Here’s what you’ll gain:

• Demystifying Ambient Concepts: Gain a solid understanding of the core principles and philosophies behind ambient music creation.
• Logic Pro X Skills: Explore the extensive capabilities of Logic Pro X, learning how to utilize its built-in plugins and instruments to weave captivating textures and atmospheres.
• Step-by-Step Creation: Follow along as we construct a complete ambient song from scratch, providing you with a practical blueprint for crafting your own masterpieces.
• Bonus Presets: Take advantage of exclusive presets designed specifically to fuel your ambient production journey.

This course is perfect for:

• Aspiring ambient music producers eager to learn the fundamentals and unlock their creative potential.
• Established musicians seeking to broaden their skillset and explore new sonic territories.
• Logic Pro X enthusiasts looking to delve deeper into the software’s capabilities for crafting ambient soundscapes.

What you get in the course

Access to Morningdew Media Education. A dedicated place to enjoy the courses, get project files, extra material and much more.

21 episodes packed with ambient sound knowledge!

3 hour 11minutes of video tutorials.

4K crisp video quality.

Subtitles / captions (in most languages)

Additional Content, Project Files, shortkeys, tips and tricks!

 Ask questions directly to the course author (Mattias).

 Enjoy the course on any device with a browser; mobile, desktop / TV etc.

Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity! Enroll today and embark on your path to creating mesmerizing soundscapes.

Here’s a free episode from my YouTube channel:

The post Unleash Your Inner Soundscape: Master Ambient Music Production in Logic Pro X appeared first on Morningdew Media.

Mastering Assistant

Elevating Your Mixes with AI Let’s kick things off with the star of the show – the Mastering Assistant. This groundbreaking addition introduces an AI mastering tool that’s designed to refine and polish your mixes effortlessly. When activating the Mastering Assistant on the main output bus, it will analyze the song and provide an EQ curve suggestion. The Mastering Assistant offers various processing modes, from clean and valve to punch and transparent, allowing users to tailor the mastering to their specific preferences. Furthermore you can drive the loudness with dynamic options and stereo spread controls. The Mastering Assistant’s loudness compensation feature ensures a fair comparison between the original and mastered versions, saving valuable time in the mastering process.

Beat Breaker

Beat Breaker is reshaping Audio for Modern Rhythms Next on the agenda is the Beat Breaker, a tool designed to shuffle and reorder audio for a contemporary sound. With Beat Breaker you can really manipulate your beats and toss the audio around as we can manipulate time, repeats, and volume independently. Giving the freedom to experiment with different patterns and styles. The Beat Breaker’s potential for intricate sound design makes it an exciting addition to Logic Pro’s toolkit.

Sample Alchemy

Transforming Audio into Playable Instruments with Sample Alchemy. The new plugin instrument allows users to turn any audio file into a playable instrument, opening up endless possibilities for creative sound design. Sample Alchemy has a clean interface with exciting options like classic loop, scrub, bow etc. The granular engine, play heads, and motion recording feature contribute to the tool’s versatility, showcasing its potential for crafting unique and dynamic sounds.

The motion recording is my favourite and reminds me of the Orb feature found in Omnisphere 2. It instantly give you cool morphing sounds.

Conclusion

Logic Pro 10.8 is undeniably a game-changer for music producers, and Mattias has given us an insightful tour of its new features. The Mastering Assistant, Beat Breaker, and Sample Alchemy each bring a unique dimension to the software, empowering users to enhance their creativity and efficiency in the music production process.

If you want to unlock the full potential of Logic Pro, make sure to check out Mattias Logic course:

The post Logic Pro 10.8: Master Your Mix with AI! Explore Mastering Assistant, Beat Breaker, and Sample Alchemy for Ultimate Music Production 🚀 appeared first on Morningdew Media.

In this comprehensive course, we’ll guide you through everything you need to know to start making music with Logic Pro, from setting up your workspace to recording and editing audio and MIDI.

Getting Started with Logic Pro

If you’ve never used Logic Pro before, the first thing you’ll want to do is get familiar with the software. We’ll walk you through the interface and show you how to set up your workspace to suit your needs. We’ll cover everything from creating a new project to selecting the right audio interface and MIDI controller. By the end of this section, you’ll have a solid understanding of how Logic Pro works and be ready to start creating music.

When you buy the course you get:

 Lifetime access to the Course Web App – a dedicated place to learn Logic Pro!
 Chat – Ask Logic Pro related Questions to the course mentor (Mattias).
 Free preset pack for the Logic Alchemy Synth!
 Access to the Exclusive Discord channel!
 All episodes are free of advertisements!
 21 Episodes – 2h 51min (new episodes drops every 2nd week!)

What’s the benefits of the Logic Pro for beginners guide course compared to watching free videos on YouTube?

 You get a dedicated place to learn Logic Pro instead of searching through YouTube to find what you are looking for. Saves you time!

 The course app can be run from any platform; mobile, desktop / laptop / tv. Just Login to the web app and start watching the episodes from your last bookmark!

  Chat with Mattias Holmgren and get help with your progress in Logic Pro!

  Learn from +25 year producer Mattias Holmgren, credits here.

You can sign up to our newsletter here, and you will be the first to get all updates and infos on the course!

We’ve planned to add new episodes to the course every second week, at least until the end of 2023! It’s gonna be a masterclass for YOU!

So make sure you sign up to the newsletter to get the latest news!

Recording Audio and MIDI

Recording audio and MIDI is one of the most important aspects of using Logic Pro. We’ll show you how to set up your audio inputs and outputs, as well as how to record audio from a microphone or instrument. You’ll also learn how to record MIDI data using a keyboard or other MIDI controller. We’ll cover everything from basic recording techniques to more advanced features like comping and punching in.

