LOGIC PRO X - Template Building

[@mantis834]

I've been a Logic user for 15 years, not an expert by any means but I know my way around it quite well by now. Yet, I've been watching all of your videos with utter enthusiasm, almost from the perspective of a complete beginner, as if I was just starting from scratch. It's the content, the delivery, the tone and pace, calm and eloquent, and the insanely clear explanations. I've picked up little bits of knowledge in each video thus far, no matter how small or subtle, there's always one or more "Oh, didn't know about that!" moment. I hope your channel grows exponentially, really deserves to be at the top of the list for all Logic users who simply want to keep learning new things, or simply refresh any prior knowledge that sometimes sits on the back-burner, happens to us all. You're a fantastic teacher, so a big thank you for all the time you put into this.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Thank you so much for your incredibly generous message. It means a huge amount to me. I'm so glad that even to an experienced Logic user, the videos are proving useful.

[@yungmahler]

It's the walk towards the desk for me! Jono i'm dropping here just to let you know how much I have learned form you. My understanding of music production as doubled because of you. You are one of the best teachers I have ever had in my life. God Bless you and keep doing the work you do. Love you and I appreciate you.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Goodness me. Very kind words. I'm glad the videos are proving useful. All best wishes to you.

[@torbjrnslettajacobsen5019]

I really apprechiate the work you are doing with these weekly chunks of conciderations around Logic. Very clearly explained, and just the information I need, nothing more, nothing less. I just wanted to give a thanks, and please keep up with your videos and the indeed balanced mix between creative ideas for our inspiration, and pure, dry theory and techniques. Thumbs up!

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Hi Torbjørn. Thanks so much for your kind message. Plenty more content to come. Thanks, Jono

[@shourjo77]

Every video you put out is consistently amazing-there's nobody I'd rather watch for anything Logic Pro-related! Thank you so much for all the work you put into these lessons.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Thanks so much Shourjo. That is a lovely message to start my day!

[@jenniferlaynemusic]

Oh my word, I'm sooo happy you posted this today and can't wait to dive in! I've watched so many other people's vids on this and always thought, "I wish Jono Buchanan would do one on template creation -THEN I'd retain the information!" Woohoo! THANK YOU. 💜

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Great, I'm glad this came at the right moment, Jennifer! I hope it proves useful. Any questions, let me know.

[@jenniferlaynemusic]

@@jonobuchananmusic Thank you so much! It was perfect. Do you use the colour coding method?

[@donniecatalano]

Watching Jono's explanations, really highlights the fact that most people, me included, fall into habits when working with software, which I think limits creativity a lot. A change of perspective is often a great thing, so thanks!

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Hi Donnie. Absolutely, always good to mix things up, to keep ideas fresh.

[@badaegis]

The power of templates came to fruition for me when I started setting them up based on my intent for the session: composing, tracking, mixing etc. It also helped keep my projects from becoming bloated nightmares.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Absolutely, once you've taken the Template step, life gets better! Thanks Hakim.

[@badaegis]

And thank you, for the reminder and some great best practices, clearly presented.

[@frits-barth]

Wonderful, thank you very much, Jono!

[@jonobuchananmusic]

You're welcome, as always!

[@FrankievanMourik]

once again, fantastic. Thank you for clear and concise information.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

My pleasure. Thank you so much.

[@shaundarley4108]

Great lesson; succinct, informative and immediately helpful. Thank you.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Thanks Shaun. Really glad it was useful.

[@OorTouch]

Another cool video! Thanks Jono! Looking forward for the orchestral template video especially with using the KONTAKT player. It’s very complicated with all the different articulations and so. For instance, how to set it up with Berlin Strings efficiently without using SINE as it’s very detailed library. Also the brass and percussion… It would be very useful and I will appreciate it!

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Many thanks. Absolutely, there's plenty more to come on Templates and for orchestral productions, in particular, they can go deeeeep. Looking forward to sharing how I do it a little later in the year.

[@Waldo_Ilowiecki]

Hi Jono. I watch all your videos all over YT. You are at what you do, just brilliant. Thanks to you my skill has increased significantly. ❤ Ps. I have exactly the same on my desk. Only the cup is different. 😂

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Thank you so much for such a kind message. Glad the videos are proving useful. And congratulations on choosing such a great rig!

[@Waldo_Ilowiecki]

@@jonobuchananmusic ❤️

[@joemiko6852]

Have a couple of different templates now a synth one with DMD for time with the virtual drummer for percussion and fills. Using Alchemy and Analog Lab tracks as well. My FX returns are in track stacks. One for reverb, delay and parallel processing that give me the ability to do inserts and automate them as well. Have also created templates that are console emulations using TMT. Recreating large console formats of Neve, Focusrite, and SSL.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Sounds like a great and flexible setup, Joe.

