Logic Pro Explained

Logic Pro X expert Eli Krantzberg delivers the most comprehensive collection of Logic Pro videos designed for the beginner user. This in-depth video manual is completely compatible with Logic Pro X 10.5 and Logic Pro 10.6, so if you're starting out with Logic, or just want to go over the basics and/or more advanced features, this video collection is where you want to start!

Getting Started

• Introduction (03:12) - See where to check that all the available Logic sound content is downloaded and installed, that your audio and MIDI hardware is recognized by your Mac and Logic Pro X, and that your key commands are set to the defaults used throughout this series.

• Tracks & Channel Strips (04:35) - Learn how to open a new empty project, and discover the two main types of tracks and channel strips that are at the core of Logic's DNA.

• First Look at the Main Window (07:00) - Get an overview of the workspace, including the Tracks Area, the Control Bar, and the various tabbed panels and windows.

• Working with Projects (07:10) - Explore how to save and manage project files and related assets within a project folder.

• Playback Basics (06:47) - Learn the main ways of starting and stopping playback, and locating the playhead to new positions.

• Cycle & Loop Basics (08:21) - Discover how Cycle Mode is used to continuously repeat playback of an area of the timeline, and how Looping is used to have a region continue playing throughout the timeline.

Simple Recording

• Using the Musical Typing Keyboard (05:30) - See how to setup a software instrument patch, and record a simple part using the musical typing keyboard.

• Software Instrument Recording & Click Setup (06:47) - Learn more about the Metronome, click, and count-in functions, and see how to record with either an onscreen keyboard, or a connected external MIDI controller.

• Capture Recording (03:09) - See how it's possible to capture your most recent MIDI performance, even if Logic Pro isn't recording, using the Capture Recording feature. You can use Capture Recording whether in playback mode or stopped.

• Tempo & Time Signature (03:44) - Explore the different ways to set the tempo and time signature of your Logic project.

• Getting Started with Smart Tempo (06:25) - With Smart Tempo you can record a performance without the metronome and have Logic Pro adapt the project tempo to match the tempo of the recording, or keep the project tempo and flex the recording to match it.

• Drummer QuickStart (08:03) - Get up and running with Logic's virtual drummer instrument. Learn to select between the various genres and playing styles, choose different drummers, change drum kits and individual kit pieces, customize the grooves and fills, and more.

• Basic Audio Recording (06:35) - See how to set up for audio recording, including setting the input, record enabling, monitoring, driver settings, and more.

• Setting Up a Headphone Mix (05:54) - Learn how to set up a custom headphone mix routed to the headphone outputs of your audio interface.

Digital Ergonomics - Getting Around the Workspace

• Zooming & Scrolling (07:12) - Learn to shift the editing focus between the different views, and see how to use some of Logic's main scrolling and zooming functions.

• Customizing the Control Bar (07:38) - Explore the various LCD displays and extended Transport and location commands available when you customize Logic's Control Bar.

• MIDI Timing Resolution & Simple Quantizing (04:45) - Learn about the timing resolution of Logic, and how quantizing rounds off note placement to the nearest beat divisions.

• Working with the Grid (05:48) - Explore the division value and snap to grid settings, and how they interact with each other. Plus, learn the secret hidden key combination to override the snap to grid value without disabling it.

• Working with Tracks Pt. 1 (05:08) - Explore additional ways of creating, duplicating, and reassigning tracks.

• Working with Tracks Pt. 2 (07:52) - See how to work with multiple tracks playing through the same channel strip, and how to configure the track header.

• The Region Inspector (08:01) - Discover the range of creative variation available using the region inspector parameters.

• The Track Inspector (05:46) - See how these track-based parameters effect the behavior and playback of regions on the track.

• Channel Strips (07:01) - Take a tour of the different fields and components found on Logic's channel strips.

Recording Techniques

• Overdub Recording & Spot Erase (05:44) - Discover how to cycle record over the same area, merging parts together on each pass; and then how to use spot erase to remove some of the notes previously recorded.