Editing Audio and MIDI

Once you’ve recorded your audio and MIDI, you’ll need to edit it to create a polished final product. We’ll show you how to use Logic Pro’s powerful editing tools to trim, split, and merge audio and MIDI regions. You’ll also learn how to quantize MIDI notes and use Flex Time to adjust the timing of audio recordings. By the end of this section, you’ll have a solid understanding of how to edit audio and MIDI in Logic Pro.

Using Software Instruments and Effects

Logic Pro comes with a wide variety of software instruments and effects that can help you create unique and interesting sounds. We’ll show you how to use these instruments and effects to add depth and texture to your music. You’ll learn how to use synthesizers, drum machines, and samplers to create your own sounds, as well as how to use effects like reverb, delay, and distortion to shape your mix.

Mixing and Mastering Your Music

Mixing and mastering are crucial steps in the music production process. We’ll show you how to use Logic Pro’s mixing tools to balance the levels of your tracks and create a cohesive mix. You’ll also learn how to use EQ, compression, and other processing tools to shape the tone of individual tracks and the overall mix. Finally, we’ll cover mastering techniques that can help your music sound great on any playback system.

Conclusion

Logic Pro is a powerful tool for creating professional-quality music, but it can be intimidating for beginners. Our Logic Pro for Beginners video course will guide you through everything you need to know to start making music with Logic Pro. Whether you’re a songwriter, composer, or producer, this course will give you the skills and knowledge you need to take your music to the next level.

So why wait?

Sign up today and start making great music with Logic Pro!

More relevant articles on Logic Pro

How to install Alchemy presets in Logic Pro

Logic Pro Key Commands – ULTIMATE GUIDE

Alchemy Synth tutorial – Granular Pluck

Logic Pro – Alchemy Preset pack – NEPTUNE

The post Logic Pro for Beginners: Step-by-Step Music Production Course appeared first on Morningdew Media.

It’s essential to learn the key commands of Logic Pro to compose and produce music efficiently. This is a list of my favourite key commands in Logic Pro. The list was compiled at Logic Pro version 10.7.5 but should work with any more recent version of Logic. Enjoy!

Let’s begin with a short set of “must know” key commands as a beginner in Logic Pro.

Must-know Logic Pro key commands short-list

* When a key command is about a “section / view” in Logic Pro, the key will toggle the view on/off.

Ok, so you learned the basic must-know key commands. Let’s look at some more advanced key commands.

Main View in Logic Pro

• Library (Y)
• Inspector (I)
• Toolbar (Ctrl + Option + CMD + T)
• Smart Controls (B)
• Mixer (X)
• Editors (E)
• Piano Roll (P)
• Score Editor (N)
• List Editors (D)
• Note Pads (Option + CMD + P)
• Apple Loops Browser (O)
• Media Browser (F)
• Colors (Option + C)
• Key Command Window (Option + K)
• Step Input Keyboard (Option + CMD + K)
• Track Headers (Option + T)
• Show/Hide all Plugin Windows (V)
• Recall Screensets from 1 to 9 (1-9)
• Project Settings (Option + P)
• Open/Close Instrument in Selected Track (CMD + F1)
• Open/Close 1st Insert FX on Selected Track (Option + CMD + F1)
• Open/Close 2nd Insert FX on Selected Track (Option + CMD + F2)
• Open/Close 3rd Insert FX on Selected Track (Option + CMD + F3)
• Open/Close 1st MIDI FX on Selected Track (Ctrl + Option + CMD + F1)
• Open/Close 2nd MIDI FX on Selected Track (Ctrl + Option + CMD + F2)
• Open/Close 3rd MIDI FX on Selected Track (Ctrl + Option + CMD + F3)

Main Window (Track creation)

• New Track – with selection window (CMD+N)
• New Audio Track (OPTION+CMD+A)
• New Soft Instrument Track (OPTION+CMD+S)
• New Drummer Track (OPTION+CMD+U)
• New External Midi Track (OPTION+CMD+X)
• New Track – with duplicate settings (CMD+D)

Sequencer Navigation Commands

• Forward 1 Bar (.)
• Rewind 1 Bar (,)
• Forward 8 Bars (Shift + .)
• Reverse 8 Bars (Shift + ,)
• Go to Home (Numpad: 0)
• Go to Previous Marker (Option + ,)
• Go to Next Marker (Option + .)
• Go to Marker Number X (Numpad: 1-9)
• Go to Selection Start (Ctrl + Home)
• Go to Selection End (Ctrl + End)

Zoom Commands

• Zoom to Selection or All Content (Z)
• Zoom Tool (Ctrl + Option)
• Zoom Focused Track (Ctrl + Z)
• Zoom Height (CMD + Arrow Up/Down)
• Zoom Sequencer (CMD + Arrow Left/Right)
• Zoom Height with Trackpad (Option + Swipe Up/Down)
• Zoom Sequencer with Trackpad (Option + Swipe Left/Right)
• Zoom to Fit Locators (Ctrl + Shift + Z)
• Go back to Previous Zoom Setting (Ctrl + Option + Left-Click)

Transport Controls

• Play (Spacebar)
• Play from Selection (Shift + Spacebar)
• Record (R)
• Record/Record Toggle (Numpad: *)
• Record/Record Repeat (Shift + Numpad: *)
• Capture Recording (Shift + R)
• Discard Recording + Go to Previous Position (CMD + .)
• Stop (Numpad: 0)
• Pause (Numpad: ,)
• Cycle Mode (C)
• Set Cycle Area to Rounded Selection (U)
• Set Cycle Area to  Exact Selection (CMD + U)

