Question to fellow logic users

[elyhess]

I'm just wondering what all you are using to produce your beats? Ultrabeat, esx24? Or do you just create the beats just thru samples and laying them out just as aif files, not using any plugins to do it for you? I've just been using ultrabeat, was wondering what other methods there are!

[Towany]

yep i just lay mine out in wav files, i just find it handier to do it that way! and then program my hi hats in ultrabeat. I find that i can manipulate the audio of the samples a lot easier and faster when they are just straight audio.

[Robmobius]

When I'm making my initial drum sounds through layering. I generally put them in the arrangement window (in wavs) and then eq, etc. Once that's done, and I'm happy(ish) with the sounds, then I bring them into Geist or Ultrabeat. These are then sent out to their own channels for individual processing.

[elyhess]

cool good to know, ive just mainly been using ultrabeat but i feel like laying them out in the arrangement window would be slightly easier, and i feel like it would also allow for more customization

[ketamine]

Wavs, but I program hats in ultrabeat because greater precision & shuffling.

[Huts]

I started with WAVs because I thought the ESX24 was a pain (coming from the ease of laying down drums in FL studio). I've since switched to the esx because ultrabeat was a pain and the esx was just a lot quicker, easier to layer, and mess with velocities and what not

[1point5]

combination of audio files and EXS24, ultrabeat is a bit too gimmicky for me. The EXS is a lot quicker to use than you first might think, just drag in an audio file into a new audio track, highlight it and press ctrl + E to make it into a sampler instrument. I generally have things like kicks, snares, crashes etc in audio and hi hats, shakers, percussion in midi in different instances of the EXS so that I can vary the velocities and quantize everything more easily.

[ScarletCyanide]

Personally, I use Ultrabeat, I like the sequencer section, and admittedly have only ever used EXS for synths I like to start with a premade drum instrument setting in Ultrabeat, make a cool beat in the sequencer, use that in the song as the basis and then tweak it or w/e towards the end. This normally involves taking the beats that i'd made and then usually tweaking the sounds of the individual notes or w/e so that I can make the drums sound how I want ;D

[IC0N]

Usually I'll use just wav files for dubstep. But if I'm doing some dnb, I'll put everything in battery or the exs24 cause it's easier to manage all the different parts.

[djbmc]

i was using ultrabeat, sort of a hangover from using the redrum in reason when i first upgraded, last few tracks tho i've been dropping wavs straight onto their own channels in the arrange window, this is a screenshot form the last tune i made (it's in my sig):

i get a much more natural feel, especially with the 'smart' quantize setting applied, i feel like i'm moving hi hats around and placing them according to where my ear wants to put them rather than basing it around where the grid says i should put it. (although i always put the first kick of every bar dead on the beat) the only downside is once you've got 32 bars down and u zoom out the display tends to slow up a bit, it's hard to select stuff for copying and pasting as well, i guess i could bounce my loop tho and get around all of that.

[mitchAUS]

i was using ultrabeat, sort of a hangover from using the redrum in reason when i first upgraded, last few tracks tho i've been dropping wavs straight onto their own channels in the arrange window, this is a screenshot form the last tune i made (it's in my sig):

i get a much more natural feel, especially with the 'smart' quantize setting applied, i feel like i'm moving hi hats around and placing them according to where my ear wants to put them rather than basing it around where the grid says i should put it. (although i always put the first kick of every bar dead on the beat) the only downside is once you've got 32 bars down and u zoom out the display tends to slow up a bit, it's hard to select stuff for copying and pasting as well, i guess i could bounce my loop tho and get around all of that.

You get used to copying and moving things around. Ive also set "merge" to command+j and "strip silence" to command+l. This way if you have a Hi hat loop or something your happy with you can merge the regions and move 1 audio file around instead of having to drag and select many. If you decided you want to edit it later you can just select it, hit the strip silence shortcut and it will go back to individual regions. Downside is you end up making new audio files each time you do it as it won't be referencing the original sample (well I'm pretty sure it does... would be pretty intelligent if it some how didn't).

[elyhess]

i was using ultrabeat, sort of a hangover from using the redrum in reason when i first upgraded, last few tracks tho i've been dropping wavs straight onto their own channels in the arrange window, this is a screenshot form the last tune i made (it's in my sig):

i get a much more natural feel, especially with the 'smart' quantize setting applied, i feel like i'm moving hi hats around and placing them according to where my ear wants to put them rather than basing it around where the grid says i should put it. (although i always put the first kick of every bar dead on the beat) the only downside is once you've got 32 bars down and u zoom out the display tends to slow up a bit, it's hard to select stuff for copying and pasting as well, i guess i could bounce my loop tho and get around all of that.

yeah this method seems a lot simpler in the long run, i will definitely be doin this more often thanks!

[extremesociety]

I do both. Sometimes it's easier to just get my ideas down in Ultrabeat as a first pass, I'll wind up nudging placement anyways. But, audio is just more reliable, and I tend to resample a bunch too.

[ambinate]

i mostly use a combination of wavs on their own tracks dropped straight onto the arrange window and some midi stuff from ultrabeat or exs24. i don't use the step sequencer or anything, though (never quite got the hang of it, to be honest), i just write parts out in the piano roll and edit velocities in there. i am not particularly fast at making tunes, though, so this might not be the best method...

[extremesociety]

One reason I like doing drums in UB too is because the pitching algorithm seems to work way better...anyone notice this?

[flood]

damn. that looks intimidating. also, your sig tune is nice. did you make that reesy bass sound in one of the logic synths?

[invisibled]

you fools are crazy. ESX24 all the way. lay your drums out on the keyboard, multi out them for individual processing and then just use one midi track. Not 8000 aif's on your arrange window.

[Nixti]

I always use a combination of Kontakt for programming beats from samples. Still like to use a midi keyboard to play beats in rather than programming with a mouse! I also cut loops up in Recycle and import the REXs into Stylus.

[skimpi]

i started with exs stock samples, but then i moved to just doing audio on the arrange cos i hated the sound of exs samples and what it did to them, but i think i was just shit haha. ive started using a mixture of the two, like if im using sourced samples ill put them on the arrange, and then ill use exs for logics samples. i also like to put samples into the exs so i can play pitched rhythms too and just pitch things down to fuck them up. its good though just to get loads of sourced samples in the exs though to bash out beats, i find its alot more creative and fun doing a beat that you can play in, rather than thinking what you wanna do and placing hits there. never liked ultrabeat though.

[lloydy]

Use audio mainly because i find it much easier for layering but drum samplers have their good points too so i think a mixture of both is a good thing to do.