• Note Repeat (06:19) - Note repeat transforms incoming MIDI notes into a repeated midi note of the same pitch, as long as the midi controller key is held down. We can define the repetition rate, velocity, and gate length, and assign midi controllers to control these parameters. See it in action on a hi-hat part.

• Layer Recording & Record Repeat (05:46) - See how to record to multiple instruments for a layered sound, and how to work with the resulting alias regions. Also explore the Record Repeat function for a quick recording workflow when trying out different ideas.

• Cycle Recording (08:07) - Explore the various cycle recording options, and learn about recording to track alternatives and Take Folders.

• Replace Recording (04:26) - Explore the four different Replace Mode behaviors, used to replace all or part of a previous MIDI performance while recording a new one.

• Punch Recording (07:12) - Punch recording is a technique you can use to overwrite a portion of a previously recorded track, during playback, without touching any of the recording before or after that portion. You can choose between two punch recording modes: Quick Punch-in mode and Auto-Punch mode.

• Step Recording (06:15) - Step input recording allows you to insert MIDI notes when you're not recording in real-time. You can use step input to create note or chord runs that may be too fast to play in real-time. Explore how this works with either the onscreen step input keyboard, or your MIDI keyboard controller.

• Introduction to MIDI FX (06:22) - Explore this special category of plug-ins that process or generate MIDI data played either from a MIDI region, or a MIDI keyboard in real-time.

• Introduction to Step Sequencer (06:23) - See and hear how this is used as another non real-time method of note input, to generate repeating musical patterns created within Pattern Regions on a grid of rows and steps.

Editing

• Display Level, Catch & Link Modes (05:55) - See how these functions are used to control how windows update to reflect changes to the playhead position and the selected content.

• Working with Tools (07:03) - Learn how to assign and use an alternate (command click) tool, a right click tool, and the different pointer tool zones.

• Screensets (06:15) - Explore how the layout of various windows, including their display size, position on screen, zoom level, and other settings, are stored and recalled as screen sets.

• Track Import (04:43) - See how the track import feature is used to bring in tracks recorded in another project, including content and channel strip plug-ins.

• Quick Swipe Comping (08:46) - Explore the various workflows and techniques available when comping together the best bits of multiple takes within a take folder.

• Editing Take Folders (05:50) - See how Take Folder or individual Take Regions are resized, cut, moved, sliced, and trimmed.

• Quantizing (08:28) - Explore advanced quantization parameters that allow for timing corrections based on percentage, distance from the grid, groove templates, and more.

• Select, Split, Trim, Drag, Nudge, Move, & More (07:42) - Take a tour of basic useful selection and editing tasks.

• Introduction to Flex Time Editing (07:38) - Explore how the Flex Tools are used to adjust the timing of notes and beats in audio regions.

• Introduction to Flex Pitch (07:15) - See how this fabulous pitch correction feature is used to tune and edit a female vocal performance.

• The Piano Roll Editor Pt. 1 (08:33) - Learn how to create notes and define defaults using the pencil and brush tools.

• The Piano Roll Editor Pt. 2 (08:26) - Explore a series of useful selection and editing based commands related to quantizing, transposing, velocities, timing, merging, note lengths, MIDI CC values, and more.

• Introduction to the Score Editor (03:49) - See some basic display, editing and chord entry functions in action in Logic's Score editor.

• Working in The Event List (06:20) - See how elegant this editor is for making precise selections and numeric based edits.

• Other Editors (06:32) - Get a brief introduction to the Step Editor, Audio File Editor, and MIDI Transform Window.

Arranging Your Music

• Creating Vocal Harmonies with Flex Pitch (05:25) - Follow along as Flex Pitch is used to generate harmonies on selected notes from the lead vocal track.

• Folders (05:50) - See how these are used as an arrangement and organizational tool to treat multiple tracks and/or regions as a single object that can be edited much the same way as a MIDI region.

• Introduction to Quick Sampler (07:35) - Watch how quick and simple it is to drag and drop an audio region onto the Track Header to create a single sample Quick Sampler instrument, and then set up some time stretching and filter modulation.