Recording & Playback

• Metronome (K)
• Count-In (Shift + K)
• Tuner (=)
• Track Input Monitor Toggle (Ctrl + I)
• Solo Selected Tracks (S)
• Mute Selected Tracks (M)
• Toggle Solo’ed Tracks (Ctrl + Shift + CMD + S)
• Solo Selected Regions + shift to add (Ctrl + S)
• Mute Selected Regions + shift to add (Ctrl + M)
• Toggle Solo’ed Regions (Ctrl + S)
• Varispeed (Ctrl + Option + CMD + V)
• Low Latency Mode (Ctrl + Shift + CMD + L)

The Global Tracks

• Show/Hide Global Tracks (G)
• Global Tracks View Settings (Option + G)
• Show Marker Track Only (‘)
• Add New Marker (Option + ‘)
• Rename Marker (Shift + ‘)
• Delete Marker (Option + Backspace)

Overall Editing & Workflow

• Repeat Part (CMD + R)
• Repeat Section between Locators (Ctrl + CMD + R)
• Quantize (Q)
• Snap to Grid (CMD + G)
• Bounce Regions in Place (Ctrl + B)
• Time Stretch Part (Option + Drag Lower Part Corner)
• Toggle Hide View (H)
• Hide all Empty Tracks (Numpad: “clear”)
• Unhide all Tracks (Shift + Numpad:”clear”)
• Set Next Higher Division (Ctrl + Option + CMD + Home)
• Set Next Lower Division (Ctrl + Option + CMD + End)
• Set Quantize to Previous Value (Ctrl + Option + CMD + Page Up)
• Set Quantize to Next Value (Ctrl + Option + CMD + Page Down)

The Sequencer in Logic Pro

• New Track Window (Option + CMD + N)
• New MIDI Track (Option + CMD + S)
• New Audio Track (Option + CMD + A)
• Rename Track (Shift + Enter)
• Rename Region (Shift + N)
• Name Regions by Track Name (Option + Shift + N)
• Join Regions per Track (J)
• Join Regions on separate Tracks (CMD + J)
• Split Regions/Notes at Playhead (CMD + T)
• Multi-Split Regions (Scissor + Option)
• Solo Selected Tracks (S)
• Mute Selected Tracks (M)
• Solo Selected Regions (Ctrl + S)
• Mute Selected Regions (Ctrl + M)
• Toggle Solo’ed Regions (Ctrl + S)
• Toggle Solo’ed Tracks (Ctrl + Shift + CMD + S)

The Piano Roll in Logic Pro X

• Move Note Up +1/-1 (Option + Up/Down)
• Move Note Up +12/-12 (Shift + Option + Up/Down)
• Nudge Note Left/Right (Option + Left/Right)
• Join Notes (CMD + J)
• Multi-Split Notes (Scissor + Option)
• Mute Selected Notes (Ctrl + M)
• Select all Muted Notes (Shift + M)
• Select Notes of same Sub Position (Shift + P)
• Select Notes with Same Articulation (Shift + D)
• Invert Selection (Shift + I)
• Temporarily disable snapping (Click + Ctrl + Shift + Drag)
• Remove Overlaps (F1)
• Force Legato (F2)
• MIDI In Toggle (F3)

Audio Editing in Logic Pro X

• Strip Silence (Ctrl + X)
• Normalize Region Gain (Ctrl + Option + CMD + N)
• Normalize Audio in Audio File Editor (Ctrl + N)
• Reverse Audio in Audio File Editor (Ctrl + Shift + R)
• Trim Audio in Audio File Editor (Ctrl + Shift + T)
• Convert Region to Sampler Track (Ctrl + E)
• Transient Editing Mode in Audio File Editor (Ctrl + T)
• Convert Audio Regions to Independent Copies (Option + CMD + F)

Automation in Logic Pro X

• Toggle Automation (A)
• Autoflow Automation Lanes (CMD + Y)
• Add Automation Points (Double-Click)
• Delete Automation Points (Select + Backspace)
• Select Automation Points (Option + Selection)
• Move Single Automation Point (Click + Drag)
• Move all Following Automation Points (Option-click Point + Drag)
• Automation Curve (Ctrl + Shift + Drag)
• Create Region Automation Points (Marquee + Click in Selection)
• Lock X-Axis when Editing Point (Ctrl)
• Delete Visible Automation on Selected Track (Ctrl + CMD + Backspace)
• Delete ALL Automation on Selected Track (Ctrl + Shift + CMD + Backspace)
• Toggle Read/Latch Automation (Ctrl + CMD + A)
• Assign MIDI automation (Move parameter – CMD + L – Move Controller)
• Snap Automation Points (Ctrl + Option + CMD + G)

Final words

Please note that these key commands may differ depending on your specific Logic Pro version!
Make sure to bookmark this page and enjoy while you work efficiently in Logic Pro!

The list was compiled with Logic Pro 10.7.5, US Key Command Preset, Full Sized MAC Keyboard with numpad (Swedish layout).

More Logic Pro tutorials here.

The post Logic Pro Key Commands (Ultimate Guide) appeared first on Morningdew Media.

Welcome to Film Scoring For Beginners episode 5. In this episode we look at how to score action scenes in a film. Todays film score is from the short film, Bag of bones. A film I scored a few years back.

This action film score consists of two distinct parts; a suspenseful introduction which leads into the actual action cue.

How to compose action music for film scores

In this film scoring for beginners video we talk about the composing process behind action music.

How do we find a suitable tempo? What instruments and sounds to use for action music? Why is question / answer and dynamics important throughout the music cue?

Furthermore, we talk about what kind of chords and notes one can use to build suspense and action.

How do we drive the scene forward? How to build momentum in the music?

