Second week, first "project" - Posted on 2016-02-01 by April Edwards

Here ends the second week as an intern at Nitrosonic and student of the Recording Connection! I was given an assignment by my mentor, Ron, to gage my proficiency with Logic Pro X (since I've already worked in Logic for a few years). I was given a raw vocal track to create a mix with by finding and using a karaoke version of the song "I Want to Stroll Over Heaven". Ron definitely gave me a challenge, though, as the vocalist was recorded singing the song without listening to an instrumental track or metronome or anything. So, being new to the Flex Pitch and Flex Time features in Logic X, I've spent a TON of time both in the studio and at home experimenting with them. Honestly, in the end, I got frustrated with the "bugginess" of Logic Pro X's new features; most changes I made in the pitch or time of this vocal track added some unintended effects and tonal changes, so I reverted back to the old "chop-move-crossfade-join" method that I was already used to (and I'm not even sure if it's an efficient way of doing things; before this experience, I'd never been formally taught how to mix, produce or engineer). I used Flex Pitch a little but not as much as I would've liked to, because like I already mentioned, some changes I made to the pitch of those notes left irritating artifacts attached to them. Hopefully this is just because I've not been taught the correct methods and maneuvers in using Flex Pitch and Flex Time. Besides this hiccup, the track is about ready to "present" to my mentor and I'm hoping that he's pleasantly surprised at what I turn in. I'm not a pro by any means (or I wouldn't be paying for this), but that's the ultimate goal, so I'm eager to hear what his critiques and suggestions are in creating a better mix. I also finished the second chapter of the textbook on electricity. It wasn't my favorite but I can definitely see it's relativity to this course. Week number three starts tomorrow!