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

QUADRAPHONIC BLISS

Another major aspect of Logic Pro 8 is the addition of advanced support for surround sound. The program now supports as high as 7.1 surround across the board. The push to make Logic a fully surround-capable program also extended into the instruments and effects. The two stock Logic items that would most benefit from surround capabilities, Sculpture and Space Designer, have both been totally refreshed. A newer offering called Delay Designer has also been added, also with true surround capabilities. Furthermore, all the included mono and stereo effects are fully surround-ready. For instance, if you drop a compressor onto a surround track, you can apply compression independently to each channel on that track. In essence, the program is calling up five (or seven) instances of that effect, but it's all neatly concealed behind a single effect.

THE NEW SOUND

Two Logic instruments that have been screaming for a makeover finally got one. The EXS24 has a greatly improved and streamlined editing window. If you're a fan of the Propellerhead Reason NNXT sampler, you'll feel at home creating custom sampler instruments with the EXS24. The editor is very visual and intuitive; once you open it, you'll hardly need directions — just drag in some sounds, set the sliders on the keyboard to define the active keys and start playing.

If there has ever been an instrument that's sucked away more of my life than Ultrabeat, I don't know what it is. On one hand, Ultrabeat is one of the most feature-laden and flexible drum machines/synthesizers around. On the other hand, sometimes you just want to drop in a few sounds and pound out some beats without getting lost in the details. Thankfully, the new version offers a simple grid view where you can call up some sounds and then ignore the rest and just play. But wait, there's more. Thanks to the addition of sidechain support, Ultrabeat now doubles as a multichannel effects processor, providing endless possibilities for rhythmic gating effects that can be spread across multiple outputs. It's something you really have to try firsthand to appreciate.

ALL THAT OTHER STUFF

The inclusion of Soundtrack Pro 2 in the Logic Studio bundle left many Logic users scratching their heads, asking, “Why do I need that? Don't I already have most of this with Logic?” The answer depends on your needs. Soundtrack Pro 2 is a massive application that could be reviewed on its own. But in short, what it brings to the table is impressive: Photoshop-style audio editing where edits and effects can be reordered, muted and changed an infinite number of times; advanced analysis and restoration tools that far exceed what is available in Logic; seamless integration with Final Cut Pro; and much more. So while many users may never take full advantage of Soundtrack Pro, if you ever need to perform some serious surgery on an audio file, it's nice to know that those tools are on hand.

MainStage is also downright handy. The ethos here is very simple: Create an instrument or a guitar sound in Logic and then open that same sound in MainStage and play it from a simplified interface. By loading only instruments, effects and a basic utilities, more CPU bandwidth can be dedicated to the smooth and fast loading of presets, and the program in essence turns your Mac into a very capable workstation-style synth. Assigning layers, splits, controllers and the like is straightforward. Overall, MainStage is an incredibly simple way to get at your sounds, and as someone who used to have the unenviable job of taking my band's sounds from the studio and then loading them into that era's sampler du jour, I would have killed for this.

THE FINAL BOUNCE

Logic Pro Studio is a substantial offering; if it were a 1.0 product, it would be hard to find fault with anything. With Logic Pro 8, Soundtrack Pro 2, MainStage and a ton of top-shelf content, the whole thing is a steal at $499. However, my list of gripes and wishes after reviewing Logic Pro 7 hasn't really changed. The absence of enhanced time-manipulation tools that rival what's offered with Pro Tools 7.4 and Ableton Live is pretty inexcusable at this point. With the downtime between updates, the Logic community was really counting on that functionality, and its absence has bemused many users. The program still lacks a basic drum replacement tool. And the system performance lags behind the previous version. Even with the near-top-of-the-line Mac Pro, I had no problem pegging the CPU meters when auditioning certain factory (yes, factory) presets. Older sessions that loaded without even a hiccup before brought my aging G5 to its knees. I'm really hoping much of that gets addressed in an 8.1 release.

Is Logic Studio worth the entrance fee? If you're a Logic user who works in surround or who is enticed by the workflow enhancements, sample content or MainStage, absolutely. If you use GarageBand and want to step up to something that allows instant compatibility with your existing material, again, absolutely (also check out Logic Express, which is basically the full Logic Pro 8 without the larger bundle). But if you've got a well-spec'd Logic 7 rig, and you're just writing and recording music in stereo, you might save your pennies until the feature list includes more must-have items. Logic Studio may not trump every feature of the competition, but it does deliver everything you need to do the job and then some. And you can't complain about the price.