You can link your plugin windows to the selected track for fast plugin access on a specific insert slot. This reduces the number of clicks required to make a change in your plugins. Too bad that only one plugin window can be linked at a time.
Workflow Enhancement
Link Plugin Windows for Fast Plugin Access
by Matt on April 30th, 2010 in Video Tip, Workflow EnhancementDisable Solo Latching?
by Matt on March 24th, 2010 in Workflow EnhancementBy default Logic allows you to solo multiple tracks simultaneously. This is the same as enabling Solo Latch in Pro Tools. However, what if you want the solo on another track to be disabled when soloing another track? There is not a setting to completely disable this functionality, but there is a work around.
Have you ever noticed the 
button in your transport bar? Apple simply calls it Solo, but it is better described as a “Selected Region Solo Mode”. When enabled only selected regions will be played. This mode works with any combination of selected regions in the arrange window. You may be wondering how selecting regions can be any quicker than clicking the solo button on and off? Well, here’s how…
When you click a track header in the arrange window all the regions for that track are selected and all other regions are deselected. Therefore, to solo another track all you need to do is click the track header. Much quicker than enabling and disabling the solo button when trying to find the track that was recorded with the noisy cable!
Custom Mixer Views Using the Environment
by Matt on March 8th, 2010 in Environment, Workflow EnhancementDo you have problems viewing all of your tracks in Logic using the mixer window? Did you know that you can customize environment windows to view several tracks at once? Well you can! Here’s how…
Open the Environment and create a new empty layer. You can name this layer anything you like. Make it relevant to the channels you will include in your custom mixer.
Once you create the layer you can begin placing the channels you want into the layer. (Be sure to create all the tracks you need in the arrange window first.) Then go to the main Mixer layer in the Environment and select the channels you would like to include in your new layer. You can hold Shift to select multiple tracks at once. …Read More
Feedback Loop: Project Organization
by Matt on January 18th, 2010 in Feedback Loop, Workflow EnhancementWe want to know how you work, so we will periodically create “feedback loops” where you can jump in and share your workflow with the world.
This week we want to know how you keep your projects organized. Do you keep them all in one folder? Do you sort by artist, album, or other criteria? Get in the loop and leave your feedback in the comments.
Click and Drag Arrange Window Buttons
by Matt on December 29th, 2009 in Workflow EnhancementWe hope that you are having a great holiday season with your family and friends. Be sure not to eat too much…
In Logic 9, you can click and drag the Mute, Solo, Input Monitor, Hide, and Freeze buttons in the Arrange Window to enable or disable the button on multiple tracks. This works great if you would like to solo a group of tracks. In previous versions you had to click each button individually.
Quickly Name Sequential Tracks
by Matt on December 22nd, 2009 in Workflow EnhancementThe last post mentions using the tab key to speed up track naming. However, did you know that you can highlight several tracks in the mixer and when you name them they will be numbered sequentially?
For example, lets say that you have 7 wireless microphones that you are recording for a live event. Highlight the 7 audio tracks in the mixer you would like to use, double click and name the first one “Wireless 1″. The following 6 tracks will automatically be named “Wireless 2″, “Wireless 3″ and so on. This tip can greatly speed up track naming for large projects with multiple mics.
Quickly Name Tracks
by Matt on December 13th, 2009 in Workflow EnhancementLogic 9 has finally caught up to other DAWs when it comes to naming tracks. When naming tracks you can now press Tab to move to the next track and Shift-Tab to move to the previous track. This speeds up naming tracks since you do not have to move back and forth between the keyboard and mouse to name the tracks as with previous versions of Logic.
Automation Trim Shortcut
by Matt on December 7th, 2009 in Automation, Video Tip, Workflow EnhancementHave you ever written a pass of automation on a track and decided that the whole track is too loud? You can use the automation select tool, select all the automation events and then adjust them accordingly. However, us Logic Dudes like to work efficiently and that is too much mouse work!
The quickest way to trim the automation on the entire track is to cmd-click+drag the yellow bar on the track header in the arrange window. This action can be performed no matter which tool is selected. Check out the video below to see this hint in action.
Bounced Files Meta Information
by Matt on December 1st, 2009 in Workflow Enhancement
When you bounce an audio file from Logic 9, the audio file contains information that can be used when the file is imported back into the project. Most DAWs use this functionality to store the original position that the file was recorded at in the original project so the files can be realigned in a new project. However, with Logic 9 the tempo and markers are also stored in the bounced file.
This comes in very handy if you need to send some stems to your bass player so he can lay down some tracks. When he imports the audio files into a new Logic 9 project he will be prompted to import the tempo and marker information from the files into his project. This will allow him to play with Logic’s click track as well as view any markers that may contain important notes.
Quick Tool Access
by Matt on December 1st, 2009 in Workflow Enhancement
Ever find yourself mousing over to the tool buttons to switch to the tool you want to use? The Esc key provides quicker access to the tools available for the window you are working in. After pressing escape the tools can be selected with the mouse or by using the corresponding keyboard shortcut.
BONUS TIP: Pressing the Esc key twice will reset the selected tool back to the Pointer Tool.
