New Logic Studio upgrade simplifies complex tasks
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.
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.
Comments
Damn, looks like I'll just have to stay with Logic Studio 8 until I get a new machine...
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.
I would dearly love to ditch my Line6 X3 Live if at all possible...
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).
Odd that the EXS24 and instruments don't seem to have been touched though. Overall, it looks a killer update.
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
Not too happy at all about ditching G5 support.
I am. no need for obsolete technology.
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...
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?
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
http://www.motu.com/products/software/dp/
I've been happily using DP for over 10 years now. Check it out!
Josh
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.
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.
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'.
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.
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.
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.