logicfan11 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hi guys, i need some help with the bass and drums please. Logic gives me quite good electric bass and acoustic drums virtual instruments to play with but i feel like they sound too digital. Of course i try to change this with things like EQ, compression and reverb but never get excellent results. My musical genre ist rock/punk/poprock. Can you please tell me your favourite virtual instruments in Logic (the ones that are bundled) or give me tips how to make them sound real (at this point, yes they have random velocity ) or even tell me another plugins to buy (or if they are free to download). Thank you very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrishansson Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Randomizing velocity doesn't necessarily make it "human".. You could try quantizing to a swing groove instead of exactly to the grid. You'll find it under the quantize menu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logicfan11 Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Thanks, i will try that. Do you use the Logic bass and drums or do you stick to other plugins? Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrishansson Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I can't say I use too many other plugs... EZDrummer's DFH sometimes, but that's only when I'm writing songs for my metal band, to give my drummer an idea of what I want him to play. Other than that I just use samples cut up from vinyl (Gene Krupa and Funkadelic have some good open drum parts), or Ultrabeat, or the EXS24 with their built in samples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Sandvik Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Thanks, i will try that. Do you use the Logic bass and drums or do you stick to other plugins? Thanks again You could go very far with Logic's built-in instruments in combination with the default plug-ins as well as creativity. You could purchase tons of plug-ins, but if there's no creative ideas behind it, won't help much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logicfan11 Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Thanks. I know and i am against buying gear and plugins (never bought any plugins) if there are no ideas. I have ideas for a song and done my best on the drums but it don't sound like professional recordings. I understand that it will never be without real drums but maybe with better compression and EQ knowledge i can get to a point where it is near to professional sounds. Maybe you can give me some tips on basic rock/poprock drum compression and EQ? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpotle Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 For doing punk rock bass - i'd buy a bass. A mexican made fender p-bass is not very expensive, and easy to find used for even less. I dont know if you play bass or guitar, but even if you dont, its not hard to find the roots and play those, and lack of technique isnt such an issue in punk (unless youre going for the more recent super polished punk, which is a whole 'nother debate...) If youre committed to hammering out your bass on a keyboard, id recommend never quantizing. Also, most punk bass is played with a pick - so the attack is stronger on the down-pick. So if youre playing straight 1/8 notes, you'd want the velocity on every other note to be different - ex: 1st note 100%, 2nd 80%, 3rd 95%, 4th 79%, etc (not exact, but you get the general idea). Of course these are broad generalizations - there are many flavors of punk. I'd lean towards getting a bass... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrishansson Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I'd lean towards getting a bass... +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I agree with the others... in fact a (long) while ago I was thinking of getting a bass plug-in... got an "el cheapo" bass instead: http://www.theguitarfiles.com/modules.php?name=catalog&file=product_info&products_id=529 Best purchase I've ever made. Sounds GREAT! In fact I convinced my bass player to play it on stage and he loved it - liked it better than his $500 bass. Do you play guitar at all? Punk rock is all about playing real instruments, not necessarily playing them well, just conveying energy and emotion in your playing. I can't imagine ever getting the punk rock tone with plug-ins honestly. Even if you don't play guitar at all you could learn basic bass lines. Of course for drums it's another story. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Sandvik Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Get an SX bass from from Rondo music. I'm using an SX for bass gigs around here in the Bay area (1-2 gigs a week.) I got a used one for $100. Sounds great. You could get a new one for $129 or so. It's worth taking it to a guitar technician for small fixups, that's even true of expensive Fenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logicfan11 Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Thanks. I play guitar and could of course play bass as well if it's in the same tuning . Things like root notes and simple melodies aren't a problem. So maybe i just should get a real cheap bass? I'm just worried that a cheap real bass would sound worse then the Logic plugins. What are your thoughts? And please notice, i am not that kind of "musician" that can't play any instruments. That's what i hate most and why i get a bad feeling if i hear the word "i am musician, i make remixes". I can play guitar, a little bit bass, a little bit (i don't like it) singing and try to learn some piano as well. Thanks for any help, you guys are awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Sandvik Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 As mentioned, any bass playing will always sound more like the real thing than samples, unless someone has sampled you a longer set and you could use it as it is. Anyway, it gives your productions character. And with flex you could fix your timing. As for tuning, Melodyne but it's easier to just tune your bass before recording it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpotle Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 If you get a bass, run it through one of the bass amps in logic and then through the pedal board for some overdrive, you should be able to get a great bass sound. It will fit punk so much better than a virtual bass. $100 for a bass is a much better investment. If you're not totally happy with the in the box bass sounds in logic, I'd suggest investing in a sansamp bass di. A bass, a sansamp and most importantly a little practice, and you should be able to track some great bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logicfan11 Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 Wow thanks guys. With "if it's in the same tuning" i didn't mean that i'm too dumb to tune the bass . As for Melodyne, i think things like those can destroy real music . And you think even the cheapest real bass will sound better than any plugin? And could i use Amp Designer for bass or does the bass amp in Logic sound better? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpotle Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Yeah - you can use the amps in amp designer. Or you can go direct in and just use pedal board. I guess i would start wit the bass guitar channel strip setting - mess around with that. Basically, theres plenty of options for you in the box with logic. Honestly, the biggest impact to the sound will be your technique if anything, and you can improve that with practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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