Monitoring with effect plugins in Logic?

There are lots of ways, depending on what kit you have.

If you only have a stereo pair coming out (so for example, you're using the standard audio I/O on the Mac), then it's a bit less flexible.

What you can do is to route all your input tracks to a bus and put effects on the bus. If you create a group for all these tracks, you can then use the send amount on one track and it affects all the others in the group (set up the Group to include the appropriate Send). That way, you can flip/flop between the bus version (with inserts) and the clean version just by changing a single Send knob.

If you have more than 2 outputs, this is where it gets cleverer. You can follow the method above but change the bus to send its output to a different output (eg output 3-4). Your audio interface probably has a way of using different outputs as a source for headphones. You don't say what you've got so I can't be sure but you then use the new output (eg 3-4) for monitoring and you can put anything you like on the bus. Slap on the output 1-2 for dry, slap on 3-4 for wet.

As for the flange effect. Not sure. Are you using line or Mic input levels? It could be that you've got the wrong ones and driving the input too hard could be causing distortion.

Come back if you need more details on any of the above processes.

Pete

I'm going to step out at this point. Of course, I'm happy to help but, if you're not even sure how basic monitoring works, I have to refer to you to the manual, the MacProVideo guides and a little more experience.

Don't think me too harsh but it seems you're a long way from forum help. I hope some of my more patient colleagues may have more time than I.

You asking a lot from a few paragraphs but do come back when you've invested more time in how Logic works.

Good luck!

Pete

recording stage and I'm wishing to assign an insert
to a track that will only be heard in the
monitors/headphones, so in other words it won't
record the insert effect just utilize it. I want to
have a little reverb in the headphones when recording
vocals but I don't want to record the reverb effect.

Nope no one minds if I jump in here.

Earlier you mentioned a "chorus" effect.
Let's clear that up first.

The MOTU can monitor it's own inputs by something called "direct monitoring". This type of monitoring is done inside the MOTU hardware unit and if for all practical purposes... latency free.

To monitor with Logic's effects you must have software monitoring on. I'm 99% the chorus effect you were hearing is a mixture of the signal going though Logic (software monitored) and the direct signal being monitored through the MOTU. There's a time differential there... which causes the chorusing.

Clear?

So, if you're going to monitor with effects "direct monitoring" must be off. It's probably located within the
MOTU mixing panel, the one that's installed with the drivers. Cuemix or something like that.

Nest, to monitor an effect (and not record) use either a bus, or an insert on a track.

Dbl click on the audio track you wish to record on, this opens the "Track Mixer". Drop a reverb on the insert and you're good to go. If you want to use a single effect
for monitoring on several tracks drop the reverb on a bus and use the send for each track to be monitored.

Tracks are "virtual".
Logics input busses (where effects are recorded) represent the MOTUs hardware inputs.

last-

For software monitoring to work well, the audio interface
needs it's I/O buffer set fairly low, depends on your tolerence. Preferences/Audio/Drivers I/O buffers

Try 128

pancenter-

I tried this. I clicked on the audio track 5 and the
mixer window came up. I then put an insert on track
5, armd it and recorded and STILL the effect is
recorded. This is the proplem I've had the whole
time.

No it's not, turn the effect off.

If it was recorded into the sound, it will still be there when the reverb is off.

Your just playing it through the track insert reverb.

"...If you'd like to record the audio track with

effects, insert the effect plug-ins into the
corresponding input channel, rather than the audio
track channel

what's the difference between inserting the effect
into the corresponding input channel and inserting it
into the track channel?

The input channel will record the effect permantly into the audio, the track input does not.

pancenter-

I tried this. I clicked on the audio track 5 and the
mixer window came up. I then put an insert on track
5, armd it and recorded and STILL the effect is
recorded. This is the proplem I've had the whole
time.

"...If you'd like to record the audio track with

effects, insert the effect plug-ins into the
corresponding input channel, rather than the audio
track channel

My apologies, I didn't notice you were on Logic Express, you don't have the type on Input channels that record
effects directly into the audio.

what's the difference between inserting the effect
into the corresponding input channel and inserting it
into the track channel?

In Logic Express, there are no "Input" inserts.

It could be Logic's manual, referring to something non-existent in Express.

Are you referring the the fader in the lower left of the arrange page? That's simply a single view of the track your on. It reflects the track mixer's setting. It's not an Input.

Sorry for the error on my part.

Like the previous poster mentioned, this is difficult to troubleshoot because you don't have the basics down yet.
Perhaps one of the video courses available?

pancenter-

Hi.

1. Go to Borders Bookstore.

2. Buy Book, from this list:

"Live Sound Reinfocement" Scott stark

"The S.M.A.R.T. Guide to Recording Great Audio Tracks in a Small Studio " Bill Gibson

3. Above all, RTFM, search the online PDF to find and understand the difference between "Audio Object" and "Input Object" This will clue you in the differences between only monitoring and actually recording with plugins.

Cheers