Universal Audio Luna Basics Part 3 | Editing, Comping, & Warp Audio

[@TheSteveKinney]

Thanks for watching guys.. Check out my UAD Plugin Presets here: thestevekinney.com/

[@Dahomestudio]

@TheSteveKinney How did you rout the audio in luna to screen record?

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@Dahomestudio I have a tutorial on my channel about livestreaming. It would explain it in there in more detail. Go to console I/o matrix and change input channels 1&2 to be monitor l&r Then add an audio interface to OBS. Use that to screen record because the built in screen recorder won’t record in stereo.

[@Dahomestudio]

@@TheSteveKinney worked thanks brother

[@jakobsweet5219]

I've been hoping for videos like these for days now - so glad you uploaded these today!

[@TheSteveKinney]

That’s so awesome! I’ve got 4 or so more on the chopping block right now. Just gotta finish up editing.

[@shastriyasangeetinstituteo3142]

Good so far.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Cheers!

[@immagood2]

You really do make it look easy, Steve. Nice job.

[@TheSteveKinney]

That’s all thanks to the UA dev team. While some of this is still work in progress - it’s workflow certainly is not. They really built this out well. Thanks for the kind works and support brotha!

[@SteveGardinerProducer]

I just started tracking on Luna, mostly do editing and mixing in ProTools, but your videos will have me doing more work in LUNA before transferring. Thanks for these videos

[@TheSteveKinney]

Thanks mate! Happy I can help in some small way.

[@DJUnprotected]

I recently started recording audio in Luna and found this video super helpful. Probably one of the easiest Warp examples I’ve seen. Thank you!

[@ryancrarymusic]

“Vintage/Indie vibe” sounded like “learn to fly” from Tom Petty

[@TheSteveKinney]

😎👍🏻 petty is always cool.

[@68Snaps]

Hi Steve, thanks for the great content. Been practicing the last two days your parts 1 & 2. Already Luna does not feel like this very alien environment. I already feel I'm not going to miss Cubase the slightest bit. I do have a question about warping though. You flipped through "with" and "without" warping. Di you Undo/Redo? is there a specific key to toggle before/after warping? That was a little mystery in an otherwise crystal clear video. Thanks again for all the time you spent making this ever so useful content. 🙂

[@thecolb1398]

Aha that warp function was exactly what I’ve been looking for! Thx!

[@TheSteveKinney]

Dude. Right on! I think it’s one of the coolest features of the edit workflow. Definitely better done than logic or PT imo. Anyways - play around with the different algorithms. (Polyphonic etc) Some sound better on other sources.

[@ScottWilder]

You have to do warps manually? There's not an auto quantize type function?

[@TheSteveKinney]

There is now, yes. I plan on doing another video on the topic.

[@zacharyskalko3054]

Clear and concise. These videos are the easiest to follow! Thanks Steve!

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@zacharyskalko3054 thanks mate cheers!

[@sksbtrust]

how to reduce rduction hiss noice in luna ???

[@TheSteveKinney]

Turn off “hiss” or noise setting in your tape sim plugin.

[@bigfellablaine4387]

maaaaaaaaaaaaan "WARPING"🤯 I have a bass slide that's a section intro and it's been off a tad and I didn't know how to fix it. GAME CHANGER!!!!! For small home studios like mine where I'm not tracking tons of outside instrumentation this is all powerful stuff!

[@FMmusic980]

Thanks for giving us a better insight into Luna. Compared to the U.A. Basic videos these are great for beginners to Luna.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Thanks mate. A lot of noise on KZbin, trying my hardest to make easy to digest videos that are helpful.

[@Vessup-q8c]

Excellent

[@MrStevepowell7253]

can't really see what you are doing to warp. I can't see grid lines and clicking (where to click?) does not snap to the grid >Manual is equally confusing

[@TheSteveKinney]

The grid is low contrast so - it is a bit hard to see. Snap on or off is pretty cut and dry

[@jaywalker2872]

Thanks

[@alfonsealbanese1785]

Ive been humming Petty's "Learning to fly" as i hear your track. (those are the same chords).. i aint got wings at the moment with luna.. :) Comping in the way Logic does would make life a lot easier, especially for longer multi take solos.\ The other interesting note (as Im coming from Logic Pro X) is that the keyboard short cuts are vastly different. It will take a while to relearn for LUNA, but thats OKAY (learning is good for you) These videos are VERY helpful Thanks for making them

[@TheSteveKinney]

Cheers mate! What a song that one is! Great tune. I think the keyboard shortcuts are way easier to remember once you get them down!