Obviously, there are million ways to score an action scene, I’m not an expert, but this is one possible way of approaching an action scene.

About the film – Bag Of Bones

Bag Of Bones (An AJP Productions short film: ajpprod.com)
Director: Aurélien Lainé
Director of Photography: Michael Lindberg
Producers: Aurélien Lainé & Hee-Young Sunwoo.
Music: Mattias holmgren.

Enjoy!

The post How to score action scenes – Film Scoring for beginners E05 appeared first on Morningdew Media.

Breaking News 2021-10-20 – Apple announced the even more powerful M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros 14″ and 16″ models.

M1 also features our unified memory architecture, or UMA. M1 unifies its high‑bandwidth, low‑latency memory into a single pool within a custom package. As a result, all of the technologies in the SoC can access the same data without copying it between multiple pools of memory. This dramatically improves performance and power efficiency. Video apps are snappier. Games are richer and more detailed. Image processing is lightning fast. And your entire system is more responsive.

Apple – on it’s M1 Unified Memory Architecture

I just published a new video comparing the performance of the M1 and the M1 MAX.

What does the Apple M1 mean for music producers and video editors?

Firstly, the Apple claims the new Macs with the M1 CPU will have 50% less power consumption. So, a faster processer which uses less power? With up to 20 hours of battery life!

Secondly, the M1’s 8‑core CPU handles complex workflows and heavy workloads, with up to 2.8x faster processing performance than the previous generation. This should give plugins and music apps like Logic Pro a good amount of boost.

MacBook Pro M1 Touch Bar

If you go for the MacBook Pro M1, rather than the MacBook Air, you also get the Touch Bar. For a long time the Touch Bar felt like obselete technology. A hasty new tech thrown in by Apple to justify a higher price and give “extra value” to the customers!?

I recently discovered a free app which actually turns the touch bar into a really useful tool. Read more about the best free app for mac touch bar here.

Internal high quality three-way mic in the MacBook

The new Macs also include an improved three-way mic. But as a professional music producer you are probably working with external audio interfaces and condenser mics. Below is an overview of the specs of the latest M1 powered MacBooks. Yes, we can now run iOS apps on the Mac!

Meet the new version of Logic Pro 10.6 which supports Apple M1 CPU

Apple announced the new Logic Pro 10.6 update in accordance with the new Apple M1 Macs.

Note that Logic dropped the X from the title, and the new version is now Logic Pro.

Music producers working in Logic will instantly benefit the new M1 processor and probably see a huge boost in amount of plugins, CPU efficiency while working in Logic Pro.

Logic Pro 10.6 also has native support for the Novation Launchpads with tight integration. The Logic Remote iOS app has also been updated to support some new features like Live Loops and Remix effects.

I got the brand new Apple Mac Book Pro 13″ M1 – 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD just a few days after its launch. It’s time to put the new Apple Silicon M1 to test with some real life Logic Pro 10.6 projects to see how the new processor performs.

Logic Pro 10.6 tested on Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro

What first strike me is the fast boot of Logic Pro. The DAW starts in a heartbeat. The user interface of Logic never felt so snappy and smooth. I still got a MacBook Pro 15″ (2016 – Intel CPU) with the extra GFX card, 16GB RAM to compare with. And the new MacBook Pro with the Apple Silicon M1 processor is much snappier when switching between views and zooming in Logic.

I didn’t notice any hiccups, just pure smoothness!

Alchemy synth performance on MacBook Pro 2020 with M1 CPU

Alchemy is one of the more demanding plugins, especially its GUI. On the new MacBook Pro 2020 with Apple Silicon M1 CPU the user interface is snappy. Switching between the pages and turning knobs is a smooth experience.

I also noticed the CPU hit is much lower when adding new Alchemy instruments, than on my previous MacBook Pro 15″ (Intel processor).

In conclusion, we can already see a huge performance boost in Logic Pro caused by the new Apple M1 architecture.

Launching Logic Pro using Rosetta translation

If you want to use a lot of non-ARM64 compatible plugins you can launch Logic Pro via Rosetta. Just right-click the Logic Pro icon in the applications folder and select “Open using Rosetta”, this will force Logic to launch in intel compatible mode.

I did notice a slight performance drop when using Logic Pro via Rosetta translation.

Even if you are running Logic Pro in “Apple”-mode (ARM64), you can still add non-ARM64 AU plugins, but those plugins will launch in a “intel” wrapper service (see image below).

I hope third-party plugin developers will have a swift transition compiling their plugins for the new ARM-64 architecture.

ARM64 or x86 (intel) architecture?

You can check which architecture version of Logic Pro you have running by looking in the activity monitor. Look for the “Architecture” tab. If an app/service is running ARM64 the architecture will read “Apple”, if it’s the older intel, it will read “intel”.

What DAWs are compatible with Apple Silicon?

While not all DAWs currently support Apple Silicon M1, some of them still work good via the Rosetta 2 translation app.

100% Apple M1 compatible DAWs

• Logic Pro X 10.6 – full support for Apple Silicon M1!
• Bitwig Studio 4 – Yes, Bitwig 4 is fully supported for the Apple M1 ARM architecture.
• Reaper (beta) – Supported via arm64 beta build.

DAWs that work via Rosetta 2 translation

• FL Studio 20.8.4 introduced native support for Apple Silicon CPUs – FL Studio is also adopted to work good via Rosetta 2 translation – read more about Rosetta 2! So you can basically choose to work in Native M1 mode or via Rosetta if you want to use your older plugins. Great!
• Cubase – adapted to work good via Rosetta 2 translation.
• Ableton Live 11.1 (beta) – Native M1 compatible. Previous Ableton Live version 10, 11 works via Rosetta 2.
• Studio One 5.4 – The Studio One 5.4 release on September 14, 2021 brings native compatibility to M1 Macs.   

