> Step by step

1. Editing sampled beats in Logic Pro

1 As with most DAWs, Logic comes with a multitude of ways of creating and editing beats with samples. On a basic level, you can go in and do things manually. Load in the 80s Back Beat from the Apple Loops library. Because it is an Apple Loop it will adjust its tempo to whatever project tempo you have set automatically.

2 But if you want to change the way the loop sounds in terms of its beat order, you have options. First there's the manual method of going in and slicing the beats up with the Scissors tool, and dragging them into a new order. The division timing is according to how you have the Snap set up, but you can home in on very specific beats.

3 Now it's a case of simply copying beats (Option>click>drag) to add fills, extra hits and a lot more interest to that standard back beat. Logic now even puts in crossfades for you so you don't get any sample clicking – a far cry from the old days when you'd have to do these fades by hand.

4 A second option is to take any audio drum loop (we're sticking with the Back Beat just for this example) and double click it to open up the audio editor. Under the Functions menu, select Remove Silence. A dialogue box will then appear where you can adjust the definition of silence but simply press OK.

5 Remove the silence from a drum loop and you are left with… the beats! Lovely individual hits with which you can do what you will. Again, as with the manual slicing above you can move these around to create entirely new drum loops, complete with those auto crossfades. If you use the Smart setting for your division placement, zooming in will allow you to place beats very precisely.

6 You can also perform any audio editing to the individual beats of your new loop – like changing the gain, reversing or fading – from the Functions menu. If you find that these are greyed out, this may be down to the permissions of the original file, so simply save out as a new file using the main Edit>Convert>Audio Region To New option.