[@TheLesBrown]

I agree. I was considering a move from Logic to Luna, but the rudimentary copy/paste "comping" in Luna is a deal killer. I hope better comping is added soon, as I like the tight integration of Luna with my Apollo Twin X Quad.

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@TheLesBrown right on mate! I don’t disagree. However - I will say after being on it for months - it really has made me a better player and listener. Rather than “looking” at what takes I have - I literally have to listen to each one more critically. Additionally - I do less takes with better performances. Logic made me lazy and sloppy. LOL 😂 Either way, Cheers mate! Keep rocking!

[@chizzulwinduh1941]

You're great Steve and your videos work really well. Unfortunately, LUNA still has a huge way to go to be a useful DAW. The Comping is terrible, it's prehistoric and not worthy. There are no hardware inserts that are time compensated, the midi editing is pre school level and an embarrassment. No ARA2 whatsoever and while LUNA base model is free, if you buy the LUNA extensions, it's the most expensive DAW on earth. Also, UAD DSP and it's old non-updated, outdated, way overly expensive plugins are so flabby and un-optimised, UAD has recently found themselves verging on being relegated to the lower league, especially with native power of the new M1 Macs and native plugins out performing the UAD versions like Softube and Brainworx/ plugin Alliance. It's clear UAD need to do some very intensive rethinking on their model and move fast, otherwise people will just jump ship. i don't think UAD will though, they are well known for being intransigent.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Hey Chizzul, Thanks so much for the kind words about my videos! I do what I can, just trying to be positive and share what I know! With your grievances - Sounds like you've been watching a lot of Barry Johns videos! ha ha (just bustin some chops) Anyways - I disagree on a few levels here. and I'll be happy to explain. First and foremost - I will say this... I fully believe the best DAW - is the one that gets you to make music and complete your vision in the easiest way for you. So whatever DAW that is, that would be the one for you. Now that said - as someone who makes a living from making music, content, & videos... Using this application, Luna, I personally believe it's the best workflow for me. PT is combersome and basically just a continuous patchjob/frankenstein of features from over the years... Same with Logic. Luna has taken everything great and reworked it for the workflow of a hybrid system... is it complete? nope... but I know they have a long term vision - all it takes is looking at the layout, and seeing what they HAVE implemented, and then just imagining for a second on what they are working on... So onto comp'ing....At first, I agree - it wasn't the best, and it still could be improved upon - however, I actually prefer luna's these days - here's why.. In logic - you have this sense of "well, I can do unlimited takes, it's easy to comp" and becomes somewhat of a crutch. Then when you get to the comp'ing phase, you have 50 takes causing decision fatigue.. With Luna, you kind of know what you're up against, so your takes become more practiced on the front side, and more deliberate. So you have better takes, and less comp's or less to comp... the second reason I like it more, is because it forces me to actually listen for which take is better, instead of looking at the screen and using my eyes. It's less distracting... now could it be improved on, hell yeah. they could add a "move to comp" button. Would be great! With Midi - I like the Quantize features, but I agree - editing velocities and such can sometimes kind of be a pain. They do have some work there to do.. Not sure how UAD's DSP platform is outdated. There isn't really anything like it... using their interfaces with Unison tech - literally has fooled many ears into believing people tracked with real 1073's & API's... its incredible. Additionally - the lack of latency with complicated chains - IMO... nothing better. So while yes - there are powerful computers today - you'd STILL run into latency problems as your session grows.. The DSP system is where it's at. M1 is a sore subject - I know many are high on it.. but the thing is, as developers learn and understand how the tech works, they will soak up all that extra processing power for more complicated processing tasks and then you'll be RIGHT back to where you started... with a $1000 laptop or computer that works just like you'd expect an entry level computer to perform. Secondly, a lot of the UAD DSP is in fact updated,.. they just remodeled the API, 737 is newer, 1084 is newer.. a lot of cool stuff.... again, not exactly sure how a Native plugin like brainworks could outperform .. I guess that depends on your definition of outperform.. Do you mean, more instances of the plugin? I could see that, I suppose, as the DSP requires the physical DSP chips.. but as far as performance - you'd have more latency with the Native.. it's physics... Round trips physically have to go into your computer, be processed and spit back out.. as your session grows - you will be bottlenecked at some point. As far as UAD becoming extinct.. idk about that.. I think just judging by what they have been doing - I'd be willing to bet they have a big long term plan.... never say never. Cheers Mate!

