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Have you tried composing using ONLY Logic instruments?


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Oh, definitely. When they started bundling a ton of instruments/effects with it (2004 I think) I think I used the built-in stuff for 5 or 6 years. The only thing that wasn't "stock" was my EXS24 library, which keeps growing slowly over time, and which I only used occasionally for the odd go-to effect (I had a reverse cymbal sound that I used on at least 50 things)

 

I think so many people used the built in sounds around that time that it was possible to have a pretty good game of "Apple Loop spotting". Kind of like the 2000s equivalent of spotting samples from all those Zero-G CDs..

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I'm using mostly Logic Instruments. I can sometime write entire pieces using only ESX-24. And the final mix can also be done entirely w/ Logic plug-ins.

 

In fact, it seems that the more I am inspired and I know what I am doing, the less I need to rely on external plug-ins. If I start auditioning a bunch of different synths or replacing Logic plugs w/ 3rd party ones, usually, it means that I'm struggling and the issue is w/ me, not w/ Logic's synths.

 

EXS-24 and ES-2 go a long way.

 

My one irreplaceable 3rd party instrument would be Superior Drummer - and that's only if I'm writing rock or metal. For other genre, my custom EXS-24 library and occasionally UltraBeat do a fine job.

 

Zeta for some stuff, Korg's MonoPoly (because it's insanely fun to play), Steinberg's Retrologue and Arturia's MiniMoog and I've got pretty much all the extras I need.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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I think Logic's synths are massive underrated. The ES1 and the ESP are awesome, simple, subtractive synths that are great for that older 80s vibe. People dismiss them because they come bundled with Logic and don't have that 3rd party appeal. I use these two a lot in my stuff.

 

I think where Logic falls down is the old sounding drum samples. They seriously limp when you compare them to Battery or something. But then, you have to look at what you get for your money, and when you consider what you get with Logic, you can't complain. I use a lot of 3rd party synths and mostly outboard. But I never speak ill of Logic's synths as I think with the right treatment they can compete just fine.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I use Logic's synths ALL the time along with Ultrabeat. I recently got Komplete 9 so I've been mixing the synths from there and Battery with the Logic stuff but it always leans more towards the Logic instruments

 

Orchestral wise I migrated from Sibelius to Logic and was already using EW/QL sample libraries so I never left those.

 

For mastering I use almost exclusively Logic's plug-ins. Mainly the compressor, channel EQ, and adaptive limiter. The only plug-in I started using outside of Logic for mastering is Waves' new Vitamin plug-in.

 

First things first: stop using guitar tab. The longer you use it, the more behind you become. Just do the work and learn to read a proper score or part.

 

YES! A thousand times YES!

I use to read nothing but tabs and when I joined jazz band way back in high school they handed the music out and it was like a foreign language. I knew how to read standard notation since I played french horn as well, but never applied to actual guitar. And then in the comping sections where it just gives you the chords...I didn't even know there were chords with the number "7" in them :wink: I (at least think) I adapted to it :mrgreen:

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I've been working on a few songs using only the stuff included in LPX. It's not hard now that LPX has tools like the MIDI arpeggiator, DRUMMER, Bass Amp, etc.

 

The bundled Logic plug-ins have always been damned good and super-efficient. Nowadays I feel like reaching for a WAVES plug is bit of a crutch and not usually necessary. I ask myself: Would anyone listening to this piece of music notice the difference between the Logic Compressor vs. Waves CLA-76? Or ES2 vs Omnisphere? I doubt it.

 

And I *love* the idea that I can login to a new mac, sign-on to the App Store and download everthing I need to work on my music with 1 click. That is awesome. I like having a few limitations and the ones imposed by using just LPX are *easy* to suffer through.

 

BC

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  • 7 months later...

The new compressors in 10.1 are great.. I don't make much use of Logic's instruents.. I do like their electric piano, organ, clav..

Years ago, I was always having issues of EXS samples becoming corrupted, and I gave up on it and moved to Kontakt.

 

The new EXS does seem like a good advancement,

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