Logic Express 7.0 And Quantize And Automation. Options

[nigelgjones]

Hi, I was wondering if anybody could help me here.

I am a semi professional singer songwriter with a new album.

I recently purchased Logic Express 7.0 after cutting my teeth with Garageband, and think its great.

I am slowly working my way around the program and have already finished one song.

However my next project has a difficult syncopated rhythm guitar part throughout and after a dozen or so takes I manged to get a half decent cut.

I understand there is quantization in Logic and have used this with some success in garageband. However for the life of me I can't find it anywhere despite reading and re-reading the manual.

It says there is a Q button in the peripherals, but it's not there. On some midi and instrument tracks a Quantization menu appears at the top of the peripherals window but not in an audio region. As for the Q button I just can't find it.

Also, after successfully mixing a song in the mixer then adding some manual fades at the end makes it sems impossible to re-adjust the sound again, without it reverting to a fixed automated volume. I have to clear all automation info and start again.

Whew, it's a learning curve alright but it is brilliant.

Any experts out there I would love to hear from you.

Please out my website: www.nigelgjones.co.uk

Regards

Nigel

[Adrian Delso]

Keyboards are very useful! It may be possible to get your computer keyboard to act as an input device - faster than using a mouse.

The book is the "Apple Pro Training Series:Logic 6" and is by Martin Sitter and Robert Brock. I don't know if they have produced an update for Logic 7, yet, but you will certainly get all your basic questions answered. It takes the form of a series of lessons, walking you through MIDI and audio sequencing. I can also recommend a book by Andrea Pejrolo, called "Creative Sequencing Techniques for Audio Production" - very strong on making MIDI arrangements sound 'real'.

Finally, guitar MIDI: Roland make some good MIDI controllers, ranging from an actual MIDI guitar to a thing you fit to a normal guitar, so you have one lead to your amp or DI box and a MIDI lead to a synthesiser or a computer interface, which lets you 'play' a whole range of instruments - MIDI or sampled - from your guitar, by picking up where your finger is, how hard you hit the string, etc. The old ones had quite a few pitch detection problems - bent strings, in particular, but I believe they're very good now.

Endless creative possibilities, but care is needed if you want to play, say a sax sound, and make it sound like a real saxophonist - no pick scrapes and bends!

This post has been edited by Adrian Delso: Mon 16 May 2005, 10:32