[@chizzulwinduh1941]

​@@TheSteveKinney Hey, thanks for taking the time to respond. I hadn't heard of Barry Johns, but did go and watch his stuff last night. He definitely has the right angle on UAD, pretty much everything I was saying and more. I'd definitely recommend his channel and what he has to say. It would be good to see an episode where you and he debate this thorny subject. I think he's just released another UAD talking point and would recommend that to anyone thinking of investing in UAD. The best DAW is the DAW that get's you to were you're going the quickest and most reliably, which isn't LUNA btw! The best DAW also has the most to offer for the money and is a stable and reliable, non tied in, regularly updated and actually available to you (Windows and Mac). LUNA is actually the most complex DAW in terms of path to ownership and criteria required to even run it! I abandoned PT years ago for Cubase, but Reaper is just as good and both these and Studio 1, are many, many miles better in terms of performance, depth and breadth (if you want it) and value. LUNA not only doesn't offer anything like these DAWS, it is buggy and unreliable and basic in what it does offer. It also ties you in to using UAD for plugins to get the benefit, you've got to have a decent Mac (expensive) to even use it, so no Windows users. So, LUNA, even if you have fulfilled the expensive path to ownership is inherently unreliable, buggy, basic and expensive and definitely not the quickest and easiest way to get to where you want to be, unless of course your destination is being broke, unsatisfied, tied in and annoyed. Reaper would clearly be the DAW if you were to take "the one that gets you to make music and complete your vision in the easiest way for you" as your requirements to fulfil these criteria. LUNA wouldn't even be in the running. The UAD platform is outdated, the SHARC chips are old and it all costs a lot, lot more than the competition. When I say out perform, I'm saying by price. You're not having to spend many thousands on proprietary UAD hardware if you have an M1, which Barry Johns makes a point of mentioning a number of times. The extensions in LUNA are very CPU intensive, so you'd need a powerful computer anyway. I'm sorry, your response re M1 is just a hypothetical and by your logic, those plugin developers that you say will just develop to the top spec of the M1 and make it outdated, well that's how the industry works to some extent, but not a great deal and most importantly, by your logic, the plugins by then would be so CPU intensive none of your older machines could run the plugins anyway. What you're saying doesn't hold water. I changed the extinct part, probably just after you read the post, I really just meant that they would become extinct if they didn't rethink, but I take your point. I invested heavily in UAD and was a real fan, but they have gone down a path that has left me unsatisfied and unhappy for all the reasons I've mentioned. I do love my UAD system, but i'm not happy with LUNA nor am I happy with the way UA are going (and they're still just so, so overpriced.)

[@goldmundbyrne7075]

Very much enjoying this series and finding it useful, thank you. I’ve been away from production for a long time, and am really finding this useful in bringing myself back up to speed

[@johnweaver7251]

Thank You Steve, You'r a great teacher! I currently have 4 Apollo x8p's and starting from scratch, Luna is my 1st DAW I've ever worked with. John from Tacoma Wa

[@TheSteveKinney]

Dang! You got a BEEFY system there. Too cool! Appreciate the kind words and glad I can help, cheers John!

[@johnt2501]

These videos have helped me so much in getting to grips with recording and using Luna!

[@TheSteveKinney]

John that’s awesome man! I’m finishing up the series over the next few days. Should have parts 5-7 by the end of the week.

[@johnt2501]

@@TheSteveKinney brilliant. I’ve been playing for years but am fresh to recording… lockdown forced me into it to stay productive and I would have been lost without these! Great content!

[@defacres]

Since Luna became free to OSX, I thought I would download and give it a go. I'm a veteran PT user, so I had my doubts in terms of functionality. In 2 months, I bought the Studio pack from UAD(Comps, EQs and API Summing), I have the verbs and amp sims and Moog. I am blown away at how intuitive it is. You know what else is really cool ? Their shortcuts are almost taken straight from Avid (minus the Command+ button), so the learning curve is minimal. Really enjoying it and your video collection makes it an even more enjoyable ride @thestevekinney so thank you brother👍

[@TheSteveKinney]

1000% I kind of had the backwards experience, I hadn’t used pro tools in forever, but started doing a lot more on site location work that required pro tools and felt right at home. Except that somehow Luna still feels more intuitive. Stoked with it. Cheers mate!

