New Logic Studio upgrade simplifies complex tasks

[AppleInsider]

Calling it "a huge leap forward," Apple unveiled the new Logic Studio Thursday, featuring major upgrades for Logic Pro and Mainstage, with new features that simplify complex tasks within the software suite.

Along with the new Final Cut Studio, also announced Thursday, Logic Studio includes Soundtrack Pro and Compressor. This will allow users of Final Cut and Logic to share files and collaborate.

The new software will retail for $499, while existing users will be able to upgrade for $199.

"The new Logic Studio is ideal for professional musicians, live performers and GarageBand enthusiasts who want to take their music to the next level," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Guitar players are going to love Amp Designer and Pedalboard and the new Flex Time tools allow you to quickly improve your recordings and create tighter performances."

Among the new Logic Studio features announced by Apple:

Logic Pro 9
Amp Designer recreates 25 legendary vintage and modern amp heads in beautiful detail with matching controls and 25 paired speaker cabinets that emulate the sound and feel of a guitar running through a real tube amplifier.
Guitar players can create their own custom rig by mixing and matching amps, cabinets, reverbs and EQs, and can choose from three different microphone types that can be positioned in 3D space to capture the ideal guitar tone.
Pedalboard adds an assortment of 30 guitar stompbox pedals that can be arranged in any order to produce a wide variety of lush, creative effects including overdrive, distortion, fuzz, delay, chorus, flange, phaser, tremolo, treble boost, wah and more.
Flex Time
A new collection of tools that allow musicians to quickly manipulate the timing and tempo of recorded audio, including vocals and instruments, to create tighter performances. Using the Flex Tool, individual beats in a waveform can be moved effortlessly with a mouse click, without the need for tedious slicing and editing.
Audio Quantize can instantly fix or adjust the timing of an entire performance by aligning notes and beats to a musical grid with a single menu selection.
Varispeed provides the ability to slow down and then speed up an entire multi-track production to help record challenging parts.
Flex Time also enables recorded tracks to be moved between different Logic projects and matched together, even if they were performed at different tempos. All Flex Time edits are performed nondestructively and in real time, even when using the highest quality settings.


MainStage 2
Lets musicians use all the instruments and effects from Logic Studio to turn their Mac® into the ultimate live performance rig.
New Playback plug-in provides musicians with a backing band, allowing them to perform with pre-recorded audio, like drums, sound effects and other accompaniments that can be triggered to play while they are performing live.
New Loopback plug-in allows musicians to record, layer and jam along with their own performance so a single musician can lay down a rhythm and then play a lead over it.


Soundtrack Pro 3
Adds powerful new audio editing tools including Voice Level Match which extracts volume information from the vocal content of one clip and applies it to another without altering any other audio content, so editors can easily correct mismatched voice levels.
Enhanced File Editor includes new tools to make sophisticated edits and fine tune volume adjustments by targeting specific frequencies such as the rustle of a paper or the bump of a desk without affecting dialogue.
New Advanced Time Stretch feature stretches and compresses audio with incredible precision using three Apple-designed algorithms or other algorithms available as third party plug-ins.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[grebo]

Goodbye PPC support.

Damn, looks like I'll just have to stay with Logic Studio 8 until I get a new machine...

[chris v]

Not too happy at all about ditching G5 support.

I've been trying to scrape together $199.00 for the Logic Pro 8 upgrade (which was only available from Apple, and is now probably impossible to purchase at all), but I'm guessing I am now stuck with 6.5 until I can buy a new machine, which with the economy the way it is, is going to be pretty much never.

Thanks, guys.

[ltcommander.data]

It'd be great to get a comment out of Apple whether Logic Studio has 64-bit support in Leopard and OpenCL support for Snow Leopard. Pro apps seem to be the ideal use of these technologies. Hopefully, Apple isn't planning on charging users a small fee for an update iPod Touch style to enable 64-bit and OpenCL support once Snow Leopard is released. Or plans to make 64-bit support exclusive to Snow Leopard to get people to upgrade since Leopard is perfectly capable of 64-bit GUI apps.

[John.B]

I can't find anything about the Apogee GiO USB stompbox switch (for the virtual stompboxes in Logic/Mainstage).

I would dearly love to ditch my Line6 X3 Live if at all possible...

