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 tutorial installments, new instruments/FX for Logic users, the best peripherals/controllers and much more.
Want more Logic Pros? Check out the archives below and stay tuned for a new installment each week in 2017.
Logic Pro X 10.5’s new Quick Sampler completely changes the way users interact with the audio and creative resources around them. It perfectly accommodates a popular instant sampling workflow where producers pull sounds from anywhere — recorded off a phone, stolen off the internet, clipped from Apple’s library, etc — and then loop, chop, pitch, and program them into interesting musical ideas. Software sampling certainly isn’t new by any means, nor is it to Logic Pro X, but this technique of quick and immediate sound recycling has now been laced throughout the LPX 10.5 production environment and has a dedicated home with Quick Sampler. Apple’s new instant sampling plug-in reinvents the best of what’s already on offer in the marketplace, makes intelligent use of its world-class audio pitch/timing manipulation technology, and wraps it all up in an incredibly intuitive package.
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Apple introduced a collection of amazing new features and products in Logic Pro X 10.5, and Drum Synth is not to be overlooked. While the latest overhaul of Apple’s flagship DAW is jam-packed full of big-time features — Live Loops, the new EXS24 replacement, Sampler, and more — there are several enhancements that might not make it on the marquee. We previously touched on some of these features like instant sampling and enhancements to the powerhouse Alchemy instrument, and now it’s time to delve into the new Logic Pro X Drum Synth.
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Apple introduced the incredible new Live Loops in the latest Logic Pro X 10.5 update. The new feature is just that, a fresh way of interacting with your tracks and loops in Logic Pro X that is designed to work in tandem with the existing workflow, not instead of it. Directly integrated with the main Tracks area and familiar left to right timeline workflow, Live Loops provides creatives with a free-form, modular point of view of music making that can then be either performed into or immediately copied over to the familiar timeline where the musical parts can then be fully edited as they always have been. It has been quite a magical experience thus far, and while Apple has made it about as intuitive as it could be, there’s a lot to it, even on a surface level for those just getting started.
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Apple lit it up last week when it dropped a massive new Logic Pro X update. Packed with stunning new features — some arguably 20-years in the making — Logic Pro X 10.5 is a game changer for anyone that loves to make music on a Mac. While introducing a stable of marquee workflow possibilities, the way these technologies have been thread through the experience in combination with other quality of life enhancements, provide much more than just Live Loops and Step Sequencers.
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Apple unveiled one of the most substantial updates its flagship DAW has ever seen today. The gigantic Logic Pro X 10.5 update revolutionizes the way users can create while offering up its own take on some of the more popular workflow styles its competition has become famous for. Head below for a closer look at the major new features.
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Apple has now unleashed the latest update for its flagship music production software, Logic Pro X. And it’s a major one. As expected from a leaked screenshot late last month, the Logic Pro X 10.5 update includes some amazing new features like Live Loops, Remix FX, and much more. Head below for a closer look.
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Spitfire Audio, a British company making stellar virtual production gear since 2007 or so, has now logged over 3 million downloads of its free instrument library, LABS. The DAW agnostic dedicated plug-in houses a series of sampler instruments for musicians using Logic Pro X or just about any other platform. Recently adding a brand new 60’s-inspired “Wurli” instrument to its growing library, we thought it was time to dive into this completely free virtual instrument resource.
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Universal Audio’s new LUNA recording platform is now available for free to all of its Thunderbolt-interface owners. The highly anticipated new recording environment is looking to rival industry heavyweights like our beloved Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, Live 10, and others with a tightly-integrated hardware/software system and its powerhouse stable of analog processing emulations. Universal Audio has been responsible for some of the recording industry’s most prolific audio processing units since the 1950’s — a trend that continues to this day with its professional audio interfaces and best-in-class DSP-based virtual FX units for audio professionals. Head below for our hands-on first impressions.
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In today’s Logic Pros, we are taking a deep dive into the new EastWest Hollywood Backup Singers. The powerful vocal sampler instrument adds a trio of iconic Hollywood singers to your Logic Pro X library and directly beneath your finger tips. EastWest has been a major player in the premium sampler instrument game for a while now and its latest gives producers incredible ability to program three equally tenured, if not even more iconic, vocalists to their liking. Head below the jump for everything.
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It seems like a fitting time to look at all of the best plug-in deals and freebies for musicians and producers stuck at home. At this point, some creative distractions in between news updates and worrying about if you have enough essentials stocked up can go a long way. Companies like Moog and Korg were some of the first out of the gate to offer up free musical distractions for folks stuck at home in the form of all-digital, downloadable iOS synth gear. But since then, plenty of premiere plug-in and effects makers have launched wide-ranging sales and rare freebie offers to promote social distancing. Head below for everything.
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Today we are exploring Apple’s Vintage Mellotron sampler instrument from Logic Pro X. With so many brilliant third-party instruments and sound libraries out there, it can be easy to forget about Logic’s built-in gear. The retro-inspired Mellotron virtual sampler instrument is one of the most interesting libraries of sounds to get overlooked by some Logic Pro X users, and it comes completely free with the purchase of Apple’s professional DAW suite.
