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[Bear-Faced Cow]

Totally interesting stories… almost makes me wish I was there instead of having been immerse into the recording industry via cheap country cover songs back in the 70’s, thanks to my mother (she was a rather notable music agent back then). Mind you, I guess if it weren’t for that, along with others in my life thanks to my mom, I might not have had the fascination to put my fingers to the faders. Being half geek also helps (I get that from my dad).

My friend mixed Balance and the concert movie Right Here, Right Now. I’m not sure if he was on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, but he worked alongside the late great Andy Johns for a long time and told me a few stories. I’m grateful that he got Andy to agree to put out a drum library before he passed. Although not a Toontrack product (I wish it were!), it was that library that made me really appreciate a well recorded drum kit from an in-demand engineer/producer. Also gives me a larger appreciation for all of the libraries that Toontrack puts out. Like the Andy Johns libraries, the Toontrack libraries are a becoming a legacy. The last two songs used the New York Vol. 2 SDX, which is now a moment in history. However, the drums not only carry on the memory of Allaire by making you feel like you’re there, but they are so amazingly recorded. It also helps that Nir Z knows how to hit a drum.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

But then you write “devil music” and then you only get compliments from the devil worshippers.

I doubt it… I’d probably get some derisive remarks. Mind you, that might be a sign that I was doing something right. 😀

I’ve received similar types of comments from the other side as well that make me chuckle.

I saw something on Facebook that went: why do we associate heavy metal with the devil? For all we know, he might like smooth jazz. LOL! 😀

Like I said, these days I just try to spill out whatever is in my head onto the computer. It’s good therapy for the times we live in.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

• This post was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by Bear-Faced Cow.

[Bear-Faced Cow]

Unless your keyboard allows you to split your input into zones, the ways to do this in Logic are to configure the input range on your instrument MIDI tracks in the arrange window, set up a series of transform blocks in Environment window or create a MIDI filtering JavaScript for each MIDI track to only record the note(s) you’re wanting to capture on that track. Otherwise, you would have do it after recording your region (which you can create a key command for).

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

• This post was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by Bear-Faced Cow.

[Bear-Faced Cow]

There are also a number of DAWs available to use. Despite Reaper being only $60 if you want to get rid of the nag, it is freely available for your usage. You can put your audio track there and play along to it with SD3 as a plug-in.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

1

Thanked by: wilk

[Bear-Faced Cow]

And just like everything I post… my opinions along with a couple of bucks are worth a coffee and a donut.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

Who really comments on Christian Rock songs? When they do, it’s comical, more from Christians than anyone else.

Maybe I need to write some “devil music”. LOL!

Like yourself, I just love writing songs… Many are just the product of an overactive imagination fuelled by emotion. I just can’t post every one of them here because they don’t all use Toontrack products, although I am starting to develop some weird ways of implementing them, thanks to recent software updates that add some method to my madness.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

Trust me, I’ve had the same issues in the past.

The Reader’s Digest version of the Fletcher Munson effect is that the ear is a natural compressor and as the volume gets louder, certain frequencies get more compressed, particularly in the midrange regions. As a result, our brains tend to compensate for this. This will product misleading results at higher volumes. There’s far more to this and you can get a grasp of it here: https://ehomerecordingstudio.com/fletcher-munson-curve/

If you mix at a low volume through your headphones, you will have an improved sense of your mix as your ears and mind will be allowing more frequencies to pass without compressing them. You’ll also spare your hearing (that’s the last thing you want to lose!). You also need to be able to trust what your hearing through your headphones by listening to your favourite songs through them and use them as references. This is important because once you understand how they’re sounding, and you shape your mixes accordingly, then your mixes will translate everywhere just as they would.

If you mix sounds good at a low volume, it should sound just as good at a higher non-damaging volume.

A friend of mine, who happens to be a grammy-winning engineer (mixed a couple of my fave Van Halen albums), bestowed on me his trick: his secret to a better bass was to set the bass level at the low volume and then pull the master fader down really low and adjust so that he could hear the bass with the rest of the song.

All I can say is try it. It works for me, and I’m spending more time in my headphones these days because my wife hates the repetitive nature of mixing. I might make her a widow because of it someday… LOL!

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

Enable the scroll and three-finger drag gestures in your System Prefs. You will have more control over SD3’s controls.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

1

Thanked by: Lawrence Collen

[Bear-Faced Cow]

Good song… also listened to “Hey, What you Tryin’ To Do” (liked it a bit better for some reason – not saying the other is bad).

Noticed the usual things I often mention to you, which again are pretty much characteristic of mixing loud with headphones.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

I would imagine they would vary between SDXs due to the both genre and how they were recorded (and even played for that matter). SD3 core library is more of a “one size fits all” and may need tweaking to suit your tastes.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

That all depends if you are comparing the EZX to an unprocessed hi-hat. Big difference.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

Actually, you can use the scroll function on the Magic Trackpad. It has a scroll gesture. You can also three-finger drag the control if enabled.

No ideas lost here because of that. 😉

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

The last thing you want is symmetry. Symmetry produces standing waves which require more treatment to absorb them. You want your listening room to be as asymmetrical as possible. The fact that you are against a corner could cause a waveform buildup in the corner. You could alleviate this with a corner bass trap, and cheapest way you can take care of this is with a stack of magazines just past speaker height. If you have a subwoofer, which I would recommend you get, place it perpendicular to your listening position. This will help to cancel standing waves. As to figuring out the placement, you can do this by placing the subwoofer in your seating position and crawl around the room. Wherever it sounds most “bass-y” is where you place the subwoofer. Also make sure that you have maintained an equal balance with your other speakers or you will find your mixes lacking bass due to overcompensation (or the other way around).

Also, don’t mix music loud. Aside from potentially damaging your hearing, you bring more of the room into play when you are loud. Near-field monitors are meant to listened to a close range (this is why they are called near-field monitors).

Your situation is not un-ideal as you believe.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

Logic 10.5.1 has been released.

Some of the major crashing issues with Logic have been addressed. Hopefully, those experiencing crashing with SD3 (I haven’t so I wouldn’t be in a position to tell) will find this update helps.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Bear-Faced Cow]

I have no formula. If I find a beat I like, I’ll jam to it while recording it in Logic. Other times, I will simply record something into Logic and let it do the dirty work of figuring out things like tempo and build around that. Other times, I will record something into my phone and eventually work with it when the inspiration hits. The common element, however, is to just record and don’t judge it. You might be surprised to find that something that didn’t work out so great on guitar might sound fantastic on piano, or some other instrument.

jord

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Jordan L. Chilcott

Web Site: https://jordanchilcottmusic.com/

[Author]

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