How to Use Logic Express 8

The programmers at Apple have answered the wide criticism that had been leveled at previous versions of Logic and Logic Express. Critics claimed that Logic had a steep learning curve and it wasn’t user intuitive. As a result, a lot of novice recorders looked to Garageband. Logic Express 8 combines the ease-of-use of Garageband with many of the advanced features you’ll find in Logic Pro.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Fire it up. Open an "Empty Project" and save it immediately so you don’t lose any changes.

2. On the main track screen, click the “+” sign. You’ll be prompted to select an Audio Track, Software Instrument, or External Midi. The first two are the most common. To record an audio track, you’ll need a separate audio interface. One example is the M-Audio Firewire Solo. Choose the correct output for the Audio track. For example, in the Firewire solo, the mic input is Output 1.

3. If you choose Software Instrument, you'll need a Midi controller, such as the M-Audio Keystation. From here, you can change the instrument from a piano to a drum set to anything else in LE 8’s software instrument library. These can be accessed by clicking Media in the upper right hand corner and then Library just below. A list of instruments will emerge.

4. To the immediate left of the Library tab is the Loops library, where you can drag and drop a host of loops to the main editing windows, including drums tracks or keyboard parts. Additional loops can be obtained via Apple Jampacks or free online from different sources. The Browser tab will list your past Logic documents.

5. To run LE 8 you need at least 1 GB of RAM. If you’re running slow or have latency issues (a lag between the time a note is struck and heard), go to the preferences tab and open Audio. Under the Devices tab, choose a different Buffer I/O quantity. Changing the buffer size from 256 to 128, for example, can aid latency.

6. On the left sidebar, you’ll have your list of plug-ins. Double-click on the plug-ins already activated for a particular instrument and you can change its parameters (highlighted in light blue). To add a new plug-in, hold the mouse down on one of the grey boxes, and you can add a new effect (flanger, reverb, etc.) or third-party software package.

7. To mix individual tracks, click the Mixer tab beneath the main track arrange screen. You can set levels and panning for each track, and add or remove plug-ins. Adding additional plug-ins, such a EQ, to the master track is also recommended.