5 Ways to Use Dynamic EQ with Sidechain:

Set internal (or external) triggers on drums
Mixing drums is one of the bigger challenges in a song because we expect them to be many things at once: loud, groovy, punchy, cohesive, clear, etc. Compression and transient shaping are a big help here, but dynamic EQ proves useful when carving a unique space for each drum hit. For example:

If the overhead mics picked up too much snare bite and this conflicts with the close-miked snare sound, use the main snare to trigger a momentary cut in level in the overheads whenever it’s played.

Is your snare struggling to shine because of masking with the hi-hats? Place one node on the snare harmonics and another on the lower end of the hi-hats, then set the sidechain to duck the hi-hats when the snare is present.

Unpitched percussion with considerable low end can conflict with the lower frequencies of a kick drum. To keep that pulse but prevent sloppy collisions from occurring, get your dynamic EQ sidechain to high-pass the bassy parts of the perc only when the kick comes down.

I need to check to see if each node in the Neutron 2 EQ can have a separate side chain. The side chain choices are internal — all the bands — and external (the one set in Logic as side chain). It looks like I can only side chain one external track.

I can do something like side chain the overheads from Logic and set the nodes in N2 to side chain from the different bands…that will have to do.

Also see “7 Tips for Mixing Drums”

Logic Pro X keyboard command of the day. #LogicProX @StudioIntern1

  Attach Symbol: Jazz 5

Used in the Score Editor. Only available as a key command (not in any menu). I previously posted a scoring command in one of the first entries — “Attach Symbol: Pizzicato” — which basically punted the explanation. I learn.

I have searched through the available documentation for Logic Pro X and can find nothing that explains what this command does, or what are the symbols labelled “Jazz”. Nothing. Crickets. I continued my search on the internet (where I discovered my lack of proper work, see above link) and found some interesting pointers. The first real clue came from the “Logic Express 7 — User Manual” in the discussion of the Part Box. Lots of words about palettes and floating palettes. Hmmm. Not happening in Logic Pro X.

Note that there are 7 symbols, but only 6 commands. Odd.

I can now state that today’s command will attach the first Jazz symbol (highlighted in the picture) to the note(s) selected in the score window. Ta-da!

There is a decent description of the Part Box and how to use it in the Logic Pro 9 documentation as well. It is basically the same, with the same methods for use.

The Part Box changed dramatically in Logic Pro X! It doesn’t work the same way. Apparently all of the visual cues from Logic 9 documentation — screenshots of sections in the part box — were removed and replaced with some different textual description of what is where and what it does.

A first-time user of Logic will be utterly lost. No names for the palettes. The revenge of the icon driven user interface. Labels (at least show some text if I hover over it) could be provided.

I am grumpy. I need to “check my work” and make sure that the new, iBooks-only, version of the documentation is incomplete…back in a moment.

Wow…

Reset note attributes
You can reset all note attributes to their default settings if you decide you don’t want to keep your changes. When resetting note attributes, be aware that all symbols directly attached to notes (accents, fermatas, jazz symbols, and so on) are deleted.

Excerpt From: Apple Inc. “Logic Pro X User Guide.” Apple Books. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/logic-pro-x-user-guide/id960809726?mt=11

Pop/Jazz (3/5/7-all): 5ths, 3rds, and 7ths are changed in this mode. It’s great for Pop and Jazz styles, especially when using sustained chords. It’s less suitable for polyphonic music, as the detuning of the natural 7th is significant. This mode should always be used with a Depth of 90% or 100%, as other values render the natural 7th acoustically ineffective.

Excerpt From: Apple Inc. “Logic Pro X User Guide.” Apple Books. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/logic-pro-x-user-guide/id960809726?mt=11

Above you will see the three occurrences of the word “jazz” in the latest documentation. First reference to jazz symbols is in the bit about what gets deleted when you reset note attributes.

Kind of unfortunate. I will be keeping my old Logic documentation (whatever I can scour) so I might be able to take full command of the current version.

⇧ SHIFT – ⌃ CONTROL – ⌥ OPTION – ⌘ COMMAND

Command    Key Touch Bar


- Score Editor


Attach Symbol: Jazz 1


Attach Symbol: Jazz 2


Attach Symbol: Jazz 3


Attach Symbol: Jazz 4


Attach Symbol: Jazz 5


Attach Symbol: Jazz 6

Friday Tips: Pumping Drums—With No Sidechain! — PreSonus Blog:

The “pumping” effect is a cool EDM staple that also works with other intense forms of music. One of the best-known examples is Eric Prydz’s seminal EDM track from 2004, “Call on Me.” Usually, this technique requires sidechaining, but with the PreSonus Compressor sidechain filter, we’re covered. The effect works best if there are some sustaining sounds with which it can work—like cymbals for drum parts, or pads if you want to pump a non-drum track.

I need to see if I can do the same thing in Logic Pro X. Just because.

Friday Tips: Frequency-Selective Guitar Compression — PreSonus BlogPreSonus Blog:

Some instruments, when compressed, lack “sparkle” if the stronger, lower frequencies compress high frequencies as well as lower ones. This is a common problem with guitar, but there’s a solution: the Compressor’s internal sidechain can apply compression to only the guitar’s lower frequencies, while leaving the higher frequencies uncompressed so they “ring out” above the compressed sound. (Multiband compression works for this too, but sidechaining can be a faster and easier way to accomplish the same results.)

This handy hint should work similarly in Logic Pro X. I will have to try.