[@EmonHassan]

Thank you for this! I realize I've been creating templates the wrong way this whole time. This makes so much more sense. Also, creating a Reverb track for automation within the stack is such a great tip! Is there a quick shortcut to cycling through and audition instruments from different sources (Spitfire, Native Instruments, or Logic)? Suppose after I click open an Orchestra template and would like to start writing something on the Piano track but would like to cycle through Piano sounds from different sources, would I be able to do that without going through a list of menus?

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Hi Emon. I'm so glad it helped. The answer to your question is to set up all of the pianos you might want to use on separate tracks within a Piano Stack. That might sound like it will take a long time to load each time, but if you enable the On/Off switch for each track (do this by Control-clicking a Track, selecting Track Header Components and select On/Off) and turn off each instrument before saving your Template, none of the pianos will actually load automatically when you boot your Template. That means that you can decide which piano(s) you want to enable each time you boot up a new project.

[@EmonHassan]

@@jonobuchananmusic Thank you!!

[@EmonHassan]

@@jonobuchananmusic Jono, would you set up a template differently if you knew your composition, mix and output will be mixed and mastered for Dolby Atmos?

[@jonobuchananmusic]

@@EmonHassan Hi Emon, great question. That depends very much on whether I'd be doing the surround mix. If so, yes, I'd make sure that each instrument within my Template was either routed to a surround output, or was set up to intentionally feed only the output(s) I wanted to route it/them to. If I was working with an external mix engineer, my Template would be as described here and I'd either do a full track-lay (where every single sound was printed as an audio file in its own right) or a stems bounce, from which the mix engineer could upscale my stems to the required surround format.

[@EmonHassan]

@@jonobuchananmusic Thank you, very helpful!

[@charlieperson5012]

Can't you automate the reverb without making it a part of your track stack and just set it on the stack master fader via a plugin? I guess I'm missing the point of why that is beneficial. Great video though and thanks so much. I guess it would enable you to pan the reverb if for some reason you wanted to but that seems like a strange case.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Hi Charlie. You absolutely can put a reverb plug-in as an Insert on a Track Stack. And yes, you could automate its parameters there too. The only drawback is that it means exactly the same amount of reverb for every sound in that Stack. So if you wanted more reverb level on the Cellos and less on the Violins, there’d be no way to separate their effect amounts. I’ve made a more recent video about building Templates for orchestral programming Logic projects, which perhaps explains the rationale better. Have a look but please do come back to me if the approach still seems confusing as I’ll happily try to explain it in greater depth.

[@petegreenfield8366]

Thanks, Jono. I’ve a multi screen set up and have saved that as a template. Is that the right way to go about it? The reason I ask is that when I open my template it seems to take out the transport controls on my A61 Komplete Kontrol keyboard! Also, can you save customised shortcut buttons such as library or pre fade metering as part of a template? They don’t seem to be sticking when I try…

[@jonobuchananmusic]

Hi Pete. Hm, that's not ideal! None of those glitches should really be happening as a Template should save all preferences, including multi-screen arrangements and communication with external devices. Let me have a bit of a double-check this end and I'll get back to you if I find anything useful. Are you seeing your saved Template in the 'My Templates' folder when you open a new project (from Template) in Logic?

[@petegreenfield8366]

@@jonobuchananmusic Hi Jono. Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, the templates are visible and are stored in the default location, on my M1’s SSD. I came across one or two others on fora who were having the same problem. I’ve raised a support ticket with Native Instruments. The only fix I’ve found is to open a new empty project and then open the template alongside. If it crashes the transport controls, I have to delete the A61 from midi studio, restart the max and reconnect. If you find anything, that would be great - and I’ll let you know what NI says.

[@jonobuchananmusic]

@@petegreenfield8366 Thanks for that Pete. Yes, I'd be very interested to know what NI come back with. Keep me posted!

[@petegreenfield8366]

@@jonobuchananmusic will do!

[@petegreenfield8366]

@@jonobuchananmusic Hi Jono. NI has come back with precisely nothing. Their support is obviously snowed under, or maybe I'm just used to Apple level of support! Anyway, after several false dawns, I think I've found a fix. In Logic preferences I've selected 'do nothing' when opening Logic. That seems to bring up the track instance button reliably. I haven't been able to break it yet, at least. I then load my projects and templates from there. This is probably of limited interest, but you never know! All the best. Absolutely loving the channel.