Q: What is contained in the new Logic Studio?
A: The new Logic Studio comes in a physically smaller box (compared to the previous Logic Studio as the printed manuals are no longer included) but the software content has been increased to 9 DVDs, requiring a total of 47GB in hard disk space:
• 1 DVD (9GB) of applications and required content (Logic Pro 9, MainStage 2, Soundtrack Pro 3, Compressor 3.5, WaveBurner 1.6, other utility applications, etc.)
• 7 DVDs (38GB) of optional sound library content, some of which can be installed onto an external hard drive (Jam Pack collections, sound effects, surround music beds, EXS24 samples, impulse response files, etc.)
• 1 DVD of demo content
The smaller Logic Studio box now includes a set of 9 DVDs and 3 booklets (installation and exploration guides).
Q: Are there any changes to the new Logic Studio pricing?
A: The pricing structure for the new Logic Studio (containing Logic Pro 9) remains the same as the previous Logic Studio (with Logic Pro 8):
• Logic Studio Full Version: US$499
• Upgrade from an earlier Logic Studio/Logic Pro: US$199
• Upgrade from Logic Express: US$299
Meanwhile, the pricing for Logic Express 9 also remains the same as before:
• Logic Express 9 Full Version: US$199
• Upgrade from an earlier Logic Express: US$99
Q: What are the new features in Logic Pro 9?
A: On the surface, Logic Pro 9 looks and feels very similar to Logic Pro 8. Although there are more than 200 new features and enhancements in the new Logic Studio, most of the changes in Logic Pro seem to have been made deeper down under the hood.
At first glance, the most visible changes in Logic Pro 9 include the:
• Bold white frame: Highlights the active area of the window (i.e. window area with key focus).
• Flex Time (via the Flex toolbar button): Logic's equivalent to Elastic Audio in Pro Tools and Audio Warp in Cubase. This feature allows different parts of an audio region to be time-stretched/compressed (without changing the pitch), e.g. to correct/tighten the timing of an audio recording.
• Notes area (via the Notes toolbar button): Provides both Project and Track Notes for comments.
A white frame surrounds the main Arrange area in the center, with Flex Editing applied on the selected track while the Notes area is on the right.Further exploration in Logic Pro 9 will reveal more changes, and some of the more significant ones include:
• Varispeed: Varies the playback speed of the entire project (including Flex-disabled audio tracks). Acting much like a tempo control for audio recordings, Varispeed is my favorite new feature in Logic Pro 9, with 3 modes available for selection:
- Speed Only (i.e. no change in pitch)
- Varispeed (Speed and Pitch)
- Varispeed and MIDI (transposes non-drum MIDI notes to the nearest semitone to match the pitch-shifted audio tracks)
While Varispeed (Speed Only) has received highly encouraging feedback from my colleagues and myself, its parameter controls are hidden by default but can be easily displayed by customizing the Transport Bar.
The Varispeed controls in the Transport Bar turn orange when enabled.
• Click Zones: This is Logic’s equivalent to the Smart Tool in Pro Tools, but with an additional Loop tool. Enabling the Fade Tool Click Zones and the Marquee Tool Click Zones preferences will allow the mouse pointer to change into 5 different tools (Fade, Loop, Pointer, Marquee and Resize) when moving it vertically along the end border of an audio region.
• Amp Designer and Pedalboard: These are 2 effects plug-ins which have been specially developed for guitarists. The Amp Designer allows a mix and match of amp heads, EQs, reverbs, speaker cabinets and mics while the Pedalboard provides various types of stompboxes.
The Amp Designer (top) and Pedalboard (bottom) plug-in windows in Logic Pro 9.
• Drum Replacement/Doubling: Replaces or doubles problematic audio drum tracks with EXS24 samples triggered by MIDI notes. These trigger notes are automatically generated for transients above an adjustable threshold (with note velocities in proportion to the transient amplitudes) and are fully editable.
Drum Replacement/Doubling auto creates an EXS24 track with MIDI notes (in green region) to trigger samples for replacing/doubling the drum transients. Different Sampler Instruments can also be selected from the Library list on the right.• Convert Regions to New Sampler Track: Assigns slices of an audio region to different notes of a new EXS24 instrument. These assigned notes will be automatically inserted into a MIDI region to trigger all slices for seamless playback. Alternatively, the audio slices can be resequenced or used for creative effects such as vocal stuttering.
Convert Regions to New Sampler Track auto creates an EXS24 track with ascending MIDI notes (in green region) to trigger every slice of the audio region (which is then muted) for seamless playback (or for further editing).Instead of audio slices, an entire audio region can also be assigned to a note for real-time triggering.
• Chord Grids: The Chord Grid Library comes with more than 4,600 chords for use in the Score editor. Meanwhile, the Chord Grid Editor can be used to edit and add new chord grids to the library.
The Chord Grid Selector displays all the chords in the Chord Grid Library and can also playback the selected chord for preview.
• Duration Bars and Guides: The Duration Bars show MIDI note lengths in the Score editor and can be graphically edited while the Guides option displays the horizontal alignment of musical symbols (chord symbols, dynamic markings, etc.) to their assigned beat positions.
The selected note (highlighted in magenta color) has a shorter Duration Bar while the Guide for the A chord symbol (in the same measure) indicates a horizontal position offset.
• Jam Pack Voices: Consisting of 1,700 Apple Loops and numerous Channel Strip Settings and Sampler Instruments, this latest Jam Pack collection has now been included into the new Logic Studio library.
Many more new features and enhancements have been incorporated into Logic Pro 9 but they are just too numerous to list.
Q: Are there any changes in the new MainStage?
A: Yes, Logic Studio now contains MainStage 2, whereby some of the changes include:
• A streamlined user interface: Divided into the Patch List on the left, Channel Strips on the right, Workspace in the top center and Inspectors in the bottom center of the window.
The MainStage 2 user interface (in Edit Mode) consists of the Patch List on the left, Workspace at the top, Inspectors at the bottom and Channel Strips on the right.
• All plug-ins: Includes all previously unavailable high latency effects except surround plug-ins. E.g. Pitch Correction has now been made available for use in MainStage 2. The cumulative plug-in latency for each channel strip will also be displayed (in ms) above the name label.
• Playback and Loopback: These are 2 live performance plug-ins which are only applicable to MainStage 2 (not available in Logic Pro 9). Playback is an audio file player which can playback backing tracks while Loopback is a live loop recorder which can record and overdub audio signals to create loops spontaneously onstage.
The Playback (top) and Loopback (bottom) plug-in windows in MainStage 2.
• Screen Controls Palette: Contains a bigger selection of Screen Controls (when in Layout Mode).
The Screen Controls Palette contains a total of 60 Screen Controls.
Q: What are the changes made to the Logic Pro 9 Project Template and Preferences downloads?
A: The new Logic Project Template v1.0 has been updated for use in Logic Pro 9, with Varispeed controls added to the Transport Bar, Duration Bars and Guides enabled in the Score editor, etc.
Meanwhile, the new Logic Preferences v1.0 file has also been updated for Logic Pro 9, with Click Zones enabled, key command assignments for Forward and Rewind By Transient (Logic's equivalent to Tab To Transients in Pro Tools), etc.
As with previous Logic Project Templates and Preferences, downloading the files would require placement into the appropriate folders:
• Unzip the Logic template download and drag & drop the Project Templates folder (containing the Logic 9 template) into:
Users/your user account/Library/Application Support/Logic
• Drag & drop the Logic Preferences file into (replace the existing file):
Users/your user account/Library/Preferences
Logic Pro 9 downloads:
Project Template v1.0
Preferences v1.0
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