Logic Pro X

Apple is today releasing a new version of its Logic Pro X audio production suite and it’s a big one. Not only does version 10.3 introduce Touch Bar support for MacBook Pro in a way that might be the most ambitious yet— they are fully customizable and go well beyond what GarageBand has— the update also includes a refreshed user interface and many top requested features by pros.

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Alongside an update for Logic Pro X today to version 10.3, GarageBand for iOS is also getting an update that introduces Logic integration, a refreshed design, and a handful of new features.

Perhaps most notably, version 2.2 of GarageBand for iPhone and iPad introduces a mobile version of the Alchemy virtual synth that it picked up through its Camel Audio acquisition and first integrated into Logic last summer.

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It’s 2017 and Logic Pros is back! We’re continuing down the ever-expanding rabbit hole of music creation on Mac and iOS this year with product reviews, tutorials, tips/tricks for Logic users, and much more. That includes a weekly installment (starting with this one!), and an upcoming Logic Pro X 101 guide for beginners. 

Virtual instrument maker Output has been on a roll lately releasing hit after hit for Logic Pro X producers. Its vocal-synth engine, Exhale, is fantastic (more on that down the road), not to mention the rest of company’s innovative and easy-to-use products like Movement, Signal and REV. But today, it’s all about that bass…
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Apple has updated Logic Pro X for Mac to version 10.2.3 and added new audio features and design improvements to the pro audio editing software. The update also has a focus on Chinese instruments much like recent GarageBand updates. Retina display users will appreciate hi-res support for seven more plug-ins, and the update delivers the usual performance improvements as well.

As for the Chinese focus, Logic Pro X now includes three new Chinese instrument patches: pipa, erhu, and percussion. Like GarageBand, Logic also includes more than 300 Chinese instrument loops for dropping into your own mixes.

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As someone who regularly does voiceover work and records podcasts, I need a setup that allows me to easily record on a whim. Any modern Mac could work for this setup, but I’m especially fond of the 12″ MacBook with its USB-C port. That single port, which handles data transfer, power, and display output, helps to simplify my configuration because all it requires is one cable to get started.

In this post, I’d like to share with you my setup for voiceovers and podcasting. What you’ll find is a rig that’s extremely easy to use and happens to look decent as well.
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we are diving into the media browser. More specifically, ways in which we can move ideas and tracks between sessions. While saving presets is a very handy feature, is doesn’t help as much when we want to move entire channel strips, along with the associated midi/audio performances, sends, I/O, and more from session to session:
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we will be continuing our look at some of Logic Pro X’s underused features and key commands with some helpful editing tricks. We are also going start our master Solo Jedi training with some interesting uses for the various Solo modes, locks and more.
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we’ll be taking a look at syncing Apple’s new Music Memos iOS app with Logic Pro and GarageBand on the Mac.

Late last week Apple released a new app called Music Memos designed specifically to allow songwriters and musicians to quickly capture audio and develop song ideas. And on top of acting as a standalone tool for songwriters, it’s also a companion for Apple’s full-fledged audio suites, GarageBand and Logic Pro. Today we’ll take a look at how to access the new Music Memos feature from all your devices, and the options for taking an idea you’re developing in Music Memos into GarageBand or Logic.
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Following its onslaught of music updates this morning, Apple this evening has rolled out updates to two more of its Mac audio apps. First is Logic Pro X, which has been bumped to version 10.2.1 with this evening’s update. Next is MainStage 3, which is now at version 3.2.3 thanks to its most recent update. Both apps have received a handful of new features, under-the-hood changes, and performance improvements with their respective updates.

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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we will be taking a user-friendly look at Logic’s mysterious and powerful MIDI Environment. Along with what seems like a countless number of possibilities, tools, MIDI FX mods and more, the Environment has an interesting little item known as Touch Tracks that can do some pretty amazing things once it’s set up properly:
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we are looking at Space Designer, Logic’s flagship reverb plug-in. Much like the Delay Designer we detailed last week, Space Designer is highly customizable with various shaping tools and the ability to create your own impulse responses.
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we are continuing our tour of some of Logic’s most powerful in-house effects and tools. Delay FX are one of the most commonly used and versatile options in any producer/programmers arsenal, and Logic Pro X’s built-in Delay Designer happens to be one of our favorite options out there:
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we are looking at one of LPX’s most over-looked features, the MIDI FX Arpeggiator. A somewhat new option for Logic users, these FX offer a number of interesting ways to create patterns, sounds and more on any Audio Instrument in your library:
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, after looking at some high quality hardware over the past few weeks or so, we are going back to basics with busses, aux tracks, sends and more. While Apple has made it about as easy as we can imagine for new users jumping into Logic for the first time, from Garageband or otherwise, a general understanding of these features can make a huge difference in the quality of a composition. The basic but powerful features allow creators to get a lot more mileage out of their DAWs, while providing features commonly used by professional producers/engineers on a daily basis:
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we thought it was time to look at the Komplete Kontrol S-series controller keyboards from the folks over at Native Instruments. While NI already offers a wealth of software powered controller gear for DJs, the stellar Maschine systems and more, the Kontrol keyboards bring deep hardware integration for the company’s best-in class software instruments/effects into a more familiar form factor then ever before.

We have spent some hands on time with the Kontrol S49 model alongside Komplete Ultimate 10, the latest version of the company’s flagship software bundle. It is time to see how deep and user friendly the hardware/software integration goes, how well it gets along with Logic Pro X, and whether or not it warrants the comparably steeper price tag…
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we are putting a hold on hardware month for the Logic Pro X 10.2.0 update. Apple is back at it again with another incredibly substantial offering. After it acquired Camel Audio back in January, hopes were high that some of the company’s world-class production software would make its way to Logic and Garageband, and now it has:
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Apple has pushed out an update to its professional audio software that introduces native integration with the Alchemy softsynth that was acquired as part of the company’s buyout of Camel Audio at the beginning of this year.

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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we are taking a hands-on look at Moog’s Sub Phatty synthesizer to see how it stacks up against some of its much more affordable virtual counterparts.

Moog instruments have been used on many of the most popular and historic records over the years, having become as legendary in their own right in the process. The company is widely considered to be one of, if not the premiere synth makers on the planet. Producing the fattest sounding oscillators and filters around since the late 60’s, Moog’s instruments certainly come at a premium, and there’s a good reason for it. In the past few years the company introduced a couple new synthesizers in its Phatty line, that brought Moog’s flagship features and famous ladder-style filter down to a fairly affordable price point. At just under $1,000, cheap certainly isn’t the word to use to describe Moog’s monophonic, all-analog Sub Phatty synthesizer. But it might be the closet thing to a Voyager you’ll get without seriously breaking the bank. 
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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, it’s the beginning of hardware month. As previously mentioned, we will be looking at a number of interesting hardware add-ons, instruments, controllers and more for Mac and iOS setups, starting with the puc+:

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In this week’s episode of the The Logic Pros, Flex audio features are up, with some serious hardware reviews on deck. Next week we will start a mini-series of episodes showcasing some top-notch instruments from the likes of Moog, Native Instruments and more, but first we will dive into Logic’s time compression/expansion and micro pitch correction features:

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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we will be looking at ways to speed up our editing and song creation with LPX’s MIDI Transform feature. In many cases, manually working Logic’s Piano Roll editor will get the job done, but there are certainly times when editing MIDI performances/events can be a very tedious process. Getting those extended performances just right or zeroing in on problem areas for complex passages can’t take hours (or days) to get right in some cases. But with LPX’s MIDI Transform features we can get many of these types of arduous tasks done in just a few clicks:

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