[@GoodmanRecordingsTokyo]

Thank you so much for this series. I'm overwhelmed by Luna and found myself going back to Logic for the familiarity, but Luna keeps calling to me. This series is really helping.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Cheers!!

[@thomaspluta605]

Thanks, Steve.. very helpful 🍻

[@tunemxr480]

Of all the Luna tutorials, Steve's are the easiest to digest and take forward

[@TheSteveKinney]

I try my best. 🥲 ha ha

[@JoeyOuso]

Very similar to pro tools quick keys. It was such a easy transition!

[@TheSteveKinney]

Yeah! It’s pretty neat right? Somehow I find that Luna is nicer to work in vs PT. But it’s still obviously missing a bunch of things.

[@JoeyOuso]

@@TheSteveKinney Yea man! As long as I’ve been there producing music with every DAW I’ve used I thought nothing could be so user friendly to the engineer. Booom then there’s Luna it’s a solid number 3 in my top 5 DAW’s.

[@stephenpierce2274]

Great video! Very useful! the warps tutorial was especially helpful and was on my list to figure out for LUNA. thanks!

[@TheSteveKinney]

For real - Luna makes that feature sooooo easy. It’s damn near impossible to get right in Logic. PT is simpler but still nothing like Luna.

[@RONNYMORRISMUSIC]

Perfection. Now any changes you make, how do you undo them?

[@TheSteveKinney]

Command Z, standard undo protocol. That said - it’s smart to make bookmarks, aka session versions etc as you go.

[@SteveGardinerProducer]

Good stuff man!

[@TheSteveKinney]

Thanks mate!

[@ToneD5150]

As a beginner in Luna, this is very informative! Thank You✌️

[@TheSteveKinney]

Cheers mate!

[@xaevyxae9624]

Yeah great content. I just want to say your vids are easily digestable.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Wooot! Cheers mate!

[@bregn]

Thank you Steve for a great video on Luna editing/warps. So useful!

[@TheSteveKinney]

Thanks mate! I think it’s one of their best features! Other daws have a similar feature but no where near as intuitive. Good stuff! Cheers!

[@TrevorrNourse]

Fantastic series, thank you for all the work you put into this. I just got back into recording after a 10 year break. Family, work and life in general. Little older and want to enjoy the simple pleasure of creating music. I am lost but your series is really helpful.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Love hearing stuff like this! Making music is fun, I'm glad you found your way back into it! Hopefully these help you along the way, always happy to connect one/one if you ever wanna go down the rabbit hole. Cheers mate, and happy creating!

[@TrevorrNourse]

@@TheSteveKinney Thanks for the response. I will check out your packs... Let you know if I have questions.

[@MrManumendes]

Hey Steve, great Video, thank you. Is there a function/shortcut to only fill the selection you made with the audio from the Cache? Like in Pro Tools alt+cmd+v? In my case, to fill the selected gap between words with Roomtone. Thanks

[@TheSteveKinney]

I’m sure there is a specific command for that. My workflow would just be much simpler. C & V baby haha

[@MrManumendes]

@@TheSteveKinney Thank you :) But C and V is not the same as „Repeat to fill selection“ (alt+cmd+v in PT). Cause with this command, you just fill the selected area with the roomtone from the Cache. With c and v, you always fill in the whole cache. Thats the difference, but I‘m on it and will figure it out :) Keep in making this great videos.

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@MrManumendes they definitely have a command like that. I remember reading it. I just can’t recall.

[@epscaling]

New Apollo and Luna guy here. Grabbed the Heritage pack! This content is awesome!

[@TheSteveKinney]

Man, so glad to hear you’re enjoying and finding it useful! I tried to keep this series straight, linear to the point. I’ll be putting more out as major updates happen.

[@epscaling]

@@TheSteveKinney love it!

[@IamtheI]

😀😀😀

[@TheSteveKinney]

Cheers mate!

[@Airsoftdublover]

Hi Steve! Love your vids man. What drums are you using on the midi track? I especially dig the hats.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Hey mate, I believe it's the indie ezx kit ... one of my favorites from Toontrack for sure.

