Logic To Pro Tools MIDI & Audio Transfer Procedures
Moving MIDI
- In Logic, consolidate the MIDI data on each track by selecting it all and choosing ‘Merge Objects per tracks’ from the local Functions menu.
- Then select all the MIDI and go to ‘Export Selection as MIDI file’ from the File menu. This creates a standard type 1 (multi-track) MIDI file.
- In Pro Tools, create a new Session and choose ‘Import MIDI/Track’ from the File menu. Point to the file, and leave ‘Use Tempo from MIDI file’.
Moving Audio: Quick Method (no time-stamping)
- In Logic, name your audio tracks using the ‘Function > Track > Create Trackname’ menu option in the Arrange page.
- Record a small section of silence into an audio track at the exact start of the song.
- Paste this new region into the exact start of all other audio tracks.
- Bounce the audio tracks to single whole files by selecting all the audio in each track (one at a time) and using the glue tool. At this point it’s a good idea to go into the Audio Window and use the ‘Move Files’ operation (from the Audio Files menu) to move the new files to a new folder, where you can find them more easily.
- Quit Logic and launch Pro Tools.
- Either open a new Session, or the one with the transferred MIDI data (if there was any). Choose ‘Import Audio to Tracks’ from the File menu and select the audio files you created in Logic.
If all has gone to plan, this should create all the tracks as required, with the audio spotted to the start of the Session.
Moving Audio: Longer Method (using time-stamping)
Time-stamping is the process of exporting the start position of audio regions to their parent audio files. SDII-format audio files are capable of storing edit information about the start and end points of selected sections of the file, and a time-stamp for where those sections appear in your project. This is what we’re taking advantage of with the following method of moving audio…
- In Logic, name your audio tracks using the ‘Function > Track > Create Trackname’ menu option in the Arrange page.
- Select all audio regions in the arrange page (across all tracks), and choose ‘Tracknames To Objects’ from the View menu.
- With all your audio still selected, choose ‘Convert Regions to Individual Regions’ from the local Audio menu. At this point, every clip of audio in the arrange page will be individually named and referenced.
- Open the Audio window and choose ‘Select Unused’ from the Edit menu. Hit delete/backspace to remove all regions that don’t appear in the arrangement.
- Select everything that’s left, and choose ‘Export SDII Regions’ from the Audio Files menu.
- Now use the ‘Move Files’ command (again in the Audio Files menu) to put all the audio into one folder where you can find it later.
- Now take a screenshot of the arrange page (command-shift-3). This will help you create the right tracks and remember which regions are parts of stereo pairs.
- Quit Logic and launch Pro Tools.
- Open your Session with the converted MIDI, or create a new Session, and make sure the start time and tempo matches the Logic song. Make the required number of tracks.
- Choose ‘Import Audio’ from the Region List menu. Locate the first audio file and you’ll be shown a list of all regions within the file that you created in Logic. Add the regions (not the whole file), and repeat for each audio file used in the song. When you’re done you’ll have a list of all the audio clips from the Logic song in the Region List.
- Choose Spot mode, and drop the regions into their tracks, one-by-one. Each time you’ll be presented with the Spot dialogue. At the bottom of the box you’ll see the ‘User Time Stamp’, and by clicking the arrow next to this, you can enter the value as your chosen Spot location.
This is a long-winded process, but you should end up with a Session that looks exactly the same as the original Logic arrangement.
© Matt Bellingham 2003 – 2006
Standing Waves
A standing wave is a sound wave that is the product of continuously reflected back & forth sound wave between two parallel walls/surfaces whereby the incident wave and the reflected
wave are in phase.
Lowest Frequency (F) = 343 / 2 x L
The frequency of a standing wave within a room will be determined by the distance between the walls/surfaces and is a product of the interaction of the initial and reflected sound but distinct from them.
With a standing wave, the reflected wave is synchronized with the incoming wave as they pass by. There are mutual cancellations and reinforcements that do not move – hence the term ‘standing” wave.
Points of max amplitude = pressure anti-nodes
Points of min amplitude = pressure nodes
‘Standing waves are directly dependent, in conception, upon the physical phenomena of reflection. The wave front will hit the wall then reflecting back to the sound source. In effect, one wave traverses to the left whilst another to the right. The interaction between the two creates a stationary standing wave that is a product of, yet distinct from, the two waves that generate its existence.’ (Everest, p.240)
The creation of a standing wave occurs by the superposition (the placing of something on or above an existing thing – noun) of these two travelling wave.
‘The dimensions of a studio or listening room determine its characteristic frequencies much as though there were a north-south pipe, an east-west pipe, and a vertical pipe, the pipes corresponding to the length, width, and height of the room, respectively.’ (Everest, p.319)
- Standing waves are also most prominent for 400Hz signals and below due to the amount of energy that they carry in vibrating through the air.
- What do you notice most when outside a live music venue?
- Do you hear much high frequency energy escaping?
- Notice the vibration from bass in pubs and clubs whereas higher frequencies carry less energy and hence absorption or diffusion can occur through materials at a greater and more effective rate than for low frequencies.
