How To Use Guitar Rig 6 In Logic Pro X
Sandee Embree
If you're not familiar with recording audio in Logic Pro, don't worry, check out this video where I go through setting up audio tracks. Ok, so let's say you've added two new audio tracks now. The next thing we'll want to do is set a tempo for your recording.
You can set the tempo on the top control bar in Logic Pro. Once you've set the tempo, be sure to have your metronome on. If the metronome is purple then it is on. See the image below where I have two audio tracks, tempo set, and metronome is on. My tempo is set to 140 bpm which is a fast tempo, you can set your tempo at any bpm you'd like. If this is the first time you're hearing about BPM then be sure to check out this wiki article so you learn what bpm is.
Once we have our audio tracks added, our metronome on, we've chosen a tempo and a sample rate then we are ready to starting recording guitar. Acoustic guitar or electric guitar, the choice is yours! I'll leave that to you. If you'd like to record an acoustic guitar with a microphone then you can skip to Option 2. If you'd' like to record an electric guitar with your audio interface then keep reading Option 1.
Moving on, with an audio interface and 1/4 cable. Think of 1/4 cable as a regular guitar patch cord. This is an example. You should be able to plug and play right away. However, your interface may only have an XLR input. It really will depend on your audio interface. However, most modern audio interface will allow you to plug-in a 1/4 inch cable. For instance any of the Focusrite audio interfaced or Apollo interfaces allow both XLR inputs and 1/4 inputs.
You can of course record without a DI box and often times I do if I want to record something quickly. But if I'm in a recording session where I'm truly trying to get the best quality and the right take, then I will use a DI to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Tip: You also have the option to use the built in amp designer and pedalboards in Logic Pro that emulate vintage and modern guitar amps. Some of them sound really nice and I use them on a lot of my productions. You can the amp designer or the pedalboard as a plugin on the channel strip in the inspector window, here's a post where I talk about adding plugins in Logic Pro.
If your microphone is a condenser mic then it will likely require phantom power 48V. Make sure to red the mic's manual before since phantom power is very important. If you have an audio interface then you it should be able to supply phantom power to the microphone. Most standard mixing boards have this capability too. However, be careful if the microphone does not need phantom power. You could potentially damage a microphone, especially a ribbon microphone if you apply phantom power. When it doubt, read the manual. I know it's not fun, but it could save you a few bucks!
Once you have plugged your audio interface into your computer and you've plugged your microphone into your interface, using an XLR cable. Then turn on phantom power (if needed). Make sure to do these steps in order. Once that is done, we are ready to record. If you're having trouble setting up your audio interface then here is a great video for you. I cover everything you need to know about working with you audio interface in Logic Pro.
It's important that you record your guitar with headphones. However, you do not necessarily have to use headphones if you're recording directly with an audio interface. But, with a microphone it's essential that we record with headphones on. That is because we will be in the same room as the microphone and we do not want our metronome track being played through the speakers. If so, the microphone would record the metronome track. In our case, while recording with headphones on, the metronome will only be played in our ears.
Plug in your favourite pair of studio headphones into the headphone input on your audio interface. If you'd like to know some of my favourite headphones, here's a great post about headphones for mixing and mastering. Furthermore, make sure the volume knob is not completely set at 0. We want to be able to able to monitor our guitar on our audio tracks. If everything is set up correctly then at this point you should be able to hear your guitar being played through your headphones. If you're using an audio interface, you should be able to hear your guitar through your speakers or headphones. The choice is yours.
If it's still not working then let's double check our channel input settings. This is different than your audio input and audio output device preferences. It's very important that the channel input on your audio track matches up with the channel input on your audio interface.
On a typical home studio audio interface there would two channels. You can think of channels as being plugs. For instance, the number of plugs (inputs) the audio interface has on the front side of the device. Notice on the image below that the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 interface has 2 channels. In other words, it has 2 plugs for microphones or instruments.
Now is the time we need to tell Logic where we plugged in your microphone or your guitar. Click "input" in the above image and choose the appropriate input.
You guessed it. If you plugged in your microphone on the furthest plug to the left on your audio interface then you would select input 1. If you plugged in your guitar to the second channel on your audio interface then you would choose input 2.
I've seen it a thousand times where my students are not sure why their recordings aren't working. They have everything setup correctly but they've forgot to double check their input settings. Often times you might not be thinking and plug in directly to channel 2 on your audio interface. However, if your audio track in Logic says input 1 then they will not match up. Logic Pro is a super sophisticated and smart software but it's not that smart. You still need to tell it what plug you are using.
Trust my, I know it might seem like a lot of steps to finally get ready to record audio in Logic but the more times you do it, the faster it will become. Also, overtime, you'll start to notice different options to do setup tasks more quickly. Ah ha! Yes, there are more ways to do things than just one. I won't get into all of them here but I'll mention a small one that could speed things up for you. It happens when you first add an audio track. I'm talking about this window below:
Notice that you have options to change the audio channel settings and the audio output device settings. This theoretically will save you time by having to open up your Logic Pro preferences to change your audio input and output devices but it also saves you time from having to choose the right channel input in the audio track inspector window.
You'r going to find your own ways to make your sessions more productive too. All it takes is making more music Logic Pro. There's so many ways to do things and if you want to learn more about recording, Logic Pro, and music production, you should subscribe to my Youtube channel, you might like it! For example, here is a video on how to record the acoustic guitar.
All we need to do now is make sure to click R on the audio track. This is a record enabled button. Now press R on our computer keyboard and boom, you will be recording your acoustic or electric guitar. Here's a good final checklist image of how things should be looking like on your end before you start recording your guitar:
You might try some of these helpful guitar production tips. Whether it's for an acoustic or electric guitar. For example, if you'd like to record a more "full sounding" guitar than you could try double tracking your guitars and panning them far left and far right. After you finished recording, it should look something like this:
Make sure to not to make a copy of your initial recording. It's very important that if you are going to overlay two tracks on top of each other that they are different recordings. It's okay that they are playing the same parts, that's totally fine because they're still different. However, if you make a copy of a track and overlay the copies on each other, that will create volume and phasing issues. In a nutshell, it won't sound good and it will not give you the affect of a full sounding guitar that you'd originally want in the first place.
I also suggest adding two types of reverb to your acoustic guitar or electric guitar. I personally like using a small room reverb to put it in a room that the listener can digest but then I also like to add a large chamber reverb. Just a little bit. This will make the guitar sound really lush. This also really depends on the style, genre, and track you're producing.
You are right, I had selected R (but the button is blinking and it was not easy getting a snapshot that captured it as it went red). But I did manage so I did again a snapshot with both on: the I and the R (see below).
I have somehow managed to make it work - at the top of mixing strip, it was set as Input 1 and when I randomly changed to Input 2 it worked! (see snapshot): so I can now hear and see my guitar in the Input in Logic ? yay
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