Overview of mixing in Logic Pro for Mac

When you mix a project, you balance the different parts and blend them into a cohesive whole. You can also add effects to alter the sound, use routing and grouping to control the signal flow, and use automation to create changes in your project over time. In Logic Pro for Mac you do this in the Mixer, which opens below the Tracks area or as a separate window.

Although there are no hard rules for mixing, it typically involves the following steps. You may find yourself moving back and forth between steps as you work on the mix:

Set channel strip volume levels to balance different instruments.
Set channel strip pan or balance positions to place instruments in the stereo field.
Add and adjust plug-ins (effects and instruments) to change the sound of a track or the overall project.
Control signal flow to route a signal to multiple destinations, create subgroups, or process sounds individually.
Create changes over time using automation curves on individual tracks or regions, or on the master track.

In the process of mixing, you can find different ways to accelerate and simplify your workflow, by muting and soloing channel strips, working with channel strip settings and Mixer groups, and customizing the Mixer.

If you decide not to keep any adjustments to channel strips or plug-ins you make in the Mixer, you can undo them using Mixer Undo.

When Enable Complete Features is selected in Logic Pro > Settings > Advanced, you can choose from different Mixer views, displaying only those channel strips that you need for the task at hand.

Open the Mixer in the main window

In Logic Pro, do one of the following:

Click the Mixer button in the control bar.
Choose View > Show Mixer (or press X).

Open the Mixer as a separate window

In Logic Pro, choose Window > Open Mixer (or press Command-2).

Control which channel strips appear in the Mixer

In Logic Pro, do any of the following:

To show the signal flow of the channel strip that corresponds to the selected track in the Tracks area, click the Single button.
To show the signal flow of all channel strips that correspond to tracks in the Tracks area, click the Tracks button.
To show the signal flow of all channel strips available in the project, click the All button.
Note: Aux and output channel strips are examples of channel strips that don’t have a corresponding track in the Tracks area. You can, however, create tracks for such channel strips by choosing Options > Create Tracks for Selected Channel Strips from the Mixer menu bar.
You can also filter channel strips by type in the Mixer.
Use the Cycle Through Mixer Modes key command.

Show or hide track stack channel strips

In Logic Pro, click the disclosure arrow at the bottom of the channel strip in the Mixer.

Make sure that View > Follow Track Stacks is chosen from the Mixer menu bar to mirror the display of track stack subtracks in both the Mixer and Tracks area.

You can also perform some basic mixing tasks in the Tracks area.

Download the guides:

Logic Pro User Guide: PDF

Logic Pro Instruments: PDF

Logic Pro Effects: PDF

Helpful?

Logic Pro User Guide for Mac

Overview of mixing in Logic Pro for Mac

Open the Mixer in the main window

Open the Mixer as a separate window

Control which channel strips appear in the Mixer

Show or hide track stack channel strips