Review: Logic Pro X

I’ve been using Logic Pro since when it was Logic 7 and its nice to see updates especially after a very long one – what? four years? Logic Pro X had quite an overhaul and you might be wondering if you’d take it for a spin or not. And so, I’m here you give you that answer.

There are some things you’ll need to know before upgrading or switching to Logic Pro X. And by the way, Logic Pro X actually stands for Logic Pro 10. People have been asking if its time to make the upgrade yet so I like to answer that question along with few other questions in this article.

We actually feared if Logic would be ‘Garageband Pro’. I safely tell you it’s not heading for that direction. Though when you launch the application for the very first time, you’ll be asked if you had experience using Logic before or if you’re new (or came from Garageband, really).

But really, if you have meddled with Garageband for some time now, you’ll soon find out that Logic Pro is a totally different powerhouse in terms of functions, audio content and power.

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1. Getting Started

You must download Logic Pro X off the App Store just like any other app or game. Apple used to have upgrade pricing for existing Logic users in the past. However there are no upgrade pricing for Logic Pro X. You have to purchase the full app at $199.

Looking at the bright side, just like any other app you download from the app store, you’re allowed to use Logic Pro X on up to 5 computers. Good? At its really affordable price, Logic has just beat down other competing DAWs such as Cubase & Pro Tools which are more expensive & also need license dongles to run.

Well, we can see that Apple is more interested to make money off their hardware sales compared to software.

2. Installation

Installing Logic Pro X was quite straightforward and easy. The App Store basically does it all for you. Simply search for ‘Logic pro’ in the App Store and you’ll find it easily.

Note that Logic Pro X will install as a software by itself. This means it does not remove Logic Pro 9 from your system and upgrades it. Your older Logic version will remain untouched in your computer. I thought that this is rather a good thing and here’s why;

Logic Pro X is fully 64-bit – They made the jump to go 64-bit and never look back. You can only run Logic on Mac OS 10.8.4 and newer. Also it no longer runs with 32-bit plugins. So if you rely on some plugins which have yet to have 64-bit version, you might want to keep Logic 9 on your computer

Look at brighter side. If you tend to use lots of virtual instruments and effects in your compositions & arrangements, this will be good for you. Basically, you’ll be able to utilize more RAM you have installed on your computer compared to the 32-bit app version which can only utilize up to 4GB of RAM.

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3. Diving Into The Software

I’ve always felt that Logic is a software that is isn’t hard to get used too. Logic Pro X had a darker GUI which gives you less strain on the eye (supposingly). However, I felt my eyes had less strains with the lighter GUI of Logic Pro 9.

Another thing I noticed is that some text and things in Logic is a little small. It seems that designers fancy smaller and smaller text but perhaps the text could be a little bigger. Imagine squinting and working with really small texts in the studio for hours!

Logic’s new mixer layout is definitely welcomed. It makes more sense now to be able to see the EQ, channel racks, buses, grouping, automation, panning and all in the same strip.

A new exciting sampler or rather drum machine, is Drummer. It won’t be able to match up to a real drummer of course but the sound is definitely good. I’m not a drummer myself. Drummer would make a lot of sense for singer-songwriters or people who do most of their composing and arranging in the box. A slight drawback is that it comes with only a set of rhythms and does not include Latin rhythms, for example.

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4. Logic Remote

This is something I’ve yearned for years! I had to download apps like TouchOSC and painfully map things with Logic 9 back in the past. With Logic Remote you can wirelessly control your DAW with your iPad. To give you an idea of how this comes in handy, think about how you can hit the record button and rewind again when you are recording yourself in the recording booth. No need to run to & fro the tracking room & the recording booth anymore! 😀

And Logic Remote is ……. free!

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In A Nutshell

Logic Pro X is an amazing app. The long wait when I was on Logic Pro 9 made me think of switching softwares (and I did!), but having seen and tried out the new Logic Pro X, it‘s definitely a powerhouse and still yet the most complete DAW ever.

You’ll find all the effects and functions you’ll need in a DAW with Logic Pro X. There’s also a huge library of sounds, loops, instruments samplers and synths all ready from the box. You won’t go wrong with Logic.

There’s so many things you can do with Logic Pro X and I suggest you to try it and learn all the effects and instruments first. Only when you had experience using the stock sounds and effects built in Logic and probably grown bored of them, go ahead and buy extra 3rd party instruments, effects and plugins.