- 1). Click the “Logic” icon on your desktop to launch the program. Typically, the last saved session opens automatically. If this is not the relevant session, click “File,” “Open Recent,” and select the session you want from the pull-down menu. When prompted, close the currently open session to save memory. When the relevant session opens, it will do so in the exact state at which you last saved it.
- 2). Click “Arrange” to see all of your recorded audio and MIDI. If the drums were recorded acoustically, via microphone, they will be in audio channels. If you programmed them using a MIDI sequencer, such as Ultrabeat, they will be in MIDI channels. You can treat audio and MIDI the same for purposes of fattening the sounds.
- 3). Click on the kick drum channel to highlight it. Click “S” to solo it; this mutes all other audio.
- 4). Click “Inserts” and select “Dynamics.” Select “Compressors” from the drop-down menu and click on a compressor option, for example “Opto” or “FET.” All of Logic’s compressors emulate the layout and function of real, hardware compressors.
- 5). Hit “Play” to hear the compressor effects in real time.
- 6). Adjust the “Threshold” dial. A compressor minimizes the dynamic profile of a sound by reducing the gain, or signal strength, of the loudest parts. The threshold parameter determines how much of the sound is compressed. For example, set it to 80 percent to reduce the loudest 20 percent. By compressing the kick drum, you remove any volume spikes. The loudest and quietest parts then become more similar in volume.
- 7). Adjust the “Ratio” dial to set the amount of gain reduction that is applied. For example, a setting of “2:1” means that the gain of any sound breaching the threshold is reduced by half.
- 8). Increase the “Output Gain” setting to boost the base volume of the kick drum. You can afford to push it higher now that the volume spikes have been smoothed off. A compressed kick drum takes up less room in the sonic image. By squashing the sound and then boosting it, you give it a thick, punchy feel. Repeat the compression process on snare and toms. Experiment with different compression values until you find a balance that satisfactorily fattens the sound of each drum.
- 9). Click “Inserts” again and select “EQ.” EQ is short for equalization, the process of boosting and cutting various frequencies in a sound.
- 10
Move the slider dials on the left of the equalizer up. These control the bass frequencies. By boosting the lowest frequencies, you apply more “thud” to the drums. Apply the same process to the toms, but not the snare, which must be equalized to tease out the “crack” rather than the “thud.”
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