making beats

Out of context: Reply #2581

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  • mg330

    I've got some mega-dumb questions for those of you who use Logic Pro. section_014, wouldn't mind chatting with you more about some of the things I've seen you put in other comments here.

    My main focus right now is getting my template just right to start finishing and mixing a lot of rough tracks in my project. Started using aux channels more for performance and that's been a huge boost for me.

    1. On your master channel, what plugins are you typically using? I'm using things like compression, the Logic Pro EQ, maybe the Waves Omni Channel simply for the EQ and saturation.

    Been testing out Soothe 2 and Smooth Operator and they're both pretty cool. They work nicely on the master channel and that's where I started. If you are using either of these plugins, where do you put them ahead of or before other plugins on the master strip?

    Not sure which one I prefer, although Smooth Operator feels like the better of the two for what I'm trying to even out. That said...

    Would you ever exclusively use Soothe 2 or Smooth Operator on the master channel and no other EQ or compression? Been watching YT videos and trying to make sense of that.

    Seems like either of those plugins are really nice on electric guitar, and smooth operator worked great on bass guitar.

    2. I use KRK 5's with no sub. Started noticing that when I'll switch to actual desktop speakers with a sub my bass is WAY overblown in my rough tracks, because I'm overcompensating when using the KRK's. Grabbed a reference track to see it's EQ and realized that yeah, I need to bring bass down a lot to even things out.

    What's the best approach to using my monitors and achieving the right balance?
    a. Add a subwoofer to the mix
    b. Mix with good headphones more
    c. EQ by eye more and make sure bass frequencies aren't too high / back and forth A/B between recording monitors and other speakers.
    d. Let something like Smooth Operator or Soothe 2 do the work to balance things out?

    3. Mixing to Mastering
    This project is something I really want to get right. I assume I'm going to be best off sending tracks off to someone to master (and I've got a few people in mind based on the work they've done on albums I really like, who aren't all that expensive).

    How many of you are doing all your own mastering in Logic Pro? Are you using plugins like Soothe 2 / Smooth Operator to do so? Are you mastering in the master channel of your project, or are you bouncing to a single audio track and mastering that on it's own?

    I've always done the latter, especially with the ability to use reference tracks as EQ models in Logic Pro. Just wondering how some of these plugins impact that process and where they fit best.

    Thanks in advance for the responses. Glad to come to you guys and not a bunch of randos on Reddit. I love you all.

    mg33 0Permalink
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