Soundfonts are one of the older sample instrument formats that were used by samplers and sound cards years ago. Because they were so popular large freeware and shareware collections of them still remain on the internet. Soundfonts can also be imported my many of the popular software samplers used today including Logic Studio’s EXS24.
Adding soundfonts to Logic EXS24 Sound Library is very easy, the hardest part is knowing where they needed to be added to, and how to find that location.
To start you will need some soundfonts. One of the oldest and most popular sites for free soundfonts is Hammersound.net
Find some soundfonts you would like to download and click away. Keep in mind that these are more or less all free for you to use. You will come across some amazing sounds on this site and a lot of pretty bland useless sounds. It’s your job to sort through them and find the hidden gems.
After you have downloaded a Soundfont file it will be in be in the download folder of your mac. If the file is compressed it will end with the extension (file type) .zip or .rar. To uncompress the file double click on it. Once the file is uncompressed is should end with .sf2 which is the extension for a soundfont file.
The next part is the tricky part.
Go to your file browser window and navigate to, a fancy word for click on, your Macintosh HD.
Next click on your Library folder. An important thing to note: This is part of your Macintosh’s system files. DO NOT mess with anything else with in these folders, I would also suggest not to do this while you are falling asleep at the computer. You do not want to move, misplace, or delete the wrong files with in this folder.
Continuing on with in your Library folder you are next going to click on the folder titled Application Support. Once you are looking inside that folder your are going to click on the folder that is titled Logic. We are almost done. Now inside the Logic folder click on the folder named Sampler Instruments. You’ve made it. This is the folder where the magic happens. At this point you are going to take the soundfont file you downloaded (the one wit the .sf2 on the end of it) and copy it to the Sampler Instruments folder.
If you would like to keep your Sampler Instruments folder from becoming a mess you should consider creating a folder with in it called Soundfonts or what ever other name you like. the folder name is not important. What is important is that the folder remains with in the Sampler Instruments Folder. If it is not there Logic will not be able to find it.
Now your done. It is time to open up Logic Studio and use your new sounds. Open up Logic. Create a new software instrument with the EXS24 and navigate to your new sounds. Two things to keep in mind. First if you had Logic open while you moved the soundfonts into the Sampler Instruments folder you will need to quit and re open the application before they are added to your EXS Library of Sounds. The next thing to keep in mind is that it might take a moment to for the EXS24 sampler to convert the soundfont files the first time you use them.
I decided to spend a bit of time remaking the Taylor Swift song We Are Never Getting Back Together. The final result is not a perfect rendition of the original instrumental but its pretty close especially if you were going to use it for karaoke or to do your own cover version of the song. The Majority of the sound used are factory sounds that come with Logic Studio 9 and the Garage Band Jam Packs that came on the addition installation DVD’s way back when. I used a bit of layering in the guitars, and the drums of course. The track is pretty simple. Most of the songs “epic-ness” comes from Taylor Swifts fresh delivery of the vocal and the endless amount of vocal layering that they did during recording. If you have any questions about my process of how I put this together leave me a comment below or comment on the youtube page.
I’ll tell musicians all the time to do covers, so I am going to take my own advice and have some fun at the same time. Here is a cover of Justin Bieber’s As Long As You Love Me. I re did the music production in Logic Studio making some changes. The main trumpet parts were done using a harmon mute, recorded about 6″ off the microphone. There are also few low background trumpet parts recorded open and layered with some of Sample Modeling’s TSAX played using an Akai EWI USB. Besides the drums most of the other sounds are factory sounds that come with every installation of Logic Studio. If you have any comments or would like to know more about the production just let me know.
A friend on Facebook recently sent me a question. She had recently purchased protools and needed help learning to mix. I realized this info might help out other people as well. Si I decided to post the answer to mu blog.- If you have questions or comments please leave them below.
I used this book http://amzn.to/137lzzo It is a good place to start. Keep in mind that there a few things that go into a good mix. The most important of those are the Performance and the Production. If those suck, a mix isnt going to make them much better.
Tips:
No. 1 – Take time during your production work to choose the right sounds (Those would be the sounds that sound good to you, the better they work before you mix, the better they will sound once you mix, and the opposite is true.)
No. 2 – The last more important issue is you have to learn to listen. For this part I suggest you get a few CDS, of what ever charting artists you like and listen to what they sound like. One of the reasons so many people suck at mixing is they have know clue what a good mix actually sounds like. Make sure to get music from major label charting artists, not remixes, freestyles, mixtapes and bootlegs from around the way. If you’re going to learn what a good mix sounds like, your going to have to start by listening to good mixes.
For Hip Hop:
Life After Death by Notorious BIG is one of my favorites.
The Eminem Show
For Rock:
Staind – Break The Cycle
Nirvana
Puddle Of Mud
I spent a lot of time learning, playing, and practicing the trumpet. Recently I have been trying Re – find my groove with it. Take a short listen and let me know what you think. If it is something people like maybe I’ll do more of these just for fun.
This was done with a few instruments in Logic Pro, and 4 tracks of live trumpet. ( 1 open trumpet, 2 Cup muted on backgrounds, and 1 Harmon muted on backgrounds.)
With a day of thought and reflection about 2012 complete, it can only summarized as a year of progress. Often we become focused on a goal and forget there is a journey to the goal that is equally important. It is the journey, the progress, and the small steps you take towards achievement that test your true desire and question the faith you need to reach them.
2012 was a year that continued to bloom with seeds I have planted in the past few years but it was also a year of many first. Fun firsts, fearful firsts, painful firsts, much needed firsts, and firsts that will continue to set me free to pursue the life that I reach for.
I wish you a 2013 filled with the things your heart needs to pursue the dreams you desire.
This is just a quick comparison I did on how levels seem different visually depending on your DAW. The way your DAW measure signals can cause you to record and mix stronger or softer. This is not a scientific experiment, more a quick observation. I created a test tone in Logic 9 that measured -6dB . I rendered it to audio and then imported the audio file in Logic 9, Protools 7 (yeah I know I have an old version of protools) and Reason 6.5
Be kind. A simple lesson most all human beings learn as children and so often we forget. No one is perfect but mindfulness of being kind can go along way. A gesture as simple as holding a door open on the way into a store so it does not slam on the person behind you can make a persons afternoon or change there mood from anger to gratitude. The words, Please, Thank You, and Your Welcome go along way. Participating in conversation. Be patient. And ultimately treat every one else the way you would like to be treated.