[@Airsoftdublover]

@@TheSteveKinney I appreciate it! Thanks dude

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@Airsoftdublover you got it bro! One of the newest ones sounds absolutely phenomenal.. the gospel one. Check it out.

[@katrina_burgoyne]

Another great job!

[@TheSteveKinney]

Thank you x

[@darykw4566]

💪

[@TheSteveKinney]

Cheers mate!

[@LukeVidler]

This series is great got me up and running, thanks Steve.

[@TheSteveKinney]

Glad to hear it! That's awesome Luke! Cheers.

[@mikewolfe9458]

Thanks for doing this series, Steve!

[@TheSteveKinney]

Cheers mate!

[@sunnyjohnlouis4843]

Dope content I’m literally just learning how to operate Luna it’s my first daw and hip hop is my genre but the tips can be applied to everything especially the comping takes and dope and copy paste c v

[@TheSteveKinney]

Totally mate! Cheers! I’m glad you’re digging it, highly recommend the new opal synth with UADx. Also Crazy good sounds in Luna for hip hop. Original 808’s, 909’s, tons of drum stuff. Can’t over state how good those samples are in it.

[@sunnyjohnlouis4843]

@@TheSteveKinney what’s a good vocal plug in or should I stick to stock in the beginning?

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@sunnyjohnlouis4843 Well.. that's a bit of a rabbit hole. I have a big video on how to approach vocals. generally kind of has the overall idea. I mean - generally speaking - there are a few "standard" chains that are kind of "full proof". the template would be: (pre-amp of choice, audition for the best one on the source) | | \/ corrective eq, (hi-pass, de-ess) | | \/ 1176 | | \/ La-2a | | \/ add more corrective processing if it needs.. and then bus out your effects. That said - a cool trick for aggressive hip hop stuff is the 1176 all buttons in mode. attack and release modes are gonna be really important too, since rhythm is everything there.

[@sunnyjohnlouis4843]

I’m a super rookie so would the the Apollo twin mkII interface be considered the preamp ?

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@sunnyjohnlouis4843 yup. It would. It has great pres built in, but it’s secret sauce and why the Apollo’s are so daughter after is the “unison” tech that works in... dare I say unison with the mic pre. Basically - when you load up a “neve 1073” mic pre plugin module inside of UAD console - it’s physically interacting with your Apollo mic pre by changing impedance, and modeling the gain structures etc. It makes a massive difference than if you were to load it up in post because you’re microphone is seeing a different electrical resistance down the cable. Nifty stuff those Apollo’s. Cheers mate.

[@LegendSummingMusic]

Definitely keep it up

[@TheSteveKinney]

Parts 5-7 coming very soon. Along with some other content

[@NicoCoboMusic]

Great video !

[@hombredelfuturo_888]

logic pro has the most amazing comping of the universe i hope luna offers that some day

[@TheSteveKinney]

I actually really hate it now that I’m used to the PT/luna way. It’s hard to explain why, but the best way I can describe it is accuracy.

[@hombredelfuturo_888]

@@TheSteveKinney good to know man, I'm working on my first mix with LUNA and I'm loving it so far) I'm feeling very comfortable Anyway, I think logic way of comping is more intuitive and creative, and comes really handy when you need to put down ideas fast. Sometimes maybe you just need that kind of tool Probably different when a band comes and records it's thing, already rehearsed where the path is very clear

[@hombredelfuturo_888]

@@TheSteveKinney I forgot to say thanks man for such great videos you offer, great work.

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@hombredelfuturo_888 oh 100% you’re good mate! Happy to help and happy to share what I can. Cheers!

[@TheSteveKinney]

@@hombredelfuturo_888 I personally find luna’s to be more musical. It’s easier on the eyes, especially when you have 80 takes of a lead vocal. And because of this, you are forced to listen more than look at your screen, leading to better comp’s Because if you have that many comp takes in logic, it’s a lot of scrolling and you can get confused a bit if there are not organized takes. Again, it’s hard to explain, but truly - what I really wish is that there was an option for both. I wish both types of comp editing were available within the interface. That would be awesome.

[@brandonforster3228]

Johnson Karen Young Angela Young Maria

[@vanduke]

What kind of desk is that?

[@TheSteveKinney]

Hey Van! Thanks for checking out the series. This is actually a custom desk that I designed and built with the help of my father. Pretty handy desk. Best, Steve