Having fun with Logic Pro X

scottburrow

Fractal Fanatic
So I got Logic Pro X a couple weeks ago and I have been learning the app by buying Logic Pro x explained series and then just buying a monthly subscription for one month to Groove3.com. I should have just got the monthly subscription instead, it would have saved me a few bucks. So I can play piano, meaning I know my chords and such, but for this little 16 bar exercise which I copied a couple times, I wanted to use just AXE-FX II as the controller, do a flex pitch on the guitar part and convert the flex pitch data to Midi in which I could use any of the built in synthesizers within the product. I did use alchemy player which is free on their web site.

The Axe-fest last year had a lot of great artists there, but the one that got the most out of was Carl Ryland. He blew me away, with his orchestration knowledge and just down to earth, regular guy. So this was my attempt to add Brass, Violins, and other synths, by first creating a guitar part then converting it.

This is a semi complete 16 bar song that I basically did in two sittings. What I would do is add a drummer Track and grabbed the tempo down to 91 bpm, something I don't usually do. So now I have the drum groove going and I play a few guitar chords using the Axe-FX and then Flex pitch it and make that a synth pad. From there I do this repeatedly adding each instrument, and sometimes duplicating the synths, doing a third and fifth up and then creating a stack Track.

Logic Pro X is great for one man Bands. Being able to get an idea out pretty quickly is awesome.

So this isn't my style of playing and I don't usually write music, but I am trying, because I do love learning new tools.


So here is the song, there is one guitar part playing and everything else is just guitar converted to midi.


I thought it would be cool to do a solo over it some time. some other day.

Cheers.

 
What a cool approach to creating something. Kudos to your creativity Scott. You've taken re-amping to a new level!

Lol, I guess so. Thanks dude. It's definitely fun. You know we all have these little melodies in our head, that well need to just get out, this is a great tool for that. I got into computers in the '80' just so I could do this someday, and now I can.
 
I agree. Ableton 9 allows you to convert audio to midi like this as well and its a great way to play with different instruments. Its amazing times we are living now. Thanks for sharing Scott!
 
Cool stuff , that is the way to learn these things , just get in there and do it . I have been trying to learn Ableton 9 and this whole home studio thing . I try and make little demos and such , but I mostly create bad noises . When I start goofin with Superior Drummer my cat hides under the bed , well she's under there when I play guitar too but thats beside the point . haha's
 
Very creative! Maybe you can sell it to a studio as a movie theme :)

LOL, that would be cool. I have many more hours to work towards that 10,000 before I would even think about something like that. I think we all have these ideas trapped in our head and all it takes is a easy way to get them out. Because come on, I'm a lazy guy ask my wife. My 10,000 hours will definitely include more songwriting theory. I signed up a month for Groove3 and there was a songwriting course on there, that was pretty helpful actually, I haven't got through it all yet.

I was some forum probably on gearslutz under the songwriting and somebody was asking the very question about writing a good song. He basically said if you are new to it which I am is to not worry about writing a whole song but write 16 bars. If the 16 bars is good keep going on it. This song was written 16bars that I copied a couple times and used automation to fade it out.

Now we have these great toys and we are really living in paradise when it comes to this stuff. Sometimes you just need to find a tool and make noise, and just know that it's you making it and there are no rules really.
 
Is Logic X worth the upgrade if you already have Logic 9?

I found myself mostly tracking into GarageBand because I was always too lazy to dive in and learn the intricacies of Logic 9. Dumb me, I know. I'm mostly interested in the ability to dive in and quickly get stuff done in Logic X.
 
Is Logic X worth the upgrade if you already have Logic 9?

I found myself mostly tracking into GarageBand because I was always too lazy to dive in and learn the intricacies of Logic 9. Dumb me, I know. I'm mostly interested in the ability to dive in and quickly get stuff done in Logic X.

I know there are few guys who use Logic 9. This is my second Daw, the first one I had was Reaper. I love the workflow on x. I didn't have any 32bit plugins so Im coming in fresh without any expectations. It works for me. What's cool is all the synths that you get, you won't get bored with it for a long time.

all I suggest is get some education in it from somewhere, because it will take all a lot of the guess work out of it.
 
Is Logic X worth the upgrade if you already have Logic 9?

I found myself mostly tracking into GarageBand because I was always too lazy to dive in and learn the intricacies of Logic 9. Dumb me, I know. I'm mostly interested in the ability to dive in and quickly get stuff done in Logic X.