Keep in mind that the DAWs working via Rosetta 2 may still be lacking in performance compared to a fully arm64 compiled software, like Logic Pro X 10.6. That said, all major DAW developers are now working hard on arm64 software versions.

FL Studio 20 on Macbook Pro M1 performance test

My initial tests was a bit shaky when running FL Studio 20 on the latest MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Cpu. An intel based mac gave me around 18% CPU usage, while M1 was struggling at 35% with occasional hickups on demanding plugins.

BUT, as you can see in the video below (FL Studio Part 2 Apple Silicon M1 Compatibility – Update Part 2) Image-Line was fast to update FL Studio to make it run smoothly on the Apple M1. Bear in mind that FL is still an x86 application. We will see even more power boost once the native arm64 build of FL Studio is released. I hope it’s soon!

What third-party plugins are compatible with Apple Silicon M1 CPU?

I did some research to see what plugins and applications supporting the new Apple Silicon M1 ARM64 architecture . At the moment the support is not that good. Aside from Logic Pro 10.6 there are only a few additional plugins that support the M1 CPU.

Native Instruments – Native Access and plugins

NI software does not currently support the Apple Silicon M1 with Big Sur macOS.

At the moment, Native Instruments products are not supported on computers with Apple Silicon processors.

I did try installing the official version of Native Access which gave me this feedback (see image).‘

Native Access Beta WORKING on BigSur and Apple M1 Mac Books

Native Instruments have released a beta version of Native Access which will let you install all NI products except Massive X – you can download the Native Access beta version here.

Native Instruments is one of the major players when it comes to plugins and instruments, and NI is working on support for Big Sur and the new Apple Silicon processor.

You can find out more about the compatibility of Native Instruments products with macOS Big Sur here.

Read more about NI Apple Silicon support here.

Spectrasonics – Omnisphere 2, Trilian, Stylus RMX, Keyscape

The latest versions of Spectrasonics instruments (Omnisphere 2, Keyscape, Trilian, and Stylus RMX) are fully compatible with Apple’s M1 processor and benefits from the arm64 architecture. 

If you’re using an M1-equipped Mac, be sure to update your plugin instruments via these guides:

Keeping Your Instruments Up To Date

U-HE – Zebra 2, Diva etc.

Works (via Rosetta 2)

Neither Rosetta complains about running our Intel Plug-Ins on Apple Silicon, nor do we experience issues with our natively compiled plug-ins.

Quote from U-he forum regarding native apple silicon support of u-he plugins.

Valhalla DSP plugins

The newest builds of all Valhalla plugins will work natively on the Apple Silicon Macs. The installers labeled “Intel/ARM” are the most current and include compatibility with M1/Apple Silicon Macs as well as Intel-based ones. 

Waves

Waves plugins do not currently support Apple Silicon and M1 CPU. Check Waves website for more info.

Plugin Alliance

The Plugin Alliance plugins are ready for Big Sur 10.0.1 update, but not yet fully compatible with M1, see post.

What Audio Interfaces are compatible with Apple Silicon M1?

• Apogee – Duet 2, Symphony, One (compatible with Big Sur, Apogee are working on arm64 version of the control software) Apogee Control 2 Software Beta Release Coming in June 22, 2021! I have the Duet 2 for iPad/Mac and it worked fine.
• Universal Audio – UAD Apollo Twin X works with Apple M1 (But not fully compatible with Big Sur/Apple M1). I personally use the Apollo Twin X audio interface without issues.
• Steinberg – UR22mk2 works fine on Apple M1.
• Presonus – audio interfaces (some compatibility, check link).
• Native Instruments – Komplete Audio interfaces, Traktor etc. are compatible with Apple M1. I personally use the Komplete Audio 6 mk2 without issues at the moment on one of my setups.

Rosetta 2 translates x86 to ARM64 code

macOS Big Sur will include Rosetta 2, which will automatically translate Intel apps to run on the new Apple Macs. It’s designed to support complex apps and their plugins, but there was no mention if that referred to DAWs like Pro Tools or Studio One. Rosetta 2 will do the translation upon installation. However, when necessary Rosetta 2 will also be able to translate code on the fly when using Just In Time and JAVA code. In a publicly available document, About the Rosetta Translation Environment, Apple explains more about how Rosetta 2 will translate executables, and what Rosetta 2 can’t translate.

Supposedly, this means modern audio application and plugins, which rely on advanced optimisations will, at best, run on a less optimised path. For pro-audio apps, this could be a performance bottleneck. This might lead to unexpected bahaviour and crashes. So we may see ‘Rosetta 2 compatibility’ updates before the native Apple Silicon ports arrive.

The specs of the first Apple M1 CPU MacBooks

The first models of the Apple M1 equipped Macs, the; Macbook Air 13″, MacBook Pro 13″ and MacMini currently maxes out at 8GB RAM. So for music producers working with large orchestral libraries should look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you are working with light arrangements the memory should suffice.

Using tons of VST / AU plugins, as long as they are written to support the ARM64 architecture, works like a charm. If a plugin is not ready for Apple Silicon M1, the plugin will launch via Rosetta 2 translation and suffer performance issues.

MacBook Pro “13 M1 Display Specs

The new display screen of the MacBook Pro 13″ M1 comes with 500 nits of brilliance, P3 wide color and True Tone color which should satisfy the most demanding video editor professional and graphics designer. The screen is very bright with natural colors.

How many external displays does the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 (2020) support?

• One external 5K display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors, or
• Up to two external 4K displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors.

