sonsofnarcissus

Open up the disclosure triangle at the top "Show/Hide Global Tracks" - you can change the tempo throughout the track...i.e. have 64bpm for the first 4 bars and then change it to 72bpm for 3 bars and so on and so forth.

I'm not a lawyer but I believe technically once you record/write your music it gets copyrighted immediately. I don't think you need to pay a lawyer to copyright your music although I'm sure it wouldn't hurt. Another thing you may want to consider doing is registering your music on a PRO (Performing Rights Organisation). It's free to join a PRO in your country. E.g. BMI, ASCAP, SOCAN etc.

Our take on dubstep mixed with Latin featuring some tango accordion towards the end. Appreciate feedback on our soundcloud page. cheers KB

Is your CPU or HD meter going through the roof? If it's not the HD meter then your drive is ok and you don't need the SSD.

Not an easy question to answer coz it's a question of mixing and while there are guidelines there is a subjective element to it. In the long run you're better of reading books on mixing. Most of these books typically list out frequency range tips for instruments. Also the frequencies to cut or highlight vary from genre to genre. The goal usually is to have frequencies balanced out across the range of the frequency spectrum and have each instrument occupy it's own frequency range. As a hypothetical example the kick drum can occupy the 30hz - 70hz range and then the bass can go from 70 - 300 and so on so forth (I'm obviously making these ranges up - you can probably get some cheat sheet on google). But the problem with this approach is you also need to be mindful that while the kick's typical role is to occupy the low end there are mid range frequencies that you light also want to hear the attack of the kick. But now if you keep those mid range frequencies it might compete with the vocals or some other instrument. That's when you get into side chain compression or parallel compression and other mixing techniques. Also you're then carefully considering the timbre of each instrument. I would say start off by first bringing all your volume faders down to zero and bring them up in order of most important element. Once you've set that then start EQing each track while the whole mix is playing. Try to cut frequencies that that you can't hear anyway - example the bass track...cut anything below 50hz and anything above 2khz and see how that impacts your mix that's playing. If you can't hear the difference then most likely those frequencies were not important in the context of your song and those frequencies can be reserved for another instrument. Keep doing this for each track until you're satisfied. Also check Logics multimeter plugin to see if you're balanced along the frequency spectrum and keep checking your frequency analyzer that comes with the EQ plugin. Hope this kinda helps. It's better to use your ear than follow frequency range tips. Also as you o through the process listen to a commercially produced track in the genre you're working in and compare the clarity to your mix and keep fine tuning your mix. Good luck P.s if you wat a free guide to mixing google "nick Thomas - guide to mixing"

Have you looked into Logic's ES2....it's a pretty powerful synth. Anyway...i'm hearing a sawtooth kinda sound with a glide effect and some filter modulation happening in the attack phase for that last track. I could be way off though. Oh and also mix the sawtooth with a sine wave on a separate oscillator.

I would suggest that you save some money by getting the non-retina iMac (As its not gonna make much of a difference for music production or even other activities - unless of course you do video, graphic work) and use that towards getting a SSD and more RAM instead of the fusion HD. I remember reading issues people had with the Fusion drive on the Hollywood Strings forum.

Oh I think that's just sidechain compression. Have you played around with the compressor settings. Typically a fast attack with a moderately fast release should give that "oom-wah-oom-wah" effect. Also check the actual envelope settings of your bass (assuming its a synth) and play around with the attack, decay, sustain and release settings. Another thing to try is your EQ make sure your bass sounds are not "muddying" up the same frequencies as your kick.

Definitely needs more reverb but at varying levels for the instruments. Awesome mockup btw....is this using Logic's library?

Can you please be more specific - which minute marks in your clip?

A Limiter plugin on the channel strip?

Keep listening to the music you like and keep experimenting with Logic. Look at the tutorials on youtube and other sites like macprovideo. There are many online courses you can take. There are books as well.

Is your mic fine? Also, check the input and output settings of Apogee Maestro (i.e. your Apogee Duet software). Some settings in there may cause some distortion/static. Also - have you tried importing a different audio file into Logic and then tried listening to it? This will rule out if Logic is the issue and then you can check your gear.

Umm...i'm not the most knowledgeable about this stuff but my first thought was sidechaning. Is it side-chained to the kick or a ghost kick? Also, have you played with the compressor setting? Try a quicker release and quick attack. Other than that - you can manually play with the volume levels or automate the volume level (using write mode) of the bass in real time and record that. I think that's how they used to do it back in day before DAWs were created.

No shortcut in learning to arrange. What sort of music are you trying to write? No minimum requirements - but most genres have an accepted form/structure and arrangement style which can then be altered. Think of your composition telling a story and maybe that can be a starting point on how to arrange. Other than that, listen to multiple artists who compose in the style of music that you want to write in. Analyse their music bar by bar....e.g. a Katy Perry tune - intro of 8 bars with just vocals and bass sound...a noise sweep effect comes in around bar 10....drum build up in bar xxx, kick drum thickens in bar 32. I'm obviously making this up but it is one way of learning arrangement. I mean, people who go to Julliard and Berklee spend days and months learning orchestration and arrangement and analyse classical, romantic, modern styles. I remember watching a Quincy Jones interview where he was talking about studying the music of Charlier Parker all the way to Stravinsky and Alban Berg. If you're not gonna be going to music school, then your best bet is just listening and listening. You'll start to be a better musician/producer/songwriter the more you listen. If you want to learn stuff buy books on counterpoint or you can read Rimsy Korsakov's Principles of Orchestration (its available online for free with audio examples).