Customer Reviews

Apple Logic Studio [Old Version]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I use to use Logic Pro back in the day of Atari Falcon and STE1080. then i went to PC and used Logic 4.7. Though i never used the audio with it back then due to the instability of the product. It was easier to use a Mackie HDR 24/96 with midi clock to sync.

Before obtaining Logic Studio i was using Ableton Live versions 5,6,7 and now 8. The reason i bring this up is that i am now back to Logic Studio Pro on a MacPro 8 Core. The major reason for this change back to Logic was for 3 main reasons that blow away Ableton 8:

* Midi control for external and internal instruments
* Clean, Tight, Dynamic Headroom, clarity of sound. Audio Engine is far better then Ableton even at 44.1 (though i use 96k)
* for the price and what you get, this software is incredible!

The new features of Logic Studio 9 is the Flex and Guitar suite. Though i have not been impressed with the flex (perhaps because i am not sure how to use it correctly yet) the Guitar suite is AMAZING. I have owned a Line 6 pro and a Line 6 bass pro and this Guitar Suite is amazing if you run it under 96k.

The Logic Pedal board has a great slew of guitar stomp pedals that sound amazing and better then most other emulations i have heard. the distortions are warm and tube like, unlike more software emulations i have heard. it rips just right even with a guitar straight into the A/D and processed by Logic. They have a Tape Delay that emulates the Roland 201 tape echo or EHX Memory Man Deluxe and it sounds sweet and mixes very well.

The automation features are tight and crisp as well. Though it takes a bit more time to get setup on Logic for controller setup then Ableton, it is tight once you get it there.

User friendliness is not as good as Ableton but then you are getting a more PRO engine then Ableton has thus been able to deliver. In Ableton it seems the 'warp marker' technology seems to 'fuzzy' then audio in such a degree that the clarity is not tight. the dynamic headroom and stereo separation is not there. I was wondering if i was loosing my mind, but it is not the A/D Presonus firepod it was the engine of the Ableton 8. Once on Logic Studio 9, the clarity and tightness of the mix returned. This proving this engine is far superior to Ableton for a studio mix.

NOTE: if you can handle the disk space and processing power required to run 96k, do it. It will tighten your mixes amazingly.

Should you buy this? here is my suggestion:

If you run a Mac it is worth the cost. for what you get for such a pro engine and features and plug-ins this blows away the competition. At now version 9.0.2, the system on Snow Leopard is stable. very stable. It runs cleaner and crisp on snow leopard with the 64bit processing. It utilizes all the cores effectively as well. With the new imac @ 4 cores, it really could be a mini pro monster for recording.

If you own a PC, you can't use Logic, so you have to consider Sonar, Cubase, Ableton, ProTools.

I have not tried protools due to the cost of upgrades and truly to use it as tight as the industry standard, it takes a year for upgrades to happen after a new OS and the cost is outrageous compared to Logic.

I have not tried Sonar. I have used Cubase. the engine is clean though cumbersome to use.

Hope this is helpful.

After over 5 years struggling with previous setup (PC, Windows, Cubase, MOTU 2408, Tascam DM-24), spending countless hours just setting everything up over, and over, and over, I decided it was time to take the plunge and go 100% mac. I couldn't be happier. MacPro, Euphonix, Logic Studio, MOTU 2408, Tascam DM-24 works so well together.

Logic as an application is extremely intuitive and moving from Cubase there is still a lot to learn, there are so many features.

The best part of it all is that i can finally focus on the music.

If you're thinking about it, go for it. it's worth every penny.

I'm still an amateur music maker, although I sold a few compositions. I have given a chance to every single software out there (the famous ones, at least) including Cubase, Pro Tools, etc.

Using a new Macbook, Logic Studio 9 is, without a doubt, the most user-friendly and powerful music-making software out there.

Unlike other programs, almost everything you think about doing is built-in to be used intuitively in the program. Much like all of Apple's programs, what you use the most you have immediately available. Keyboard shortcuts are available for all the common tasks, and the program is extremely fast.

The user's manual is simple enough, yet covers quite a lot of ground.

I'm not using a midi keyboard, but I do record my electric guitar on Logic, and the result is always amazing. There are a lot of plug-ins and a variety of instruments, no need to purchase anything else to make great music that sounds (and is) professional.

The addition of guitar chords to the Score is genius - I can't thank Apple enough for not ignoring our requests. Also, the new feature that allows you to "build" your own amp is one I spend a lot of hours with; you get to have 1,000's of mix-and-match's you can do, just a few clicks away.

Get this program and you'll never look elsewhere.

