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Logic Pros: What’s new in iOS & Mac music production this week

This is the place to catch up on all the biggest product announcements, hardware, apps, synths, Logic/GarageBand instruments and so much more in the world of iOS/Mac music production. This week was very busy with loads of new hardware/software announcements from Superbooth 17 in Berlin. Most notable, new flagships from Novation, DC-coupled Thunderbolt interfaces, brand new software synths for Mac and much more:

Novation Unveils Peak Poly Hybrid Synth & Circuit Mono Station

Novation has unveiled its new eight-voice polyphonic hybrid Peak desktop synthesizer at Super Booth 2017. The company’s new flagship synth uses three New Oxford Oscillators which are essentially digital NCO’s that feature all your typical wave shapes along with 14+ more digital wavetables. On-board distortion circuits, a resonant multi-mode filter for each voice, polyphonic aftertouch, 2x LFOs per voice, full ADSR and a 16-slot mod matrix round out the main features.

With an expected price of $1,299, Peak certainly isn’t cheap. But the device looks and sounds on point. The hybrid approach with digital oscillators and an analog filter (etc.) path seems like the right move for Novation in a world where just about every major synth company is dropping new gear. We will definitely be looking to get our hands on this one for a full Logic Pros review.

The new Circuit Mono Station is a paraphonic mono synth. It is essentially a mash-up of the the Bass Station 2 analog synth and the Circuit sequencer. It will be coming available in June to the tune of $499.

PreSonus Quantum DC Coupled Thunderbolt Interface

PreSonus has also been busy this year with new interfaces for Mac back at MESSE 2017, and now the company is showing off its brand new Quantum DC Coupled Thunderbolt Interface for the first time. Modular synth heads are in for a treat, as PreSonus will be making all of its interfaces DC-coupled from now on making it simple to integrate your Mac system with your Eurorack gear.

More details will release next week on the Quantum as PreSonus is yet to update its site with the new interface. Reports from the show floor at Superbooth have the new Thunderbolt interface priced between $999 and $1,299.

The new U-He Repro 5 Polysynth for Mac

Superstar synth software designer Urs Heckmann and his U-He company are back with a new synth for Logic Pro X and all major DAWs. The new Repro-5 is basically an upgraded, polyphonic version of the company’s Repro-1 synth.

Just like the Repro-1, the new poly version gives users the ability to essentially open the hood and alter the various modeled components of the synth itself. That includes changing the filter/envelope circuits and so much more. Think the Prophet 5 in software format with loads of genius additions. More details on release coming down the line, but we do know a bundle with both Repro models will be made available soon. You can get a full breakdown from Heckmann himself right here.

Waverazor Synth for Mac available now

The new Waverazor synth for all major DAWs on your Mac has a “patent-pending oscillator design that utilizes a new form of synthesis to produce biting leads, glitched-out basses, cinematic pads and everything in between.”

While I’m not in love with the futuristic design on the UI, this thing can make some pretty wild sounds and that introductory offer pricing is making it very hard not to bite on this for me.  It is available right now for $75, before it jumps up to the regular $149.99 MSRP.

Waverazor’s patent-pending oscillator technology slices familiar waveforms and recombines them to create tormented futuristic sounds. Start with a radical multi-shape waveform, then mangle the sound beyond recognition by tweaking an array of parameters including tuning, level, phase and DC offset per segment.

More:

ICYMI: Here’s all of the biggest news and updates from last week…

See anything cool in the world of music production we missed? Let us know in the comments below.


The Logic Pros are: Justin Kahn and Jordan Kahn, who also front Toronto-based electronic/hip-hop group Makamachine.

Want more Logic Pros? Check out the archives here and stay tuned for a new installment each week in 2017.

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Avatar for Justin Kahn Justin Kahn

Justin is a senior editor covering all things music for 9to5Mac, including our weekly Logic Pros series exploring music production on Mac and iOS devices. Justin is an audio engineer/producer with over 10 years experience in the music industry.