Essential effects to know before recording

[Ruffen]

Hi,

I have a question about the basic most essential effects you should use when recording instruments in Logic. I have been using Logic a while now but the software is so massive and there is so much you can do that it´s impossible to learn everything, at least I feel very limited to what I am capable of taking in and learning. So what I want to know is this:

 

If you are going to record songs mostly with the midi instruments that are to find in Logic, which effects are the most important ones to know to get the most "professional" sound on the instruments? 

 

If I get some good tips here I can try and focus on learning and mastering these instead of reading about EVERYTHING you can do in Logic. I understand that you can do almost anything but to me it´s enough to know a few essential ones that can make it sound more professional. Note: Until now I have never done anything to the midi instruments, just kept them as they are when you choose them in the software. 

 

PS! I have also tries to search on Youtube but there are so many videos, so if you have any suggestions to some really good Youtube videos on this it will be very well welcomed.

 

Thank you in advance. 

[cleamon]

Get David's Book Logic X Pro 10.3.1

[David Nahmani]

Get David's Book Logic X Pro 10.3.1

Excellent suggestion, I second it. 

I'd say the two single most important plug-ins to mix a song are EQ and Compression. 

[3ple]

Hi,

I have a question about the basic most essential effects you should use when recording instruments in Logic. I have been using Logic a while now but the software is so massive and there is so much you can do that it´s impossible to learn everything, at least I feel very limited to what I am capable of taking in and learning. So what I want to know is this:

 

If you are going to record songs mostly with the midi instruments that are to find in Logic, which effects are the most important ones to know to get the most "professional" sound on the instruments? 

 

If I get some good tips here I can try and focus on learning and mastering these instead of reading about EVERYTHING you can do in Logic. I understand that you can do almost anything but to me it´s enough to know a few essential ones that can make it sound more professional. Note: Until now I have never done anything to the midi instruments, just kept them as they are when you choose them in the software. 

 

PS! I have also tries to search on Youtube but there are so many videos, so if you have any suggestions to some really good Youtube videos on this it will be very well welcomed.

 

Thank you in advance. 

I know it sounds like a "cliche", but the best "plugins" you already have and you should master are your ears and your brain (creativity). Train your ears the best you can to ear things that usually you don't ear. Do this by opening, for example, a kick drum on a sample editor. Play it. Then select just the first 30ms and play it. Learn to listen what makes a source sound that way. Then select the other portion of the kick and listen to it. Listen to what the first 30ms of a kick do to a kick. Delete the first 30 ms of a kick and understand what you end up with. Do the same with a snare, HH, vocals, bass, etc. Explore different sounds, songs, etc. Understand what sound is. 

Then of course, train your creativity. Make music every day and compare it with other songs. Recreate songs you like. The more you do, the more you learn. Yes, plugins help you shape a sound, but what if you can shape a source before you even use an EQ? What if you pick great sounds that work well together right from the start? Example: will you read better if you have a black background with white letters, or a black background with dark grey letters? As soon as you learn basic stuff that always work, the plugins are just there to give you a hand.

That being said, train how to make music without plugins first. Force yourself to have a great mix by just shaping the source. Try to achieve a great mix just with volume. Limitation brings creativity. Then, of course the plugins I think are more important are EQ and Compressor, as David said. For me the EQ is first in terms of priority, then compressor.