[John.B]

Originally Posted by ltcommander.data

It'd be great to get a comment out of Apple whether Logic Studio has 64-bit support in Leopard and OpenCL support for Snow Leopard. Pro apps seem to be the ideal use of these technologies.

As important as OpenCL support would be Grand Central support, to better use multiple CPU cores (regardless of the graphics card).

[Alex London]

I've ordered and should have in my trembling mitts on, or before the 7th of September. It's Intel only so I'll have to either upgrade my Macbook or replace my Dual 1.8 G5.(Hmm, both.....?)
Odd that the EXS24 and instruments don't seem to have been touched though. Overall, it looks a killer update.

[financegozu]

found somithing at http://www.apple.com/de/logicstudio/compatibility/ (link from the logi homepage)

[financegozu]

Originally Posted by John.B

As important as OpenCL support would be Grand Central support, to better use multiple CPU cores (regardless of the graphics card).

YEEESSSS! maybe that bouncing a song uses more than just 1 (ONE!) core of my 2009 MacPro

[emulator]

Originally Posted by chris v

Not too happy at all about ditching G5 support.

I am. no need for obsolete technology.

[John.B]

Originally Posted by financegozu

found somithing at http://www.apple.com/de/logicstudio/compatibility/ (link from the logi homepage)

But nothing at apogeedigital.com, or musiciansfriend.com, or guitarcenter.com, or Sweetwater.com. Like it only exists at Apple.

Interestingly, I didn't know that Ibanez has a line of basses named Gio. I wonder if that'll conflict with Apogee trademarking another music product with the same name using different capitalization...

[chris v]

Originally Posted by emulator

I am. no need for obsolete technology.

I'm truly happy for you that you can afford a $3000.00 computer to go with your new software. However, the G5's just aren't that old, they're certainly not too slow to run Logic, and 5 years ago, Apple was selling them as the Great Hope for the Future.

Of course, as long as they're going to be utterly secret about their software development cycles, people in my position are always going to be caught by surprise by stuff like this. Had I known they were planning on dropping support for PPC and that an upgrade was imminent, I could have at least tried to plan accordingly.

The good part -- Apple's OS is better than Microsoft's. That's about all the fanboyism I can muster today. That, and I just blew next week's grocery money on one of the 5 Logic Studio 8 upgrades Amazon had left on their shelf, at $179.00.

Who wants to help me craft the letter to my wife explaining that move?

[quinney]

Originally Posted by chris v

I'm truly happy for you that you can afford a $3000.00 computer to go with your new software. However, the G5's just aren't that old, they're certainly not too slow to run Logic, and 5 years ago, Apple was selling them as the Great Hope for the Future.

Of course, as long as they're going to be utterly secret about their software development cycles, people in my position are always going to be caught by surprise by stuff like this. Had I known they were planning on dropping support for PPC and that an upgrade was imminent, I could have at least tried to plan accordingly.

The good part -- Apple's OS is better than Microsoft's. That's about all the fanboyism I can muster today. That, and I just blew next week's grocery money on one of the 5 Logic Studio 8 upgrades Amazon had left on their shelf, at $179.00.

Who wants to help me craft the letter to my wife explaining that move?

Dear wife,
Get out in that kitchen and rattle them pots and pans.
XO,
Chris

p.s. bring me a beer

[synthcomposer]

You can always switch to Digital Performer -- MOTU still supports G4s and G5s and has a cross-grade price of $395.

http://www.motu.com/products/software/dp/

I've been happily using DP for over 10 years now. Check it out!
Josh

[chris v]

Originally Posted by quinney

Dear wife,
Get out in that kitchen and rattle them pots and pans.
XO,
Chris

p.s. bring me a beer

No wonder I never post here anymore.

[success]

Logic 9? omg.. Is this April Fool's? Sweet!!!!!!!!!

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by chris v

I'm truly happy for you that you can afford a $3000.00 computer to go with your new software. However, the G5's just aren't that old, they're certainly not too slow to run Logic, and 5 years ago, Apple was selling them as the Great Hope for the Future.

Of course, as long as they're going to be utterly secret about their software development cycles, people in my position are always going to be caught by surprise by stuff like this. Had I known they were planning on dropping support for PPC and that an upgrade was imminent, I could have at least tried to plan accordingly.