The Apple M1 MacBook Pro 13-ich feature two connectivity ports

Since the MacBook Pro 13-inch Apple M1 only comes with two thunderbolt 4 / USB-4 ports you probably want to pair the Mac with a solid hub to get access to more ports.

The thunderbolt ports of the Apple M1 macs support the following protocols and transfer speeds:

• Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

If you want to know more about the thunderbolt 4 technology of the Apple M1 check this article.

I recently made a video on the awesome Thunderbolt 3 Dock Core hub which will give you; hdmi-port, display port, dual USB-A ports + charge the MacBook Pro! All this connectivity via one single Thunderbolt port on the Mac! Just what we need for our studio!

Will My Software Work On The New Apple Macs?

The website ISAPPLESILICONREADY has a really good summary and search of many apps compatibility status with Apple Silicon M1.

As mentioned above, Logic Pro 10.6 is already fully compatible with the new Apple M1 macs. But if you are working with other DAWs like Studio One, FL Studio, Bitwig Studio you should hold off until they officially support macOS Big Sur and the Apple M1 CPU. Non-compatible apps in x86 will not be as performant as native arm64 built apps.

Should you buy a new MacBook with Apple M1 Silicon CPU for music production?

YES, if you are working with Logic Pro or Bitwig Studio 4 DAW I can highly recommend the upgrade to Apple Silicon as I’ve never seen these DAWs fly so fast on a MacBook before. It’s a big noticable difference!

And…NO, if you are working in any other DAW, OR, you want to use any third party plugins.

I advice you to hold onto your current Mac and maybe take another look in maybe 6-8 months. Apple Silicon is a brand new technology and architecture and it will take time before we see a more wide spread support in third party plugins and apps.

When we get more news regarding Apple Silicon M1 I will update this article.
Hope you enjoy the content. Thanks for your time!

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How to install Alchemy presets on your Mac

1. On your Mac, unzip the folders.
2. Copy the unzipped Alchemy preset folder to the following folder:
   ~/Music/Audio Music Apps/Plug-In Settings/Alchemy/
3. Copy your sound library Alchemy samples folder to this folder:
   ~/Music/Audio Music Apps/Alchemy Samples/
4. Open Logic Pro, then open the Alchemy plugin.
5. Choose File > Refresh Library to see the sound library you just installed to this Mac.

How to install the free Logic Pro X Alchemy preset pack.

Do you want some more “beefy” instructions on how to install an Alchemy sound library? What if something goes wrong? Maybe the library does not appear in the Alchemy categories…

Let’s look at a real world example on how to install my free Logic Pro X Alchemy preset bank.

Download a free Alchemy preset bank

You can grab one of my Free Logic Pro X preset libraries for the Alchemy plugin here.

After downloading a Logic Pro X Alchemy sound library, first unpack the zip file (if applicable). If you unpacked the Free Logic Pro X library above you will see a folder named – TrapIt.

Installation instructions for Alchemy presets

In my Alchemy sound packs I always include installation instructions within a text file on how to install Alchemy presets. This file is located in the root of the sound pack zip-file. That said, you can always reference this webpage if you need to find the installation instructions for any Alchemy preset pack.

Within the “TrapIt” root folder of the library you will see two sub-folders.

1. Alchemy PRESETS folder.
2. Alchemy SAMPLES folder.

Where to put the Alchemy Presets folder?

• The PRESETS folder contains the actual Alchemy presets. Put this folder into your Alchemy “Plug-In Settings” folder, located at:

~/Music/Audio Music Apps/Plug-In Settings/Alchemy/
(where ~ is your Home folder)

So in our example with the “TrapIt” Alchemy library we should now see the following folder structure.

~/Music/Audio Music Apps/Plug-In Settings/Alchemy/TrapIt

This preset folder contains more sub-folders like: Arpeggiated, Bass, Drums, Mallets etc. Within these folders

Where to put the Alchemy Samples folder?

Copy the “TrapIt” Alchemy SAMPLES folder to the following location:

~/Music/Audio Music Apps/Alchemy Samples/
(where ~ is your Home folder)

With the “TrapIt” Alchemy library we should now see the following folder structure:

~/Music/Audio Music Apps/Alchemy Samples/TrapIt

The final step is to open up Logic, open Alchemy synth and press File -> Refresh library. This will update the Alchemy sound library with your newly installed “TrapIt” preset category.

What if the Alchemy library is not visible in the categories?

If the Alchemy preset category “TrapIt” is not visible in the list you need to remove the Alchemy preset database file and restart Logic. The file is named “Alchemy_Preset_Ratings_And_Tags.db” and resides in your Audio Music Apps folder.

~/Music/Audio Music Apps/Alchemy_Preset_Ratings_And_Tags.db

In conclusion, this will force the Alchemy preset database file to re-build and include your new folder structure. Done!

If you like this article you might also like this other Alchemy article I wrote on granular synthesis which you can view here.

More Alchemy preset packs for Logic Pro X

NEPTUNE for Alchemy Synth.

Production Ready Instrument and Synth Presets for ALCHEMY with FREE lifetime updates.

NEPTUNE is a collection of lush granular instruments, organic evolving pads and much more!

Includes Lush Pads, Deep Basses, Beautiful Keys, Soaring Leads, Beautiful Ethnic Instruments (Flute, Kalimba) + much more. The NEPTUNE presets include carefully planned macro (performance) controls to help you sculpt and morph your sound.

Enjoy!

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Most commonly you hear the sidechain effect where the sidechain is used to lower the volume of instruments (often the bass / synths) when the kick hits. This will make the kick sounding louder, and ultimately the music will sound more tight and defined.

Here is a quick example where the bass and synths are sidechained against the kick.