I've had Logic 9 for about 2 years. Never could get into it. Something about the interface and workflow just didn't pull me in and it always felt un-natural to me. I upgraded to X last month and it is a world of difference. Experienced recording engineers may pooh pooh the interface, but it make a huge difference when you are trying to find out how to DO something.

Logic X is still deep and complex, but there is something about the new interface that invites exploration and experimentation. I find I am liking it a lot more, and will probably transition to X for future recordings, even the quick ideas that I currently use Garageband for.
 
I've had Logic 9 for about 2 years. Never could get into it. Something about the interface and workflow just didn't pull me in and it always felt un-natural to me. I upgraded to X last month and it is a world of difference. Experienced recording engineers may pooh pooh the interface, but it make a huge difference when you are trying to find out how to DO something.

That's been pretty much my experience with Logic 9. The interface and workflow just didn't do it for me. And I'm hardly a technophobe....I'm developer at work and I've been using Visual Studio since version 5 in the 90s. And I have no problem with the Axe 2 or Axe 1's front panel interface. I guess that when I get home and sit down to create, I want a smooth, no-BS experience. If Logic X gives me that it'll certainly be worth a look.
 
Sorry to hijack, but i'm having trouble with my volume faders resetting themselves to 5.0db on playback. There's no volume automation on the track. Can't get my head around it for the life of me. I might sign up for Groove 3, if you recommend them.
 
Sorry to hijack, but i'm having trouble with my volume faders resetting themselves to 5.0db on playback. There's no volume automation on the track. Can't get my head around it for the life of me. I might sign up for Groove 3, if you recommend them.

I wonder if that's a bug.

go to gearslutz forum, there is a dedicated logic x forum there. I might have seen that there as a bug. They will be able to help you. I paid 15 bucks for a one month streaming cycle, through Paypal. It has been worth it for me personally. The only reason why I was familiar with them is because they had great lessons on Reaper and Bfd2. There's macprovideo.com and lynda.com, but they are more expensive and didn't seem to have as much logic stuff.

Logic Pro X - Gearslutz.com
 
What was the name of the tutorial you used?
Thanks, Chris

Im not sure what you are asking. If you are asking what lessons I have watched on groove3, there has been a ton of them. I watched and actually bought Logic Pro x explained. The reason I went for the one month was because I saw a lot of other videos on their site that I can't afford to buy them all. A good one is Flex pitch explained. And there are a couple from a guy named Scott Griggs who sounds like Larry the cable guy, he did one on producing hard rock with logic. He takes you through a whole song pice by piece, it's like 5 hours long. Very insight full. What's cool is there is a Ipad app for watching the videos. So I just sit on the couch watching videos, and every once In awhile tapatalk2 sends me a notice that someone has posted something in the Axe-fx forum. Amazing!!!
 
Logic X is well worth it. I'd been using Pro Tools since 2001. Logic is fantastic and the free plug ins are very usable. My entire Pro Tools system ran me around $18,000.00. Logic with a control surface and interfaces around $2800.00. So simple to use.
I really like what you did Scott!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Logic X is well worth it. I'd been using Pro Tools since 2001. Logic is fantastic and the free plug ins are very usable. My entire Pro Tools system ran me around $18,000.00. Logic with a control surface and interfaces around $2800.00. So simple to use.
I really like what you did Scott!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks brother, it was fun and easy really. You just keep stacking stuff. My wife had a Steven Curtis chapman song "speechless" playing in her car on Monday when we carpooled to work and it had this string section in it that was really cool. I took that as inspiration. I would stake f copies of just violin and stagger them so it would sound identical. I did the same with the brass. I would just add a couple more notes on the second pass of the brass so it went up in pitch. This stuff so much fun, so tomorrow ill work on something new. How long have you guys been writing songs? Mine have always seemed amateurish or not very good melody wise. I'm learning to keep this stuff less complicated so it doesn't confuse the listener.
 
Nice job, Scott!! I'm a Pro Tools guy myself, but I really think it comes down to what DAW you feel comfortable with. Smart move on the Groove3.com videos. I've got an all access pass that I renew annually. They always run a super sweet deal around Christmas every year. One year of all access for $100...maybe $150? Can't remember at the moment. Well worth it though. Tons of really good info on that site for all manner of audio production.
 
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