The good part -- Apple's OS is better than Microsoft's. That's about all the fanboyism I can muster today. That, and I just blew next week's grocery money on one of the 5 Logic Studio 8 upgrades Amazon had left on their shelf, at $179.00.

Who wants to help me craft the letter to my wife explaining that move?

PPC was clearly dropped at WWDC.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by chris v

I'm truly happy for you that you can afford a $3000.00 computer to go with your new software. However, the G5's just aren't that old, they're certainly not too slow to run Logic, and 5 years ago, Apple was selling them as the Great Hope for the Future.

Of course, as long as they're going to be utterly secret about their software development cycles, people in my position are always going to be caught by surprise by stuff like this. Had I known they were planning on dropping support for PPC and that an upgrade was imminent, I could have at least tried to plan accordingly.

The good part -- Apple's OS is better than Microsoft's. That's about all the fanboyism I can muster today. That, and I just blew next week's grocery money on one of the 5 Logic Studio 8 upgrades Amazon had left on their shelf, at $179.00.

Who wants to help me craft the letter to my wife explaining that move?

How about you either use what you have, or make more money to cover your "absolutely necessary" upgrade costs? Just sayin'.

[Ensign Pulver]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

How about you either use what you have, or make more money to cover your "absolutely necessary" upgrade costs? Just sayin'.

No kidding. I love non pros bitching about the cost of pro software.

[Multimedia]

Originally Posted by chris v

I'm truly happy for you that you can afford a $3000.00 computer to go with your new software. However, the G5's just aren't that old, they're certainly not too slow to run Logic, and 5 years ago, Apple was selling them as the Great Hope for the Future.

Of course, as long as they're going to be utterly secret about their software development cycles, people in my position are always going to be caught by surprise by stuff like this. Had I known they were planning on dropping support for PPC and that an upgrade was imminent, I could have at least tried to plan accordingly.

The good part -- Apple's OS is better than Microsoft's. That's about all the fanboyism I can muster today. That, and I just blew next week's grocery money on one of the 5 Logic Studio 8 upgrades Amazon had left on their shelf, at $179.00.

Who wants to help me craft the letter to my wife explaining that move?

Well if you were caught surprised by this news then you are probably the only one. It's been common knowledge for months - since January as I recall - Apple was planning to release major upgrades of both FInal Cut Studio & Logic Studio alongside the Snow Leopard release. The only surprise to me is that it is happening before September instead of in or after then. Perhaps there's an academic reason for the release now. Or perhaps they are just plain ready.

I do expect both FCS & LS are written as 64-bit multi-core optimized "Snow Leopard Ready" and any tweaks needed for Snow Leopard release's compatibility will certainly be for no additional charge.

Already listed on Sweetwater for FREE SHIPPING and NO SALES TAX to CA including both upgrade options.

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by chris v

I'm truly happy for you that you can afford a $3000.00 computer to go with your new software. However, the G5's just aren't that old, they're certainly not too slow to run Logic, and 5 years ago, Apple was selling them as the Great Hope for the Future.

I'm not trying to be mean here, but how many years do you expect Apple to build software for that computer? Indefinitely? That's beyond foolish.

Your $3000 argument is bunk. I'm running Logic Pro on a $599 Mini. And loving it.

If you're happy with outdated hardware, why aren't you happy with outdated software? No one is forcing you to buy a Logic upgrade.

[chris v]

Originally Posted by Ensign Pulver

No kidding. I love non pros bitching about the cost of pro software.

Seriously, where did I complain about the cost of the software? FWIW, I've been using Macs to earn a living since 1993. I'm somewhere in the grey area between hobbyist and pro when it comes to music -- I've worked in recording studios, and used to earn a goodly portion of my income as a session player, so Garage Band doesn't exactly fit my bill, but neither does thousands of dollars worth of new hardware every few years. I realize I'm in a no-man's land, but I feel like it's been artificially created for me by Apple, to some extent.

I'm taken aback by the general meanness in this thread, but what the hell -- It's the internet. Guess I should man-up.