It’s no secret that every EDM producer is using sidechaining among their primary mixing techniques.

The “volume sidechain effect” can be achieved in a multiple of ways.

Methods of sidechaining volume

1. You can use any compressor plugin with sidechain audio input feed.
2. Use a plugin which lowers / ducks your volume according to a curve.
3. Edit the audio track with volume automation to achieve the sidechain sound.

The most common sidechaining method is using a compressor

First of all let’s look at the most common way of sidechaining.

The most common way of sidechaining volume is using a compressor featuring a sidechain input. Every modern and professional DAW offer a compressor with this sidechain input option. This compressor plugin can either be applied to an individual track, or to a buss in your DAW.

How to sidechain audio in Logic Pro X

If we look at the Logic Pro X compressor plugin below. This native Logic compressor comes with sidechain input instantly available.

Importantly, you also get many options to tailor the sidechaining effect. You can also listen (preview) the sidechain input if you need to confirm the audio source. This means we have side chaining instantly accessible in Logic Pro X whenever we need it on a mixer track via the compressor plugin.

How to sidechain audio in FL Studio 20

FL Studio 20 takes a few more steps to make the side chaining happen. While Logics compressor can select any audio track as the side chain input directly, FL Studio requires you to route audio signals between tracks first.

Note: Yes, I know you can also use the Fruity Peak Controller to do sidechaining but that’s a more fiddly setup.

Firstly, in the image above we have channel 1 selected and right click on channel 8 cable input arrow at the bottom of the mixer strip. Select “Sidechain to this track”. We are now feeding channel 8 with a sidechain signal from the kick.

The mixer of FL Studio is very flexible and highly customizable. Although this extra “signal routing step” is required to set up side chaining.

Secondly, we add the Fruity Limiter as an insert effect to the bass (ch8). In the Fruity Limiter activate the Comp-tab at the bottom. Press the mouse button on-top of the SideChain value box and drag upwards to select SideChain Input 1.

Finally, if you set the compressor threshold to a lower value (-30db) and the Ratio to something like 7:1 you will start to see and hear the sidechaining effect.

In conclusion, the Fruity Limiter will now reduce the volume of the bass as soon as the kick hits. Your sidechain effect is completed!

The radio voice – background music sidechaining

Another common example of sidechaining is when DJs are talking over the music on the radio. When the DJ speaks, a limiter is activated upon the background music by the audio signal off the DJ talking. This causes the music to drop way down so that it doesn’t interfere with the speech. When the DJs finished talking, the silence on the voice track de-activates the limiter on the background music. The music will once again become the loudest part of the mix.

How to set up volume properly on side chained tracks

Want to learn how to set up volume properly on sidechained tracks? Then you can check this article where we discuss gain-staging and sidechain mixing. Importantly, in the article and video we discuss common problems when sidechaining audio.

What gear I use in the studio? Check out the Resources Page.

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Hexachords provides some tutorials for Studio One. But there is not really any tutorials on setting Orb Composer up with Logic Pro X. In conclusion, I thought I should give it a try and make a tutorial for you!

Install the Orb Composer apps

First install Orb Composer and the Orb Composer MIDI service app, these tools and tutorial for this installation part is provided by Hexachords. If you have questions on this installation part, please contact Hexachords. I am not affiliated with them in any way.

Orb Composer with Logic Pro X

You can download the Logic project template if you want the final setup we create in this tutorial to look at. But I highly suggest you just follow along and do it step by step. Because the Orb channels might differ in your Orb song setup, so you will have to edit those anyway in the Logic Midi Environment.

Furthermore, you also learn the process of working with the Midi Environment in Logic Pro X.

Firstly, let’s launch Logic.

Set up Logic to record multiple midi sources simultaneously on separate tracks

Now go into File->Project Settings->Recording.

Make sure to check that “Auto demix by channel if multitrack recording.” is ACTIVATED (see screenshot below).

Without this enabled your recorded midi will end up like: One main track as the major midi clip and the other channels will have an aliased copy of that same midi track. So midi data by channel will NOT be split among the tracks. Importantly, this option is crucial if you want to record many midi tracks from various midi sources simultaneously to separate tracks.

Look up the midi sent from Orb Composer

Ok, now we need to create a simple Orb Composer project. I created a simple orchestral song with a simple intro.

If the AI created many midi tracks in Orb Composer, just de-activate / delete / mute everyone except two tracks.

When you test this workflow you will go insane if you have too many tracks playing obnoxious irritating midi notes.

In this example I have two midi tracks in the Orb Composer intro. A piccolo and a flute. The piccolo is sending midi through the external midi device orb6 at channel 2. Importantly, write this down for further reference in the Logic Pro X setup. Something like:

• Piccolo = Orb6 ch2
• Flute = Orb6 ch 8

Creating instrument tracks in Logic to receive midi from Orb Composer

Create a few instrument tracks like in the image below. I create two tracks just to be able to verify that this workflow works properly before continuing and adding more tracks. The more stuff you have in your project, the harder it gets to debug. Keep things simple, trust me!

I also set the correct midi channel in the Kontakt Instrument, see image.

Set up Logic Midi Environment with Orb Composer midi devices

Ok, now open the Midi Environment in Logic Pro X. Shortkey: Cmd+0.

Create the following devices and move them as in the screenshot below:

• Physical Input device
• Monitor
• Sequencer Input

If you have the Orb Composer Midi service app installed on your Mac OSX system you should be able to see the various Orb midi devices in the Physical Input Device.

The Monitor Device is a great debug tool to see what kind of midi data Logic recieves on these various midi devices.

The Sequencer Input Device is needed to receive the actual midi data to the sequencer tracks in Logic Pro X. Without it you will not be able to record the incoming midi data.

