How I Set Up My Logic Pro Template and Routing (Free Download)

My Logic Pro template groups every instrument into a summing stack, sends each group to its own bus, then runs everything through a Music bus and a Full Mix bus before the stereo out. Reference tracks skip the Full Mix and go straight to the output. That means one option-click solos all the guitars, all the vocals, the rhythm section, the whole song, or a reference track, with no third-party A/B plugin. You can download the exact template and start from it.

A template video, I know. Stay with me, because the template and the plugins are the least important part. The part that saves me hours is the structure, and that comes from how much of the record you do yourself.

Why does a solo artist need a template at all?

Because I have sat down with an idea too many times, told myself I just need to get it out quick, put a track on, recorded it, added another, added another, and twenty tracks later it was an unorganized mess. The template exists so the mess never starts.

I write, play, record, mix, and master everything myself, from "that would be a good song" to the day it is out in the wild. That means the project has to work at every stage, not just tracking. Setting it up this way at the start saves me time at every step down the road.

If you are a singer-songwriter who plugs an acoustic and a mic into an interface, you do not need something this elaborate. That is why there are two templates on the downloads page: the full band version I use, and a cut-down singer-songwriter one. Customize either for the kind of songs you write.

What gear is the template built around?

Not much, and that is the point. At the time of the video the interface was a Focusrite Clarett+ 4Pre with four inputs in use:

• Inputs 1 and 2: my HeadRush modeller, one dry DI signal and one wet amp signal, recorded at the same time.
• Input 3: the Slate ML-1 mic, for acoustic guitar, banjo, and every vocal.
• Input 4: guitar straight in, direct.

Drums are Superior Drummer 3 played from an Alesis Strata Core. Sometimes I also print the module's left and right outputs if its kit suits the song, and record the MIDI at the same time so I have both. Acoustics are the Fender Highway Series, recorded from the pickup and the mic together. Bass is the Ibanez SR400 direct. Guitars are mostly the Sire S7 FM, with the L7 and a PRS SE for some parts.

The template uses stock Logic plugins only. The two third-party plugins in my own projects, Superior Drummer 3 and Softube Amp Room, are left out of the download so it opens cleanly for anyone. I am in the camp that you do not really need third-party plugins. I would rather spend that money on vocal lessons, guitar lessons, or a producer's ears.

Are track stacks, aux buses, and submixes different things?

No. People use different words, but it is all the same idea: group a set of tracks so you can process each one individually and then process the group together at a summing level. In Logic a summing stack is a track stack that creates an aux bus for the group. A folder stack only groups tracks for expanding and collapsing, with no shared processing.

I use summing stacks for anything I want to treat as a unit, and a folder stack for the odds and ends, like banjo and synth, that I do not want processed together.

How is the routing mapped?

Every guitar part is recorded twice, left and right, with different arrangements. The left might be open chords in first position and the right the same chords as inversions. I never copy and paste a guitar. If you are tempted to, record it twice and listen to the difference. Two guitars through the modeller means four tracks: a DI and a wet track for each.

From there the routing goes:

• Acoustic mic and acoustic pickup into an Acoustic Guitars stack.
• Verse guitars into a Verse Guitars stack, chorus guitars into a Chorus Guitars stack, and any tasty accent parts into an Accent Guitars stack.
• All four guitar stacks into an All Guitars bus, so I can solo every guitar at once without the leads or acoustics getting in the way, or in any combination.
• Bass and drums into a Rhythm Section bus, so I can work on punch and tighten the low end on its own.
• Banjo, synth pad, and anything extra in an Extra Instruments folder stack.
• All Guitars, Rhythm Section, and the extras into a Music bus.
• Lead vocal (verse, chorus, bridge on separate tracks), lead harmonies, and backing vocals in their own stacks, all into an All Vox bus.
• Music and All Vox into a Full Mix bus.
• Full Mix to the Stereo Out.
• Scratch tracks and three reference tracks go to the Stereo Out directly, not through Full Mix.

