MEMORY TIPS
Logic Hit Kit can play back up to eight tracks of audio as either
mono or stereo tracks. When you think that each minute of stereo
CD quality (16 bit @44.1khz) audio needs around 10 meg of storage,
then multiply that by eight tracks for the average song length
of 3-4 minutes. As you can see, that adds up to a lot of data.
Using computers to playback lots of audio tracks puts a great
strain on even the fastest processors, so my extra tips for
smooth running are as follows:
Always get as much RAM (memory) as you can afford, and as much
as your computer can handle.
Lots of RAM makes everything run much more smoothly – if
you are using your Mac or PC for intensive gaming then maybe
you already have lots of RAM!
RAM prices have fallen dramatically in recent years so extra
RAM is not as expensive as it once was – on most computers
it is also fairly easy to fit. However, if you are unsure about
taking your Mac or PC apart, always get an expert to fit the
RAM for you. RAM chips are also very sensitive to static electricity;
one spike and they will be dead! So put away the woolly jumper
and hat when fitting or handling RAM.
Once you have installed or had the RAM installed for you into
your Mac or PC, depending on your operating system, you may
need to assign that extra RAM to the Logic Hit Kit program.
Check your Operating Systems manual for the information on how
to do this.
Next up is the computer's hard drive: Playing back many tracks
of audio needs a fast hard drive. Professional musicians and
producers often use an external fast hard drive just for all
their audio files.
Consider getting a large and fast external hard drive –
this will really improve your work flow. It would also allow
you to (carefully) transport the drive and your files to another
location (for example to collaborate with another songwriter).
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ALWAYS READ THE MANUAL
Most errors are human! If you don’t read the manual you
will never know how stuff works or get the best out of equipment
you own.
You can download the Logic Manual
from this site - bookmark the site and check back regularly
for any changes or updates.
Read the manual that came with your computer as well as the
manuals for any third party software and hardware that you own.
Most manuals will often have set up guides or even in some cases
suggested work practices.
Always download or get the latest drivers from the manufactures
of your computer hardware and always make sure your software
programmes are up to date.
Always use good quality interconnecting cables for your hard
drives, MIDI and audio cables.
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SOUND CARDS
If you have a PC with a sound card, check the card settings
as recommended by the card manufacture. Failing to set the card
up correctly will mean that you will not hear the audio properly.
The most common mistake is the card settings for the sample
rate (resulting in playback at the wrong speed). Files must
be 16 bit 44.1khz format and the sound cards setting must match
these rates.
This is also the best sample rate to use – the same as
CDs as it means imported audio from CD tracks will run at the
correct speed.
Also, if you have the sound card switched to digital input without
a digital signal present - again the audio will playback at
the wrong speed or have lots of clicks. To solve this, switch
the sound card to analogue input and internal sync.
Read the glossary at the back of the Hit Kit booklet or see
the glossary on dk.com here or any of the terms you don’t
understand.
Emagic have an external sound card option – the audiowerk
8 card. These are now very cheap on the second hand market
and work very well.
Alternatively, the superb Emagic emi USB audio interfaces
A26 and A62
http://www.emagic.de/products/hw/A26/index.php?lang=EN
I use this with my portable set-up and it works really well.
If you are using MAC OSX you can even record in 24bit but
that’s another story…
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MIDI
Get a good quality MIDI interface and install the correct
drivers as recommended by the manufacturer.
I recommend the Emagic MT4 I have tested this with the Hit
Kit and it works really well and is trouble free!
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EXTRACTING AUDIO
Logic Hit Kit uses and creates audio in the following
formats -16 bit 44.1khz .WAV or. AIFF files.
In order to use audio tracks on the drum & percussion
CD included with your Hit Kit) you need to first extract
the audio from the CD (this is also known as ripping audio).
