How to get "radio-quality" using Logic Pro 7 ? Please help!

Its probably going to take a little more reading than the 700 page Logic manual if you don't have access to someone who already knows the trade you can mentor under. There are some good books with basic information on mixing (Mix Engineer's Handbook by Owsinksi, i think and Mastering Audio: The Art and Science by Bob Katz). Radio quality mixes require pro acoustics (live room and control room), great mics, great pres, and an engineer with great ears and skills. It will take time and practice.

I've worked hard with Logic for a year, and I wouldn't say my mixes are radio quality yet, but they are MUCH better than they were a year ago. Good luck. There is no "magic bullet" in Logic to clear things up. Try subtractive eq to get rid of unnecessary frequencies (i.e. roll of bass when the track doesn't need it, etc.)

Hey AnyaS what type of music are you doing?

do you have email address?

If there were a shortcut to making a song "radio-quality", then thousands of pro recording engineers and producers would be out of work, hardly anyone would be attending Recording Engineering schools, and there would be no need for a Grammy for Recording Engineering Excellence - everyone's mixes would be great.

Not to be TOO pessimistic here, but recording engineers and producers spend years learning how things should sound and how to get those sounds. The mixes I made my first couple of years sounded pretty bad. Gradually, through extensive study, working FOR a pro engineer (and picking his brain), picking up tips on boards and in books, and lots and lots of practice, they now compete pretty well with everything but the megastar mixes.

Just try to make each mix better than the last one.

One thing I always do when mixing is import a commercial track from a CD into my session and solo it against my mix. That gives me a pretty good idea of how far I have to go yet. As far as the basics like signal flow, EQ, compression and reverb, there are a lot of good books around. The Owinski book mentioned by over-man is a good place to start.

I also highly recommend hiring someone to do your first few mixes. It will be a HUGE learning experience for you as well as get you a much better mix than you could by yourself.

It's all in the knowledge and the ears. Train your ears to pick out one thing in the mix and analyze it; and then make it sound better. Then find one more thing in the mix and do the same.

Here's a little secret: 50% (or more) of the quality of the mix/song is in the musicianship, and probably another 25% is in the arrangement itself. That leaves only 25% to the actual engineering - and I'm being generous to the engineering. Many feel that musicianship is 50% of a song and the arrangement is 40%, leaving only 10% for the engineering.











Dual 2.5Ghz 2004; 2.5GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Dual 2.5Ghz 2004; 2.5GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)

What I would do if I were you is crawl before you walk. Rather than take on several tracks to mix, I would start with like thre or four and experiment with the frequencies and possibilities and when you think you have gotten the swing of it, maybe the next mix add another part or so to the song then mix it.... that way slowly you can see how things get cluttered up quickly. Also you get to see what instrumenmts take up the most room sonically and etc. This will also maybe help you in producing your music in the future (ie: less is more) Like the previous posts though, It is all trial and error. Good luck man!

BTW, you CAN get radio-quality sound from Logic. People do it every day. Having the tools is not the secret, knowing how and when to use them is.

If I had Da Vinci's paint brushes and oil pigments, I would STILL not be able to paint more than an ugly stickman.

well said lwilliam

BTW, you CAN get radio-quality sound from Logic.
People do it every day. Having the tools is not the
secret, knowing how and when to use them is.

If I had Da Vinci's paint brushes and oil pigments, I
would STILL not be able to paint more than an ugly
stickman.

Well yes and ni. Most "radio quality" sound is mastered my mastering engineers with expensive equipment and lots of experience. You cannot do this with what Logic comes with alone. You can approach it but still there will be some difference.

Well yes and ni. Most "radio quality" sound is mastered my mastering engineers with expensive equipment and lots of experience. You cannot do this with what Logic comes with alone. You can approach it but still there will be some difference.

Hey, what type external hardware is needed for this? links?

For those starting out, I think this equipment is just about the most important for mastering.

G4 MDD 1.25 GHz/2 GB RAM/20 Cinema Mac OS X (10.4.7) Logic Pro 7.2/Presonus Firebox

mines plugged. no joke. day 15 of a plugged ear. I'd be happy with a crappy mix and an unplugged left ear. man, what we take for granted...

Amen to that. Sorry to hear (no pun intended) about your plugged ear. Do you have a head-cold or something? That can wreak havoc on any mix, that's for sure.

Well yes and ni. Most "radio quality" sound is
mastered my mastering engineers with expensive
equipment and lots of experience. You cannot do this
with what Logic comes with alone. You can approach it
but still there will be some difference.

No argument. I guess it depends on whether we're talking mixing or mastering. I think most of the plugins that come with Logic are decent enough to take a mix to a good mastering engineer, although I always end up using some Waves stuff.

My suspicion based on the original post, "music industry listings requiring radio-quality samples" is that radio-quality is referring to what could be aired on Cable TV spots or radio ads, not a major label release. In those cases, the quality doesn't have to compete with mixes of Beyonce or Madonna, but it does have to sound fully professional - like a CD.



Dual 2.5Ghz 2004; 2.5GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)

had a head cold 3 weeks ago..now the ear..just plugged..worried..need to try and be optimistic here..but man oh man it's been relenteless in it's duration at this point.

The book about Logic by Martin Sitter is good to show how the program works.

Lots of people who write tv spots, independent film scores, and game music use Logic with samples and synths. Their music sounds better than 'radio-quality' whatever that means.

have you used the ear candle i mentioned?