• Track Stacks (07:17) - Track Stacks provide a convenient way to organize and control tracks, to manage projects with high track counts, and to create and manage audio subgroups. Watch as two Summing Stacks are created from groups of existing tracks. The controls on the master tracks are then used to control all the subtracks in the Track Stack.

• Arranging (08:31) - Follow along as a short arrangement is put together, and learn some useful key commands for soloing and solo locking regions, exclusive track soloing and muting, coloring tracks and regions, and more.

• Hide Tracks & Hide Groups (06:33) - Learn how to temporarily hide tracks from view in the Tracks area and Mixer views, and how to use groups to hide/show multiple tracks together.

• Working with Markers (07:14) - Learn how to create, name, edit, and navigate using Logic's Markers.

• Arrangement Markers (04:27) - As you move, copy, or delete Arrangement Markers, all of the underlying content on the tracks is moved, copied, or deleted along with them. Explore how these are used to rearrange sections of your music.

• Introduction to Live Loops (07:38) - Explore this stimulating and creative aspect of Logic that lets you arrange and play with musical ideas in real-time in a grid comprised of cells and scenes rather than regions.

Mixing Your Music

• Working in the Mixer (08:21) - Learn about the different channel strip types, how to create a subgroup, place Aux channel strips in the Tracks Area, filter the mixer view, use solo safe mode, set display preferences & pan laws, enable pre fader metering, and more.

• Working with Plug-Ins (06:45) - See how to instantiate plug-ins, as well as bypass, copy, move, remove, replace, resize, link, scroll, compare, and save settings, and more.

• Selection Based Processing (05:38) - Discover how this feature is used to process a specific region or selection with custom plug-in processing.

• I/O Labels (03:03) - See how you can use the I/O Labels window to define names for all channel strip input, Output, and Send menu items, which can be used in place of defaults.

• Folder Tracks, VCAs, & Mix Bus Setup (07:07) - Explore some advanced routing workflows, including routing to a mix bus before the stereo output, setting up folder stacks, and creating VCA groups.

• Introduction to Smart Controls (05:04) - See how these are a quicker alternative to opening plug-in windows in order to adjust parameters and the sound of the track. They can be used simply, as laid out, or turned into complex macros controlling multiple parameters from multiple plug-ins, each with unique ranges.

• Independent Pan & Sends On Faders (04:42) - By choosing independent Pan for a send, you can adjust the pan type and position settings for the send independently from the pan type and position for the channel strip. After you choose independent Pan for a send, you can adjust the send?s panning by setting the send to Sends on Faders mode.

• Introduction to Automation (07:10) - Discover how to automate the movement of channel strip or plug-in parameters over time using track automation in the Main Window.

• Sharing Your Music (08:56) - Follow along as a final fade out is added to the whole arrangement. Listen to a play through of the full mix. And explore the various options for bouncing to disc, and sharing your music.

Media & Assets

• Project Alternatives & Backups (03:17) - Learn how to work with project alternatives, and manage auto backups.

• The Undo History & Deleting Audio Files (03:42) - Watch how Logic's undo history works, and how to delete audio files from the tracks area, project browser, and from your hard drive permanently.

• Bounce in Place (04:41) - Discover how to bounce tracks and/or regions in place so that the resulting audio files are placed at the same position as the originals in the Tracks Area.

• Exporting Audio (06:17) - See how you can export one or more selected tracks or regions as audio files with customized names.

• Exporting MIDI (02:19) - Take a look at all the steps necessary to prepare your MIDI regions for export as General MIDI files.

• Working in the Library (06:01) - Learn all about presets, channel strip settings, patches, patch merging, default assignments, and navigating to them all in the Library.

• Plug-In Manager & Automatic Plug-In Loading (05:04) - Learn how to use Logic's Plug-in Manager to create custom categories within your plug-in list. Also, learn about Logic's ability to only load plug-ins needed for project playback, and how to utilize this to your advantage when creating custom templates.

• Eli's Trouble Shooting FAQ (03:26) - A brief look at some commonly encountered problems, and solutions, often experienced by new Logic users.