Backing vocals are the only variable. Some of my songs have thirty backing vocal tracks. I start from the stack in the template and add as the song needs.

Why route to a Full Mix bus instead of the stereo out?

Reference tracks. I use them from the first mix pass through mastering, and if everything hits the stereo out it is a pain to mute and solo the whole project to compare. With a Full Mix bus, the song is one channel and each reference is one channel.

Option-click the solo button on Full Mix and you hear the song. Option-click a reference track and you hear the reference. Option-click back. That is the entire A/B workflow, and it costs nothing. Yes, there is a plugin that does multiple A/B splits. You do not need it if the routing is right.

The same trick works at every level. Option-click All Guitars to hear only the guitars. Option-click Rhythm Section for drums and bass. Option-click Music for everything but vocals, or All Vox for only the vocals.

How do I build it fast in Logic?

Have the interface connected first so you can map inputs as you create tracks. Then:

1. Create an audio track on the mic input and name it. Press Command-D to duplicate it, Shift-Return to rename the copy, and switch its input. That is the acoustic mic and pickup pair in a few seconds.
2. Select the pair and create a summing stack. Name it, give it an icon and a colour if you like. Logic lets you make custom icons, and yes, I spent time I did not need to putting a picture of my guitar in there.
3. Work backwards on the routing. Set the stack's output to the All Guitars aux, then set All Guitars to the Music bus, then Music to Full Mix, then Full Mix to the Stereo Out.
4. Repeat for verse, chorus, and accent guitars, then bass and drums into Rhythm Section, then the vocal stacks into All Vox.
5. Add a reference track and point it straight at the Stereo Out.
6. Put banjo, synth, and extras in a folder stack, not a summing stack, because they do not get processed together.

Then save it as a template. The whole thing is thirty-seven tracks before a single note is recorded.

What does it look like in a real mix?

The song I showed in the video had forty-eight tracks and will end up around sixty once the backing vocals are redone. The bottom three tracks are references and a noise floor track for mixing. Every guitar track shows the same thing in the output slot: the All Guitars bus. So I can process all the guitars in one place, solo them out, flip to the rhythm section, flip to just backing vocals, flip to a reference, and get back to the full mix, all with option-clicks.

That is complete flexibility over how I process each group, and it is faster to flip between a reference and my own mix than any plugin I have tried. Your mileage may vary. It might be too much for you, or it might be exactly right. The point is to start from the type of music you write, your process, and how much of the record you are doing yourself.

FAQ

Is a summing stack the same as an aux bus in Logic Pro?

Yes in practice. Creating a summing stack makes an aux channel and routes the stacked tracks to it. You can also create the aux yourself and set each track's output to it. The stack just adds the expand-and-collapse view.

Should I use a summing stack or a folder stack?

Use a summing stack when the tracks should be processed together, like all the chorus guitars or all the backing vocals. Use a folder stack when you only want to tidy tracks away and will process each one separately.

How do I A/B a reference track in Logic without a plugin?

Route your whole mix to a Full Mix bus and send reference tracks straight to the Stereo Out. Option-click solo on Full Mix to hear the song, option-click solo on the reference to hear the reference. Set the reference's level to match your mix first.

Does the template work with any audio interface?

Yes. The inputs are mapped for a four-input setup, so open the mixer and change the input on each audio track to match yours. The routing does not depend on the interface.

Do I need third-party plugins to use the template?

No. The download uses stock Logic plugins only. In my own projects I add Superior Drummer 3 on the drum track and Softube Amp Room on guitars, but those are stripped out of the download.

Bottom line

Build the template around your process, not around plugins. Group every instrument family into a summing stack, send the groups to an All Guitars, Rhythm Section, and All Vox bus, run those into a Music bus and a Full Mix bus, and send reference tracks straight to the output. From then on, option-click is your entire solo and A/B workflow. Grab the template, save it as yours, and spend the time on the song.