Most Mac’s & PC‘s come with built in software
to do this. You can also use iTunes from Apple.
iTunes is now available for Mac and Windows (PC) on Apple's
website
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
REMEMBER to set the preferences of the “ripping
software“ you use to either WAV or AIFF – they often
default to the MP3 format – Logic Hit Kit does
not see or use MP3 files.
If your computer does not have this software, go to the step-by-step
QuickStart instructions on this site.
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BACK UP YOUR FILES
If you have a CD burner in your computer this will of course
allow the backup of your files to CD-R.
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UTILITIES & PROTECTION
Get a copy of Norton utilities (for MAC or PC) – I use
this and it has saved the day many times – Norton utilities
helps optimise your hard drive for better performance and check
for any faults – also with “filesaver” enabled
if you accidentally erase a file you can often get it back.
Their anti virus software will also help protect your computer
from attack!
On that subject BACK UP ALL YOUR FILES REGULARLY –
so if the worse happens at least your precious song is safe.
It is very easy to back up your files onto a CDR or ZIP disk
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USING THE Hit Kit ESXP1 SAMPLE
PLAYER
See the Logic
manual p.101 for more details.
The ESXP1 is a sample playback module exclusively designed
for use in logic-Hit Kit. It uses the industry standard
ESX24 file format.
Emagic have sample libraries available for purchase
http://www.emagic.de/products/libraries/analog/index.php?lang=EN
http://www.emagic.de/products/libraries/digital/index.php?lang=EN
http://www.emagic.de/products/libraries/hiphop/index.php?lang=EN
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EXCLUSIVE FREE SAMPLES!!
I have produced some starter ESXP1 files for you to download
free of charge – click
here to get the exclusive samples. They cover a wide range
of basic loops & sounds to get you started - all I ask is
don’t give them to other people, keep them to yourself!!!
Further samples can be found on my site, please visit
www.stevelevine.co.uk
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HOW TO USE THE SOUND SAMPLES AND INSTRUMENTS
To use your ESXP1 sample playback module is very simple. Read
the Logic manual p.101 for full details.
ESXP1 sample instruments are made up of and use 2 types of
files. The first is the instrument file known as anyinstrument.EXS
files. These will have the .EXS suffix – this file is
the map of what sound sample plays back from what key and
at what pitch etc. These files must be stored in a folder
called SAMPLER INSTRUMENTS located in the ROOT directory of
the Logic Hit Kit program (see picture below)
You can of course create an alias (or shortcut) pointing
to where the files are stored as long as this alias (or shortcut)
is stored in the sampler instruments folder.
 The
other files are the actual sound (audio) files (see picture
on the left). These can be in either WAV or AIFF file format.
These audio files can be in any folder on your hard drive
that is convenient for you.
ESXP1 instrument files are supplied with both the sampler
instruments and the audio files for use as on the ESXP1 –
the ESXP1 instrument will know which WAV or AIFF file it needs
to find.
See the Logic manual for more detail on this.
With ESXP1 it is playback only so you can’t edit the
actual sampler instruments or create new ones (you can however
save your edited versions as used in your songs).
Logic’s flagship sampler ESX24 allows full editing and
manipulation of the samples and sampler instruments.
http://www.emagic.de
Another note: Don’t forget that the Hit Kit also has
as ESP synthesizer - see chapter 9.2
page 98 for more on this – using this great little
synth will also allow some fantastic synthesizer sounds in
your productions.
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KEEP FILES NEAT
On the subject of files – keep neat files –the good
housekeeping approach will save time in the long run:
Before long you will be, hopefully, creating loads of audio
& song files so try and keep all of your files neat and
tidy.
 I
suggest a master folder for your sound library of ESXP1 files,
another folder for your song files that you are currently working
on, plus one folder for the audio tracks that relate to each
current song (see picture) – not only is this neat and
tidy but it may stop accidental erasing of files that you need.
Backing up is also easy using this method as you would only
need to drag and drop the folder containing the files (using
toast or similar) to burn a CDR backup.
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