Today we are exploring the Logic Plug-In Manager. This handy tool is built-in to Logic Pro X and allows us to manage the plethora of included plug-ins as well as all of your favorite third-party effects, instruments, and more. For years, Logic Pro X users were stuck with the app’s stock plug-in hierarchy system — an organized list of all the plug-ins currently enabled for your Logic Pro system — before Apple finally introduced a feature that allows for a custom-made directory. Whether you’re just getting started or already have a gigantic collection of third-party plugs, with Plug-In Manager we can completely customize the way we access our gear — making it significantly easier to get at them and subsequently providing a much more personalized experience for creatives.
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Today we are looking at the best MIDI keyboards for Mac in 2019. After detailing our favorites a couple years back, it’s now time to reassess the MIDI keyboard situation for Mac users. While some of the mainstays are making another appearance this year, there have also been a series of new releases across 2019 from Native Instruments, Arturia, IK Multimedia, and more. Head below for a detailed look at the best keyboards on the market and information to help you decide which option will suit your needs best.
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While the imminent release of the latest macOS is upon us, there are some things to be aware of when it comes to running Logic Pro on Catalina. Home music producers beware as this update could very well silence your latest masterpieces if you’re not careful. Updating to Apple’s latest operating system too soon can yield all sorts of issues with your Logic Pro X projects using third-party gear, so be sure to hit the jump for more details.
After reviewing a number of quality of life techniques recently, today we are taking a closer look at how to Remove Silence in Logic Pro X. Anyone who records audio will know good and well how tedious it can be to edit the undesirable noise out of a recording. While we have looked at some manual options in the past for precision edits, Logic’s Remove Silence feature can get the job done in just a couple clicks or less.
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Becoming one with the main Logic Pro X tools is a key part of anyone’s journey to becoming an LPX master. Today we are uncovering some efficiency tactics for flipping through the weapons in your holster while revealing Logic’s triple tool mouse-click technique.
Today we are showcasing some over-looked Logic arrangement tricks. Prying apart a project’s regions in order to make alterations, injecting a gap for a new part or even just moving an entire section of your piece around can be tedious. However, Logic Pro X’s underrated Toolbar houses a number of functions that can get many of these tasks done with a simple selection and a one-click command.
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Naming regions in Logic and color-coding tracks isn’t exactly the most exciting aspect of music production, but it can make for a much more enjoyable session in the end. Not only can messy projects get in the way of productivity — usually increasing the time it takes to navigate a project and locate specific tracks, parts, and regions — but they can also lead to otherwise avoidable mistakes and even make you look unprofessional in front of clients. Today we are exploring some amazing one-click solutions to get your Logic Pro X sessions looking right and keep you focused on what really counts.
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If you’ve ever wondered how the Logic Plug-in Link system works, you’re in the right place. This is something we briefly touched on in the understanding plug-ins section of our Logic Pro X 101 series, but today it’s time to link it all the way up. This easily overlooked feature — designed to accommodate customized workflows and help organize that collage of plug-in windows currently burying your musical masterpiece — has been staring you right in the face this entire time.
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One of the major new additions in the latest round of updates would have to be Logic Pro’s latest dynamics plug-in. After reviewing some of the more useful and practical features last week, we will be taking a closer look at how to use DeEsser 2 today, along with a rundown of the basics for beginners, its intelligent new Relative tech and some helpful tips for getting the most out of it.
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Apple recently dished out a new update for its flagship music production software and we thought it would be fitting to take a closer look at some of the best new Logic Pro X features in 10.4.5. While it might not have been a full numbered jump up to 10.5 – which usually indicates a collection of boring but welcomed bug exterminations and performance enhancements – 10.4.5 is significantly more exciting than that. Head below for all the details.
This week we are entering the wild world of Teenage Engineering’s OP-Z. The tiny little portable gadget is essentially its own music making platform with built-in instruments. However, it is also capable of sequencing photos, unity 3D video, lighting rigs and more. Along with its beautiful hardware design, OP-Z uses your iOS devices as a display (among other things) and plays nice with your Mac too. Head below for a closer look.
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Native Instruments has always been one of our favorite audio software makers out there. So when it unveiled the new Komplete 12, we were extremely excited to say the least. This is easily one of, if not the best collection of software instruments, samplers and sound libraries on the planet, and has been a go-to in our personal arsenal for many years.
The latest version bundles an astounding number of products from massive orchestral sound libraries to world-class software synthesizers and some of the most interesting sampler instruments out there. After extensive testing and having a chance to implement the new gear in our ongoing productions, we are now ready to bring you our Komplete 12 review.
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FXpansion recently released the new Cypher2 software instrument for all major DAWs. It comes packed with hundreds of new 5D touch sounds and sound design capabilities, so we couldn’t wait to give it a run for Logic Pros. The fully-featured instrument features an impressive array of effects along with a powerful oscillator section and more. But at the same price as Logic Pro X itself, is it worth it?
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