Apple Logic Studio
Mar 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Robert Hanson
HUGE, VALUABLE BUNDLE TAKES PRO MUSIC-MAKING TO THE MASSES SEARCH-ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
At the heart of Logic 8, the new Arrange pane lets you work entirely from a single streamlined interface.
Beyond mics, synths and all things outboard, the most contentious debate among computer-centric producers and musicians is and will always be DAWs. Which one is better on which platform? Which one does this or that on the fly? Which one works with what hardware? Which one reminds you to call your mom? Considering that a DAW is the center of most people's music-making universe, it's a subject to not take lightly. But an even more important question these days is, Do I need to change a thing? As most DAWs have all matured into massive audio/MIDI/synthesis powerhouses, it's even more difficult for many musicians to justify the cost of an upgrade when the payoff is sometimes little more than that fuzzy feeling of knowing your rig is up to spec.
In the case of Apple Logic Studio, it's not an oversimplification to sum up many users' frustrations over the seemingly endless chasm of time between Logic updates as WTF? The last major Logic revision from 6 to 7 happened at the top of 2005. Logic Pro 7 was and is an excellent application that rightfully gave a certain Avid subsidiary a serious wake-up call. But that was then, and Logic's once gilded status, especially in the electronic music community, has faced some serious competition on the Mac front from both Digidesign and those plucky Teutonic upstarts Ableton. With so much downtime between updates, let's see if Apple can really satisfy the hardcore users.
DIGGING IN
In trademark style, Apple decided that more stuff for less money is better. So instead of releasing just Logic Pro 8, Apple threw in Soundtrack Pro 2, a new application called MainStage and essentially every loop, sample, noise and preset the collective Apple/Emagic team has ever committed to disk. In all, Logic Studio requires a hefty 46 GB.
For this review, Apple sent Remix a Mac Pro with two 3 GHz dual core processors, 4 GB of RAM and Logic Studio preinstalled. I also installed Logic Studio on my now long-in-the-tooth Power Mac G5 dual 2.5 GHz with 4 GB of RAM. Both machines ran OS 10.4.10. Installation is straightforward and no different from any other standard install, with the exception of the massive amount of supplemental audio content. If you opt to install everything (you can also skip the included content or install it on another drive), be prepared to sit awhile. It took roughly an hour to load the whole thing. Also of note, Logic Studio no longer requires a USB dongle. The registration process has been reduced to entering a serial number along with some basic info and hitting the Submit key. It couldn't be simpler. Unlike other Logic updates, Logic Pro 8 is based on totally fresh code, so it won't overwrite your current version. That's handy if you have some older sessions that max out the system, as the latest version requires some extra horsepower.
THE POWER OF ONE
When you first boot Logic Pro 8, you get the option of opening one of several preconfigured project templates or starting with an empty session. Seasoned Logic users should be able to dive right in, but the difference of the one-window design is immediately apparent. The old Arrange window has seen a significant refresh and has been broken down into a collection of panes. A new customizable toolbar perches at the top of the window. On the bottom left are the dual channel strips; one channel strip displays the currently selected audio, instrument or MIDI track, and the other channel can be set to display the master output, bus or other destination channel of the selected track. The center of the screen comprises the tracks and audio/MIDI regions and looks pretty similar to the older interface. Directly underneath the Arrange pane, the Editing pane can be set to display the audio sample editor, piano roll editor, mixer, etc. In the Library pane, to the right of the Arrange pane, you can search and audition Apple Loops and audio files, as well as channel-strip and instrument presets. At the bottom sits the transport controls and a master volume slider.
The revised interface doesn't take much getting used to. After the first few hours, I didn't really miss the old way of working. Double-clicking on audio or MIDI regions instantly brings up the sample editor or the piano roll editor, both of which are easily resizable. Click on a track in the Arrange pane, and that channel strip immediately pops up. It's easy to see how that one major revision can really speed up your work. The Media pane is a very welcome addition; it reduces the chore of searching for loops, audio files and channel/instrument presets to scrolling up and down your assets list.
Another very Apple addition to the Arrange window is the customizable toolbar and transport. If you Control- -click on the toolbar, you can drag items in and out of the toolbar to your liking. Beyond adding a new layer of customization, what that feature really does is lift the lid on Logic and reveal many of the program's deeper functions that have been long buried behind cryptic key commands and tiny pull-down menus. Similarly, the transport can be tweaked in the same manner; Control- or right-click, and start moving things around.
The new interface does chew up some serious screen real estate. I use a 20-inch Apple Cinema Display, and I could see things becoming very cramped on 13.3-inch MacBooks. Luckily, you can still bring up all the windows separately, so if you don't want to use the new interface, you don't have to. The Environment is also alive and well. If you're a longtime Logic user with a set way of working, you can pretty much get on with things as you've always done before.
NIP/TUCK
Logic Pro's audio editing has undergone a pretty substantial update. You can now edit down to the sample level in the Arrange pane. Time compression/expansion is a simple click-and-drag procedure that can also occur within the Arrange pane. For single-track audio editing, things are much improved Logic Pro 7.
The other big addition on the audio editing front is the new comping utility. In the past, when you'd do multiple takes or loop record, Logic would display each take on a duplicate track below the original. Now it's much more streamlined; instead of immediately eating up a bunch of space with duplicate tracks, multiple takes remain tiled behind the first take until you opt to expand them and begin editing. With the takes expanded, you can quickly swipe across all of the regions, muting, unmuting and creating crossfades on the fly. You can save and edit multiple passes, as well as flatten the resultant edits into a new audio file. That makes working with less-than-stellar performers a much less tedious affair and opens up a host of creative options especially for vocalists who enjoy composing and experimenting with loop recording.
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