Connect the Orb Composer Midi devices in Logic Pro X Environment

Let’s make the cable connections to continue this Orb Composer template setup in Logic Pro X.

We know that our Orb Composer track 1, the Piccolo, is sending on midi device Orb 6 Channel 2.

1. Drag a cable from the Orb6 node in the Physical Input Device to the Monitor Device.

2. Drag a cable from the Monitor Device to the Sequencer Input

If you now Record Enable the two instrument tracks Logic will receive the midi from Orb Composer on the correct tracks. You can press record and the midi data will be spread to the correct midi track.

So Orb Composer now talks with Logic Pro X?

Yes, but there is a catch. The catch is that without Record Enable the tracks will not be audible. Logic will simply not let the instruments receive the midi data without Record Enable.

And…you can’t yet record the midi onto the tracks in Logic Pro X!!!

There is a fix which requires some more extensive setup in the Logic Pro X Midi Environment.

This might, or might not bother you.

And if you want you can stop this tutorial here and be fine. But remember that you will always need to activate Record to be able to hear the incoming midi data.

Let’s explain the more extensive setup of Orb Composer in Logic Pro X Midi Environment.

HOW TO RECORD THE MIDI OF ORB COMPOSER INTO LOGIC PRO X

In order for your midi to be split onto the different instrument track after record you need to:

• Make sure “Auto demix by channel when multitrack recording” is active (yes, you already have this option “on”).

• Activate R – record on all the relevant track. Let the last active track (the track which turns “light grey”) you press be ANY of these active instrument channels. NOT on a muted track which does not receive any of the midi from Orb.
  
  If you leave the last active track to be the muted (non operating) midi channel. The split will not work.

Additional set up of Orb Composer in Logic Pro X

This part will explain how to make it possible to preview the Orb Composer midi in Logic pro X WITHOUT the Record Enable activate on the tracks.

Open up the Midi Environment again with shortkey CMD+0.

Let’s first explain the problem we are facing. Logic requires the Instrument tracks to be Record Enabled in order to hear the incoming midi data on the tracks, by default.

So we need some kind of routing to “force” the midi data into the Instrument tracks. This is possible with some extra routing and the Transformer Device in Midi Environment of Logic.

How to use the Transformer Device of Logic Midi Environment

With the Transformer Device you can transform and/or filter incoming midi data. So if we have incoming Midi Notes on channel 4 we could transform that to channel 8 instead. Quite handy if we want to do some really elaborate routing.

In this case we will use the Transformer Device as a midi splitter to filter a specific midi channel to one single instrument track.

Add two of these Transformer Devices in the Midi Environment.

We need one for the Piccolo (Orb 6 ch 2), and one for the Flute (Orb 7 ch 8).

1. Drag a cable from the Monitor Device (1) to the first Transformer Device (2) .
2. Drag a cable from the first Transformer Device (2) to your Piccolo Instrument Mixer Track (3).

Repeat the process for your second instrument, the Flute.

1. Drag a cable from the Monitor Device to the second Transformer Device.
2. Drag a cable from the second Transformer Device to your Flute Instrument Track.

Your routing should look something like this:

Now it’s time to setup the actual filtering for each of these tracks.

Transform “Operations” Panel

Double click the first Transformer Device, the one that is connected to the Piccolo. A new Operations popup page appears for the Transformer.

First set the operations Mode to “Apply operation and filter non-matching events.”

This basically means that this transformer will only let through data that matches your filtering condition.

So let’s set the Conditions Status to Equal (=) with value Note. And the Channel to Equal (=) with value 2. Yes, this is our flute coming from Orb 6 at channel 2. Close the Operations panel.

Repeat the process for the second Transformer, but select Channel 8 (Piccolo was incoming at Orb 6 channel 8)

The Orb Composer to Logic routing is now finished!

Now make sure Record Arm is de-activated on your tracks in Logic Pro X.

Enter Orb Composer application and press play.

If you go back to Logic Pro X you should now see both instrumental tracks receiving midi and playing back with the sampler. Even though the tracks Record Arm is de-activated. Our little midi-routing is working perfectly!

It’s by no means a simple solution, but it works. Now you can continue, repeat the process, and add all other midi tracks used in your Orb Composer song.

IMPORTANT – Regarding “clashing” midi channels in Logic Pro X when recording Orb Producer midi.

If you connect the “transformers” to the “Sequencer Input” in the Logic Environment, in order to record the midi data onto the tracks you need to know this!

Logic can NOT receive data on the same (overlapping) midi channels to the Sequencer Input.

Even if you send from different Orb midi devices (ie. Orb 1, Orb 2, Orb 3 etc.). It looks practical in theory and on paper, but in reality Logic receives the data to the sequencer like this:

Let’s say you have the following setup in Orb Composer:

• Orb 1 ch 5 – Flute

• Orb 2 ch 5 – Cello

Now in Logic Environment you will connect Physical Input -> Monitor -> Transform accordingly for both of these.

BUT, when you also do the connection to the Sequencer to audition the incoming midi it can’t distinguish those two channel 5 from each other.

In this scenario the flute and cello will trigger the same midi instrument in Logic Pro X.

In conclusion

In conclusion, you will have to “transform” these two ch5 into something like ch5 and ch 6 internally in the Logic environment (my advice: use the transform object) OR change this directly in Orb Composer (but then, if you swap arrangement, you will have to do this change every time). Not practical…

The end of the Orb Composer Logic Pro X tutorial

I hope you found this tutorial useful. If you found it helpful please subscribe to my Morningdew Media weekly newsletter, and also subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thanks!

If you want a quick showcase / overview of Orb Composer you can watch my video below.

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