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How to Get Your Drums to Sound Harder in Logic Pro

Logic Pro allows you to create original music and then alter the sound by applying effects and filters to each instrument. If you find that your recorded drums or drum machines lack the punchiness of an authentic percussion sound, you can adjust their settings until they fit correctly into the mix. To begin, record your drum sequence on its own audio track, indicated in the left column of your window by titles such as "Audio 1" and "Audio 2." You can edit them without impacting the rest of your mix.

Instructions

  1. Duplicate Track

    • 1

      Click your main percussion or kick drum track on the main window (known as the "Arrange" window) to highlight it. If you used a traditional multitracking approach to record your musical piece, you can isolate your drums and duplicate them for a harder sound. Multitracking simply means that you recorded your music one layer at a time, beginning with drums, then guitars, then bass, vocals and other instrumentation, as you would in a professional studio. Each section appears on its own track. In Logic Pro, your tracks appear as long, horizontal bars stacked on top of one another.

    • 2

      Click the "Track" heading at the top of your window and select "New With Duplicate Setting" from the drop-down menu. A new, blank recording track will appear directly beneath your drum track.

    • 3

      Click the title of your original drum track to highlight your drum recordings. The title appears in the left column of the window. Click "Edit" on the menu bar at the top of your screen and select "Copy" from the drop-down menu to copy all of the recorded content within the drum track.

    • 4

      Click the title of your newly created track to select it. Click "Edit" on the menu bar and select "Paste" from the drop-down menu to create an exact duplicate of your original drum track.

    Equalize Track

    • 5

      Click "Window" on your menu bar and select "Mixer" from the drop-down menu to open your mixer.

    • 6

      Click the rectangular grid image at the top of your main percussion or kick drum track on the mixer to access your "Channel EQ" editor. If you have only one complete song file and do not have access to individual tracks containing different instruments, click the grid image at the top of the "Master" track, on the far right side of the mixer.

    • 7

      Raise the lower frequencies to create a harder percussion. The lower frequency ranges are represented on the left side of the Channel EQ grid. Increase your drum hardness by raising the line on the graph between the 20 hz and 200 hz indicators. Click the number "200" to create a dot on the line, and click the "20" to create a second dot, isolating your lowest frequencies. Between the two dots, drag the line upward approximately 10 to 15 decibels (indicated by the vertical numbers along the left side of the graph) to raise your low frequencies.

Digital Music

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