Logic is a vast software package. The product details at Amazon and Apple only cover the surface details of the biggest and newest features. It can take weeks to discover all of the features and plugins, much less learn them. Fortunately, Logic is not just a collection of parts but a well-integrated whole. MIDI and audio can be manipulated seamlessly. Logic instruments, GarageBand instruments and 3rd party Audio Units all integrate effortlessly into the logic system. You even get a separate multitrack audio editing application - SoundTrack.

If you are creating music on a Macintosh, Logic is worth a very close look.


Included instruments:
* ES E - Simple 8-voice subtractive synthesizer
* ES M - Minimal monophonic subtractive bass synth
* ES P - Another 8-voice subtractive synth with more parameters than the ES E
* ES1 - Advanced subtractive synth
* ES2 - Logic's most sophisticated subtractive synth, includes 100 digital waveforms
* EFM1 - 16-voice FM synthesizer
* EVB3 - B3 organ with support for two keyboards and a pedalboard
* EVD6 - Hohner Clavinet D6 emulator
* EVP88 - Electric piano - Wurlitzer, Rhodes, and Hohner Electra emulation
* EVOC 20 - Vocoder and polyphonic synthesizer
* EXS24 Mk II - Software sampler, can stream samples from disk
* Klopfgeist - Metronome
* Sculpture - String synthesizer
* Ultrabeat - Drum synth that can do virtual analog drums or sampled drums and also includes an x0x style grid sequencer. Sequences can be dragged into Logic midi tracks.
* GarageBand Instruments - GarageBand instruments also work in logic, and consume fewer CPU cycles than the more sophisticated Logic instruments

I find that the Logic synths look and sound great, but the user interfaces are much more flashy than useful. I strongly prefer Massive to the apple analog synths because it is much easier to work with. Ultrabeat is great, particularly the grid sequencer, but the instrument parameters can be confusing.


Included Effects - Read through the Logic Studio Effects PDF on Apple's documentation site for full details:
* Amps
* Pedalboard
* Delays
* Distortion
* Dynamics: Compressor, Limiter, expander, etc.
* Equalizers
* Filters
* Imaging
* Metering
* Modulation: Chorus, Ensemble, Flanger, Phaser, etc.
* Pitch: Pitch Correction, Shifter, Vocal Transformer
* Various ordinary reverbs
* Space Designer Convolution Reverb - allows you to record the impulse response of a physical space or hardware reverb and then apply it to your recordings. Google for "logic ir" or "convolution reverb" for more details.

Documentation:
Don't ignore the user's guide booklet, "Exploring Logic Pro". Although it doesn't go in to very much depth, following the first few chapters will get you up to speed with logic's conventions very quickly. When I first installed Logic, I was completely lost. After half an hour with the included guide I found it very easy to navigate around and begin to teach myself Logic. Once you are done with the Exploring book, google for "logic pro 9 user manual" to find the full manual in both PDF and HTML format. The PDFs render very nicely on the Kindle DX.


Installation:
Logic includes an incredible amount of additional content on DVDs. Since DVD drives are much better at sequential reads than random reads, you can save a LOT of time by ripping your Logic install media to Disk Images, and then install from those images.

Be sure to keep the installation guide in a safe place - your serial number is printed on the back.

I'll continue to update this review as I gain more experience with Logic.


One last thing - a lot of people have asked me why I chose Logic over other popular packages like Reason. It turns out that Immanuel Kant anticipated this question and wrote an entire book on the subject. Serious musicians should take the time to read through his careful analysis of the matter.

This is an excellent upgrade to a fine suite. Logic Pro and Mainstage have been updated. The software seems to work pretty well with only a couple of minor bugs noted. Apple is always proactive in fixing problems unlike other companies. My only complaint is that Apple no longer provides an extensive set of printed documentation as it did with the previous version.

Purchased Sonar 7 when it first came out and was still trying to finish a song without problems (HP), finally after much frustration decided to buy a mac (27") and logic pro 9. What a refreshing change. Have only had it 1 week and am FINISHING songs. I cannot say enough about the product. It is very intuitive and was easy to get to the level I was at with Sonar 7 but without problems. If creating music is your thing this was for me a much easier working enviroment of equipment and software.

This suite comes with a great set of software synthesizers and sequencing tools. I was very disappointed to see it missing three features that I think any DAW should have: FLAC file support, RIAA equalization for playback of gramophone records, and beat-matching for mixes. With more record studios looking for submissions in the FLAC file format, producers using Logic Studio will have to look to 3rd party utilities to convert their bounces. Luckily, the lack of RIAA equalization can be overcome with a 3rd party Audio Units plugin for anyone spinning or digitizing vinyl. If you're trying to produce a good dance mix, the lack of flexible beat-matching tools will make this task nearly impossible.