I missed Apple clearly announcing that they would be releasing a new version of Logic in the near future that would not run on PPC hardware. Maybe I was at work that day. I didn't expect them to support "obsolete" (not according to their service dept.) hardware indefinitely, but it seems to me in this case, that it's not as if they had to drop PPC at this point -- they just did because it was easier/cheaper. If it'll run on 10.5, which their website says it does, then it's not like it's a Snow Leopard thing.

That's their right, as it is my right to be pretty disappointed that they did so.

See y'all in a couple years, I guess.

[chris v]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

How about you either use what you have, or make more money to cover your "absolutely necessary" upgrade costs? Just sayin'.

Do try reading. I jumped on the Logic 8 upgrade because it's going to be impossible to find before the week's out. It wasn't absolutely necessary until Apple discontinued it today.

[palegolas]

Massive update! Looks great. Gotta try it.

[nvidia2008]

Looks like the Flex Time stuff is to make it more DJ - and other Ableton-Live-y kinda stuff friendly.

That Varispeed stuff is absolutely essential, and if it can non-destructively retime audio files to other BPMs (not sure if that is on-the-fly), nice.

I'd like to see if it is possible to do everything from compose to perform in Logic Studio 9, without having to touch ProTools or Reason or Ableton or Traktor at all...

You can pretty much do a tight dance mix cd in Logic 8 except the tempo can't shift so it will be pretty static... But if I can Hyperdraw or basically Automate tempo change and that tempo change applies to the whole multitrack in Logic 9, sweeeet.

BTW I am not a Logic "Pro" so feel free to enlighten me. Can you time-stretch a audio sample non-destructively in Logic 8? Gonna bail early from work today and go read up on Logic stuff and video tutorials.

Quick pimp of my Linkin Park - New Divide Vocal Trance Bootleg Remix done in Logic Pro 8. Check it out! Linkin Park meets Vocal Trance meets Transformers...

[minderbinder]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

How about you either use what you have, or make more money to cover your "absolutely necessary" upgrade costs? Just sayin'.

Using what you have kind of sucks when Logic 8 and Soundtrack 2 are as buggy as they are. Not that there's any guarantee that the new versions will be any more stable, but you would certainly hope so. The reaction would probably be better if they released 8.0.3 and quashed some of the more egregious bugs instead of putting the fixes in a paid upgrade.

Originally Posted by Ensign Pulver

No kidding. I love non pros bitching about the cost of pro software.

How does using a perfectly good machine that's not that old and cost almost $3000 make someone "non pro"? Please use your brain. And we're talking about musicians here, not exactly an industry where the people doing it for a living are necessarily rolling in cash.

And to set the record straight, there have been reports online that Logic 9 is NOT intel only, I don't know if it is confirmed but people are saying it runs just fine on PPC, it's just not supported by apple (plus I'm sure they're hoping people buy a new intel box instead of running it on their G5). Hopefully that will be clarified soon.

It looks like a decent update, basically it looks like it somewhat catches up to a version of Pro Tools from two or three years ago (when did beat detective first ship?). I'm a little annoyed it's not a 64 bit app, but hopefully they'll ship an update immediately when 10.6 comes out...and it better be a free one.

[diamondgeeza]

Originally Posted by minderbinder

Using what you have kind of sucks when Logic 8 and Soundtrack 2 are as buggy as they are. Not that there's any guarantee that the new versions will be any more stable, but you would certainly hope so. The reaction would probably be better if they released 8.0.3 and quashed some of the more egregious bugs instead of putting the fixes in a paid upgrade.



How does using a perfectly good machine that's not that old and cost almost $3000 make someone "non pro"? Please use your brain. And we're talking about musicians here, not exactly an industry where the people doing it for a living are necessarily rolling in cash.

And to set the record straight, there have been reports online that Logic 9 is NOT intel only, I don't know if it is confirmed but people are saying it runs just fine on PPC, it's just not supported by apple (plus I'm sure they're hoping people buy a new intel box instead of running it on their G5). Hopefully that will be clarified soon.

It looks like a decent update, basically it looks like it somewhat catches up to a version of Pro Tools from two or three years ago (when did beat detective first ship?). I'm a little annoyed it's not a 64 bit app, but hopefully they'll ship an update immediately when 10.6 comes out...and it better be a free one.

exactly - bug fixes often come in upgrades which seems hardly fair to the "non pros" who incidentally paid good money for the software. But ok this is also true of MOTU DP albeit to a less extent.