The musician inside of you that your parents told to shut up can now flex its muscle on a MacBook, as Apple has updated its Logic Pro music making software, and it now comes with some realistic drums.
The first update in a few years, the latest version of Logic moves past the disc and leans on the App Store, delivering a digital download to your computer that packs in the power to make music using a multi-channel digital audio editing workstation.
Logic has long been Apple’s solution to creating soundtracks and editing audio, and with the latest version, the application interface has been reworked, while new features have been added that reduce reliance on external plugins.
“Logic Pro X is our most powerful version yet, with advanced tools and a modern new interface designed to streamline the process of creating professional quality music,” said Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple.
While the program has been tightened, new to the solution is “Drummer,” which adds drum tracks that apparently respond to what you do, allowing you to lay down digital drum-lines that work across a variety of genres. It might even be enough to compete with FXpansion’s BFD, one of the more well known drum recreation systems available.
Apple tells us the drums in this feature have been played by some of the music industry’s top session musks, and engineered with the help of Bob Clearmountain, a man who has worked with The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Bruce Springsteen.
Also included in the pack is “Flex Pitch” which aims to provide an auto-tune-like system, similar to the pitch correction that permeates every genre and nearly every pop song on the charts.
People with a love for MIDI keyboards will see nine plugins added to the program, including the classic synth generator “Retro Synth,” some B3 Hammond and old school pianos in “Vintage Keyboards,” and a playful chord tool with “Arpeggiator.”
And those of you with a bass – hey, that’s this writer! – will even be able to record with emulated bass amps, both from modern-day and yesteryear, with the ability to make a custom rig.
The iPad is also receiving a tool to make Logic more useful, with the “Logic Remote,” which will allow you to use Apple’s tablet to control Logic. It could be used to help mix, or even as a virtual instrument, with Apple pushing beyond Garageband’s iPad app and making the iPad more of a usable instrument.
Logic Pro X is available today for $210 from the Mac App Store, while the Logic Remote is available for free from iPad App Store.
Those of you who also rely on Logic for live performance are probably familiar with MainStage, Apple’s live controller that works with Logic Pro. Since Logic is being updated, so too is MainStage, which is now in its third iteration and will be available separately for $32.
