Spatial Mixing in Logic Pro With Jonathan Morrison (Interview)

Hey there!

Man, the last few weeks over here at WLPR have been crazy. That’s because I was preparing, and ultimately traveling for my first ever NAMM Show!

Just in case you’re not familiar with the NAMM Show, it’s a trade show that occurs every year in Anaheim, CA. Companies of all shapes and sizes get together and show off their awesome products. From musical equipment to microphones, pro audio gear to plugins – it’s pretty much gear heaven.

I’ve heard about the NAMM Show for years, but never had the chance to experience it. So on a whim I decided this year I’d like to see what it’s all about 🙂

But shortly after purchasing my plane tickets, my trip went from “just for fun” to “having fun with a purpose.” You see, Apogee, the company behind my favorite interfaces ever reached out. And I ended up doing several NAMM presentations all about the awesome Symphony Desktop interface.

Chris Vandeviver of Why Logic Pro Rules with Apogee Digital at NAMM 2022

I arrived in Anaheim on Wednesday, June 1st. And the next day I went out to the Apogee offices in Santa Monica for the company’s pre-NAMM event. Which included presentations, live music, great food, and awesome people.

Then there was the NAMM event itself at the Anaheim Convention Center. From Friday, June 3rd to Sunday, June 5th I had the chance to hang out and geek out about music for the entire weekend. It was fantastic!

Live performance at Apogee Digital NAMM 2022 Booth

Hearing Spatial Audio on Speakers For the 1st Time

Jonathan Morrison's Studio — *Watching WWDC 2022 at Jonathan Morrison’s Studio*

One of my goals for NAMM was to finally hear a Spatial mix outside of a pair of headphones.

Atmos and immersive mixing have been a part of Logic Pro now for 8 months. I’m excited about the format. But it can be costly if you decide to invest in a surround speaker setup. And here in Rochester, NY I haven’t been able to find a studio with a 7.1.4 speaker setup anywhere.

Of course, Logic Pro includes not one, but two binaural renderers for headphone mixing. But I couldn’t help but wonder –

“Are headphones really good enough for Spatial mixing??”

Luckily my wishes came true. At Apogee’s pre-NAMM event I met content creator and creative Jonathan Morrison. Jonathan runs the very popular TLD tech review channel on YouTube. With 2.6 million subscribers, Jonathan crafts some of the most creative videos out there.

Not only that, but Jonathan also has a 2nd YouTube channel called Jonathan & Friends. With Jonathan & Friends Jonathan’s sharing the music he and his friends are creating.

Jonathan has dove headfirst into the world of Spatial mixing in Logic Pro. And he’s very enthusiastic about the format. He has a full-blown 7.1.4 Genelec speaker array. Which he drives using Apogee’s flagship interface, the Symphony I/O mkII. And of course, Logic Pro.

So on the Monday after NAMM, I went out to Jonathan’s studio. From about 10:30 am to 6 pm I was able to listen to Spatial mixes for the first time ever on an actual speaker array. And I have to tell you – it was enlightening.

*Me trying to act like I know what the heck is going on while listening to Atmos.*

Not only that, but Jonathan filmed my reactions sitting there in his studio. Plus he was able to carve out some time for a WLPR interview and share his journey into Spatial mixing in Logic Pro.

If you’re even the least bit curious about Spatial mixing in Logic Pro, check out my interview with Jonathan above. I think our conversation may help shed some light on this new way of creating.

And thanks to Jonathan, in the 2nd video you can watch my reactions as I hear Spatial mixes on speakers for the first time.

Admittedly my reactions aren’t the most entertaining, hah. But if seeing me try to understand what’s going on with Spatial mixing helps you – perfect. My goal is always to help you achieve more for your music using Logic Pro.

P.S. Also – did you happen to catch last week’s WWDC 2022 keynote presentation? If you didn’t, or just happened to blink, you might have missed this humongous detail:

Craig Federighi explaining Personalized Spatial Audio at WWDC 2022 Keynote event. — *Apple’s* *Craig Federighi briefly mentioned Personalized Spatial Audio at the WWDC 2022 keynote event.*

Personalized Spatial Audio is a new function coming to iOS in the Fall. It’s a function that tunes the experience of spatial music for your own head and ears.

Using the “true depth” camera on an iPhone, the device can map out how YOU hear sound. This is otherwise known as a custom HRTF (Head-related Transfer Function).

I don’t know and I can only guess…but I bet this is coming to Logic Pro for Spatial mixing 🙂