Logic Pro
Developer:	Apple Computer
Latest release:	8.0 / 2007-09-12
OS:	Mac OS X
Genre:	MIDI Sequencer + Digital Audio Workstation
License:	Proprietary
Website:	www.apple.com/logic/

Logic Pro is a MIDI sequencer and Digital Audio Workstation software application that runs on the Mac OS X platform. Originally created by German software developer C-Lab, then Emagic, Logic Pro became an Apple product when Apple bought out Emagic in 2002.

A cut-down version, Logic Express, is also available from Apple. GarageBand also uses Logic's audio engine.

History of the Logic sequencer

Early History

Logic started life as the MIDI sequencer C-Lab Creator on the Atari ST platform in the 1980s (the ST was an early favorite among MIDI users during the mid- and late-80s). As the program advanced, and music notation was added, it was named C-Lab Notator. Sometime in the 1990s, due to massive growth in popularity of Cubase, Creator/Notator was given a complete rewrite and became Logic. With increasingly powerful computing hardware becoming available to users throughout the 1990s, succeeding generations of the Logic software were released with ever more powerful inbuilt audio processing tools. New versions of Logic do much more than simply send and receive MIDI messages, and Logic's Audio Unit based effects and synthesiser plugins have become well-respected tools for composers and producers worldwide.

Notator first arrived in the USA from Germany in the fall of 1988 with version 1.12 at a suggested list price of $649; Digidesign was the distributor. Notator was notable for its ease of use at a time when sequencers could be esoteric and difficult to navigate, had few if any graphics, and didn't have mouse-controlled interfaces. It had a clean, high-resolution paperwhite display, like the Mac, but larger, and its complex midi crunching functions were non-destructive.

Over its history, the program evolved through many version upgrades and was offered for both Mac and Windows.

Apple’s Acquisition

Apple acquired Emagic in July 2002.^[1] Support for the Windows version has been dropped and Apple now advertises Logic Pro as one of its flagship software 'pro' applications for the Macintosh platform. Besides the successful release of GarageBand, Apple consolidated over 20 different Emagic products, including all instrument and effect plug-ins, Waveburner Pro (CD Authoring application), and the Pro Tools TDM support package, into a single product called Logic Pro. Apple also released a scaled down version of Logic called Logic Express, replacing two previous versions that filled that position called Logic Silver and Logic Gold.

In late 2004, Apple released version 7 of Logic Pro and Express. A few of the noteworthy additions to Logic Pro 7 included: the integration of Apple Loops, Distributed Audio Processing (an innovative technology for combining the power of multiple computers on a network), 3 new instruments including Sculpture (a sound modeling synth) and Ultrabeat (a drum synth and sequencer), and 9 new effect plug-ins including Guitar Amp Pro (guitar amp simulator), and a linear phase corrected version of their 6 channel parametric equalizer. In total, Logic Pro 7 now included 70 effect plug-ins and 34 instrument plug-ins. TDM compatibility, which had been a feature of Logic since version 3.5, was not supported by Logic 7.2, or any later version of Logic 7 on Intel-based Mac computers ^[2]; TDM support returned with the release of Logic 8.

Logic 8

On September 12, 2007, Apple released the Logic Studio suite that includes Logic Pro 8. Logic Pro is no longer a separate product, although Logic Express 8, which was released on the same day, remains a separate product.

Significiant changes were made for Logic 8. Many reviewers have said that "It feels like a real Apple product, rather than an Emagic throwback".

Alongside changes such as more and better effects and software instruments, Apple has included features such as Quick Swipe Comping, such as that in Soundtrack 2, and multi-take managements. Perhaps more significantly, Apple made radical changes to ease of use. These include the discontinuation of the XSKey Dongle (this provoked much debate on forums such as BigBlueLounge as to whether this was a good idea or not) and a streamlined, single screen interface, which is in some ways similar to that of Ableton Live. Users still have the option of using multiple screens, but it is no longer quite as much of a necessity.

Other additions to the new interface include consolidated arrange windows, dual channel strips, build in browsers (like that in Garageband) and production templates.

Features

Logic Pro provides software instruments, synthesisers, audio effects and recording facilities for music synthesis. It also supports Apple Loops - professionally-recorded instrument loops that can be used as beats and are royalty-free. Audio effects include distortions, dynamics processors, equalization filters and delays. The Space Designer plugin, for example, simulates the acoustics of audio played in different environments, such as rooms of varying size, or producing the echoes that might be heard on high mountains. Logic can work with MIDI keyboards and control surfaces for input and processing. It also features real-time scoring in musical notation, supporting guitar tablature, chord abbreviations and drum notation.

Logic Pro and Express share much functionality and the same interface. Logic Express is limited to two-channel stereo mixdown, while Logic Pro can handle multichannel surround sound. Both can handle up to 255 audio tracks, depending on system performance (CPU, Hard disk Throughput and Seek time).

The application also features distributed processing abilities, which can function across an Ethernet LAN. One machine runs the Logic Pro app, while the other machines on the network run the Logic node app. Logic will then offload the effects and synth processing to the other machines on the network. If the network is fast enough (i.e. gigabit Ethernet) this can work in near-real time, depending on buffer settings and CPU loads. This allows users to combine the power of several Macintosh computers to process Logic Pro's built-in software instruments and plug-ins, and 3rd party processing plug-ins.

Notable users

Main article: Famous Logic users

Some notable users include Radiohead, Justin Timberlake, Depeche Mode, Snow Patrol, The Chemical Brothers, Christina Aguilera, Pet Shop Boys, 'N Sync, Nine Inch Nails, Will Holland, BT, Peter Gabriel, John McLaughlin, Gwen Stefani, Rick Rubin, Thomas Dolby...^[3]

References

See also

• Logic Express
• Logic Control
• Audio Units
• Core Audio

External links

• Official Logic Pro home page
• Logic Pro Tech Specs
• Logic Resources

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