 90 Drum Machine Designer kits with 2,000 individual kit piece patches
- 5,500 plug-in settings for 103 plug-ins
- 100 Ultrabeat electronic drum kits with 2,500 drum sounds
- 660 reverb spaces and warped effects for Space Designer
- 54 groove patterns for Arpeggiator MIDI plug-in
- Up to 1,000 stereo audio channel strips
- Up to 1,000 software instrument channel strips
- Up to 1,000 auxiliary channel strips
- Up to 256 busses
- Up to 1,000 external MIDI tracks
- 15 inserts for internal or Audio Units effect plug-ins
- 8 inserts for internal or Audio Units MIDI plug-ins
- 12 sends per channel strip, pre- or post-fader, or post-pan
- 32 groups for audio, software instrument or MIDI channel strips
- Frontier Design Group: AlphaTrack
- Jazzmutant: Dexter
- KORG: nanoKONTROL
- M-Audio: Axiom, Axiom Pro, Axiom AIR, Oxygen
- Novation Launch Pad: all models
- PreSonus: FaderPort
- Roland: V-STUDIO 20
- Smart AV: Smart Console
- Apogee Electronics GiO
- Apple Logic Remote for iPhone and iPad
- CM Labs: Motor Mix
- Custom Recording Light
- Emagic: Logic Control, XT
- EuCon protocol support for Euphonix / AVID Artist series control surface systems
- Frontier Design Group: TranzPort
- hexler: TouchOSC
- JL Cooper: CS-32, FaderMaster 4/100, MCS3
- KORG: KONTROL49, microKONTROL
- Mackie: Baby HUI, HUI, Mackie Control, C4, Extender, MCU Pro, MCU XT Pro
- M-Audio: iControl
- Novation: all AutoMap-compatible devices
- Radikal Technologies: SAC-2k, SAC-2.2
- Roland: SI-24
- ROLI BLOCKS
- TASCAM: US-2400
- Yamaha: 01V96, 01X, 02R96, DM1000, DM2000
- Comprehensive support for any control hardware via MIDI Learn
- Quadraphonic
- LCRS
- 5.1 (ITU)
- 6.1 (ES/EX)
- 7.1 (SDDS or 3/4.1)
- Open projects from Logic 5 or later
- Open GarageBand songs directly in Logic Pro
- Support for Core Audio–compliant MIDI and audio hardware
- Support for Audio Units effect, instrument and MIDI plug-ins
- ReWire support for Propellerhead Reason, Ableton Live and other compatible applications
- Import/Export AAF and XML (Final Cut Pro) projects
- Import/Export MIDI regions as MIDI files, export MIDI and audio regions as Apple Loops
- Import/Export music notation to MusicXML
- Play AIFF, WAV (BWF), CAF, SDII, Apple Lossless, eligible MP3 and AAC (non-eligible files will be converted to PCM)
- Record AIFF, CAF and WAV (BWF)
- Bounce to AIFF, WAV (BWF), CAF, MP3 and M4A (Apple Lossless, AAC)
- Burn any bounced audio directly to CD or DVD-A (PCM audio only)