The lowest resonant frequency (standing wave) between 2 walls will be equal to the following: › F = 344 / 2 x Distance (meters) › Example: 5 meters apart > @ 344 / 2 x 5 = 34.4 Hz Standing waves will also occur at whole number multiples of the primary resonant frequency › Example
- 34.4 Hz x 2 = 68.8 Hz
- 34.4 Hz x 3 = 103.2 Hz
- 34.4 Hz x 4 = 137.6 Hz
These resonances are called MODES
The Six Aspects of Production
The Six Aspects of Production [Berklee College of Music]
Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why?
WHO
The question of “who” should be directed at both the artist and the song.
Who is the artist?
• Describe the artist’s identity.
• Indicate when the recording was made.
• Identify the song’s style and intended audience. Is it similar to otherrecords?
• Describe the budget constraints (if any!)
• Describe the record’s purpose, in terms of an artist’s career. Is it a catchyfirst single to establish the artist? To get a deal? A demo to get a gig as acover band? A different direction, used to learn something new?
Knowing about the artist’s qualities and motivations creates a context and shapesan overview for how to approach a production. It will help you answer the overarchingquestion, “Why take this particular production approach for this particularartist and this particular song?”
Who is the song?
Knowing the identity of the song is as important as knowing the identity of theartist. Indeed, “production” is the melding of song and artist onto record.
How does the song itself influence the approach to the production? What is thelyric’s story,and what individual sections, phrases, or even words direct or affectthe production at all scales? How does the melody interact with the lyric? Does themelody emphasize lyrics or direct the flow of the song, or just create a musicalelement and draw attention in its own right? How do these invite productionelements? How do harmonic elements affect all of this, and again, inviteproduction attention? How does the overall structure of the song dictate the
production approach and/or flow of the record?
These may seem like “songwriting elements,” because they are! The first job ofthe producer is A&R (“artist & repertoire”). Choose the best song and thenoversee touching up or rewriting and restructuring the song, if necessary, until it isthe best it can be. That is what much of preproduction is, and it is often the mostimportant element of the entire production process. A great song for a great artistmakes the producer’s job easier, and the song often points the way to approachthe production.
WHAT
What specific elements are you hearing, sonically and musically?
Name each element you are hearing (instrument, voice, sound, combination).What are each element’s sonic qualities, and what is its part in the arrangement?What we hear is the sound maker (its tone or coloration) AND the music it isplaying.
For example, I might describe a part I’m hearing as a 12-string electricguitar (the type of instrument) with a clear but idiosyncratic sound (color/timbre),playing a IV chord (the music) with the third on the top, open voicing(arrangement), with a slow but aggressive, anticipated strum (performance).
You’ll expand on the sound’s sonic qualities as you get to “where” and “how,” as they also effectthe sound.
The analysis process is best organized by listing elements as they are heard, so that you don’t
just compile a list of things out of context. So let’s go right to “when.”
WHEN
At what point does an element appear in the production/song?
I find it best to analyze a production by going section by section, and then bar by bar, down to
the beat and sub-beat, for that’s how each “what” is heard. A record is a series of “whats”
appearing and unfolding over time.
It helps to define the general, overall production feel of each song section. That will guide the
specifics of each component part—each ”what.”
WHERE
Where in the 3-dimensional aural space does the musical element appear?
We, as producers or engineers, often think in technical terms—panning, reverb, delay, volume,
etc. The listeners, however, just hear things located in 3-dimensional space. So, define spatial
placement as they do. Then you can figure out the possible technical ways to achieve that.
For example, a muted trumpet drenched in reverb, panned off to the right, with a lot of a high
ratio of return signal (reverb) to dry (source signal) and low in the mix, is heard by the listener asa soft trumpet off in the distance, perhaps on a misty night.
HOW
How is it played? What is the emotional approach, attitude?
This overlaps with much of the above. “How” may include equipment, effects, and so forth. A
specific instrument through a specific processor helps define the sound and is used to support
the attitude,
WHY
What is the purpose of each musical element?
Above all, “why?” is the most important question for learning, and for good production. Foreachand every element in a record, a choice was made to have it. WHY? Why was it included toachieve such a purpose?
Why that specific instrument at that specific location in this specific song, located in that specificspace, played with that specific approach?
Each “why” will always be guided by the overall “why” of the context of this song, for this artist,
approached this way (see “who?”). Each “why” is a specific element supporting the big “why.”
There is a purpose for each choice, even if it’s just to “keeps the groove,” or some other simple
musical purpose.
In looking at “why,” we also spot the “hooks” of a record—those elements that grab the listener,and tend to stay with them. It may be the chorus of a song, a single lyric, or it may be anindividual effect, a turnaround, a surprise stop in the arrangement, an instrumental hit, etc.
Any grabber that hooks us in. The “why”—the purpose of a hook—is . . . to hook us!
how to mix drums
A quick tutorial on how to mix drums using EQ, Compression and Reverb.
Jack Joseph Puig: Mixing Tips – Instinct vs. Intellect
From hit making producer/engineer Jack Joseph Puig (Green Day. Black Eyed Peas. The Rolling Stones.U2.Fergie.John Mayer. Sheryl Crow. Klaxons.Panic At The Disco.Weezer.Counting Crows.Pussycat Dolls…