If you're on a 64-bit system and have more than 3GB of RAM, be sure to get the latest update from Apple after you install the retail package in order to get the new 64-bit version of the suite. Another tip, a company called KB Covers sells USB keyboards labeled specifically for Logic Studio use - KB Covers KB Keyboard for Logic Studio Pro/Express. Additionally, KB Covers makes rubber keyboard covers for Macbook Pros of most major countries that effectively re-labels your laptop for Logic Studio specialization.

An absolutely amazingly powerful music & audio production suite. Previous versions have received criticism for being rather buggy and I would have to agree with that. But with version 9, Apple has clearly listened to and taken action on the things that their customers want. I use Logic primarily in a home studio composing and producing music as an amateur. I have many years of pro recording experience behind me but am not a professional audio engineer or music producer these days.

Amp Designer is a powerhouse production tool and is an incredibly valuable part of this suite. The genuine tonal characteristics are fantastic and extremely fun to use. Pack that with some very nice sounding effects presets and you've got the ability to record with a limitless palette of guitar sounds. A real plus if this is part of your skill/talent set. I think the Apple engineers outdid themselves with this super plug-in. Having this included in Logic makes it an incredible value. I would give fives stars to Amp Designer alone and would easily have paid half of the price of Logic just for this plug-in. It's that cool!

The built-in instruments and samples are rather good. Some are stellar, most are OK, and some are, umm... rather unique. But the variety is an asset, even if the size of the library is daunting. Connecting to virtual instruments and VSTis is a dream. Rewire is nearly seamless (although Logic will want 100% control over your rewire apps).

Please remember that Logic Studio is just the toolset. A great engineer or musician it doesn't make. It just gives you an outstanding set of tools to do the job and makes things easier and super fun to use. If you plan on recording (or use MIDI and Virtual Instruments) and want to monitor performance in real time, you are going to need a high quality audio interface with ASIO drivers. There are dozens available to fit a variety of needs and budgets. This isn't a fault of Logic, this is just the way software-based Digital Audio Workstations work.

The sonic quality of Logic is great. There's clean & clear control over your sound. Some wonderfully modeled effects for dynamics, modulation, reverb and delay (and more) are built in. It's clear that careful attention was paid to these plug-ins. They sound great!

Your sound will only be as good as your weakest link. So, if you're recording with a microphone make sure you have a good signal path up and including to the audio interface. Good mics and pre-amps are not things that any software is going to emulate. Garbage in - garbage out (although it will be somewhat shiner).

There are way more features of this suite that I've not not tapped into yet and some that I'm sure I"ll never use. But all in all it is the most powerful software based music production suite and DAW I've used to date.

After having used Cakewalk, Sonar and ProTools, I was ready for a change when I bought my mac mini from Amazon. After reading that Coldplay, Bjork and Radiohead (to name a few) swear by Apple Logic, and seeing that I can master in Dolby Surround, I put forth my $500 and got this software. Whereas you open ProTools and are welcomed to NOTHING (always a blank, gray screen), Apple Logic uses a series of professional wizards to load exactly the set up you WANT and NEED. Like most Apple products, the sophisticated software is plug and play and DOES NOT crash. Simply an amazing attribute. It immediately recognised my ancient MobilePre USB card and works flawlessly.

Apple Logic is actually what you secretly hope for in a music production software, it makes you sound like a GENIUS. With just a crummy mouse, I promise that you'll have looped beats busting in your headphones in 10 minutes. The Piano Roll ACTUALLY WORKS. You get an array of effects and more guitar pedals than you can ever afford (this aspect is worth the $500 alone) that have actual virtual analog knobs and switches that actually work like the real thing. You can elongate and shorten vocal tracks and the design of the software contains excellent pitch control that makes your cracked, awful voice sound amazingly polished. A little tweaking and you won't hardly recognise yourself. For training I highly recommend using the free Lynda.com website. In fact, if you are on the fence about this product, simple watch the free Lynda training videos and you'll be sold.

Don't listen to the moody reviews that grumble that Apple Logic is just a pumped up version of Garage Band. That's absurd. They have nothing in common other than both being easy to use.

THANKS APPLE! THUMBS UP. WAY UP.

If you are familial with Garage Band you will not find it so hard to learn Logic. I was a little bit afraid to switch since I been working with Digital Performer. But you will not be dissapointed.
Even if you new into software recording and of course after you study the program, recording and creating music will be a breeze.