Manual

Using TineEQ.

Everything you need to get TineEQ running in Logic Pro and to get good results from it, written for people who make music.

What TineEQ is

TineEQ is one Audio Unit for Logic Pro with three modes, plus a small helper app that runs in the background.

Vocal
For vocal tracks. Live pitch correction, then EQ, de-essing, compression, drive and space (reverb and delay).
Track
For the beat and instruments. A tight channel strip that also listens for the song’s key.
Master
For the Stereo Out. A mastering chain with loudness metering.

Every TineEQ window has a prompt box called the Second Engineer. You type what you want in plain language, and it reads the whole session, makes the changes, tells you what it did, and can take it all back in one step.

TineEQ works with Logic Pro on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 or later.

Install

  1. Download the TineEQ installer, a file ending in .pkg.
  2. Open it and follow the prompts. The installer is signed and notarised by Apple, so macOS opens it without warnings.

It installs two things:

  • The plug-in, which Logic finds under Audio Units › Tine › TineEQ.
  • The TineEQ app, the helper the plug-ins talk to. It starts by itself when you log in, so you do not need to open it each time.

If Logic was open during the install, quit and reopen it so it picks up the plug-in.

First-time setup

Two permissions let TineEQ work with Logic. You do this once.

1. Allow Accessibility

Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility and turn on TineEQ. This is what lets TineEQ create and import tracks in Logic and start and stop playback. If you leave it off, TineEQ still works, but it cannot add tracks, and you may need to press play in Logic yourself. Restart TineEQ after switching it on.

2. Link Logic’s mixer

TineEQ moves Logic’s faders, pan and mute through a control surface called Tine Control. Logic usually detects it by itself. If it does not:

  1. In Logic, choose Logic Pro › Control Surfaces › Setup.
  2. Choose New › Install, pick Mackie Control, and click Add.
  3. Set both the input and output ports to Tine Control.
  4. Restart Logic.

3. Check the Setup view

Open the Setup view from the header of any TineEQ window. It lists what TineEQ needs and marks each item Done, Needed or Optional.

  • TineEQ helper running. If it is not, open TineEQ from your Applications folder.
  • AI available. Needs an internet connection.
  • Logic mixer linked. The control surface from step 2.
  • Track import (optional). The Accessibility permission from step 1. Without it, arrangements play inside TineEQ instead of as new tracks.
  • Logic ready to record. Appears once Accessibility is on, and warns about anything in Logic that would get in the way of recording the song.

Setting up a session

Insert TineEQ on every track and on the Stereo Out: in a channel strip’s Audio FX slot, choose Audio Units › Tine › TineEQ.

Set a mode on each: Vocal for vocals, Track for the beat and instruments, Master for the Stereo Out. You can also leave this to the engineer, which sets modes itself when it finishes a song.

Your track names do not need to mean anything. “Audio 1” is fine. TineEQ works out what each track is, lead vocal, adlibs, doubles or instrumental, by listening to the audio, and trusts that over the name.

Finish the song

Type finish the song in any TineEQ window. Here is what happens.

  1. It listens. TineEQ records the song once while Logic plays it from the start.
  2. It maps the song. It finds the tempo, the key, the sections, and which tracks are vocals.
  3. It places the hook. It copies the hook you recorded into the hook sections that have no vocals yet. It never goes over vocals you have already recorded.
  4. It places adlibs. Adlibs go into the same spots in each hook.
  5. It tunes the vocals to the song’s key.
  6. It mixes. Levels, EQ, compression, de-essing, space, balance and pan.
  7. It masters the Stereo Out to −14 LUFS with a −1 dBTP ceiling, the usual level for streaming.

When it is done it summarises what it found and changed, in plain words, including anything it could not do.

New tracks, or playing inside TineEQ

The arrangement reaches you one of two ways.

  • New tracks. With Accessibility on, TineEQ adds new tracks to your project with “(TineEQ)” in their names, such as “Hook (TineEQ)”, and mutes the originals they came from.
  • Inside TineEQ. Without Accessibility, or if you ask for it (“keep the arrangement inside TineEQ”), nothing is added. The TineEQ on each source track plays the arranged audio in place of the live input while Logic plays. Use Bounce in Place on that track to make it permanent.

Either way, your original recordings are muted at most, never changed.

Undo

Everything TineEQ does in one job can be undone in one step: arrangements come off, any new tracks are removed, originals are unmuted and settings go back.

How to prompt

Write it the way you would tell a human engineer sitting next to you. You do not need special words. These are examples to copy and bend.

The whole job

finish the song

finish the song, but keep the arrangement inside TineEQ

just mix and master it, don’t touch the arrangement

Where things go

copy the hook into bars 61-73 only

put the hook in every chorus and the adlibs in the same spots

fewer adlibs in the last hook

preview the arrangement first

“Preview” shows the plan without changing anything, so you can check it before it happens.

Describe the sound

the vocal is buried, bring it forward and brighter

the beat is muddy under the hook

more space on the doubles, keep the lead dry

Tuning

hard autotune like Future on the hook, natural on the verses

Mastering

master for streaming

master louder, around -10 LUFS

“For streaming” means −14 LUFS and a −1 dBTP ceiling. If you name a different loudness, it uses that.

Questions, no changes

Read only, change nothing: what key is the song in?

Tips

  • One intent per prompt. “Brighter vocal” and “master louder” are better as two prompts.
  • Listen, then follow up. Play what it did, then say what to change.
  • Undo freely. It is one step, so try things.
  • Use the names Logic shows if two tracks could be confused.

While TineEQ works

Finishing a song takes a few minutes, because TineEQ has to hear the whole song play. Until it is done:

  • Leave Logic alone. Do not press keys or move things while it plays the song.
  • Do not change the audio output or input device, or the buffer size. Logic reloads every plug-in when you do, and the recording stops. TineEQ tells you if this happens.
  • Make sure no region is set to Loop. A looping region plays past the end of the song, so the recording never finishes. Turn Loop off on the region.
  • Turn down the microphone. If the selected track is record-enabled and listens to a microphone, turn the mic gain down so it is not recorded into the song. Selecting the Stereo Out also avoids this.
  • Answer any alert in Logic first. An open dialog blocks playback.

The “Logic ready to record” row in Setup warns about most of these before you start.

Troubleshooting

“Logic mixer not linked”
The Tine Control surface is not set up. Follow the control surface steps in First-time setup, with both ports set to Tine Control, and restart Logic.
“AI unavailable”
TineEQ cannot reach the AI service. Check your internet connection. If the helper is not running, open TineEQ from your Applications folder.
Accessibility is off
TineEQ cannot create tracks, and arrangements play inside TineEQ instead. Turn TineEQ on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility, then restart TineEQ. If it is not listed, add it with the + button.
Playback did not start
An alert is probably open in Logic. Answer it, then try again. If TineEQ cannot start Logic itself, press play from the start of the song.
The recording stopped early
The audio device or buffer size changed, so Logic reloaded the plug-ins. Leave those alone and run it again.
Undo could not revert something
TineEQ says what it could not put back. Try the undo again, or fix that one item by hand.

Privacy

Your audio stays on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded. The AI model only receives text descriptions of what TineEQ measured, such as levels, tempo, key and section layout, along with what you type.

Known limitations

  • TineEQ assumes a constant tempo. Songs with tempo changes are not supported yet.
  • Tuning on very low voices can sound grainier than Antares.

Coming soon

Coming soon
Section levels. “Too quiet in bars 61-73.”

Coming soon
Take review. “Should I redo this take?”