14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s professional songwriting, editing and mixing software, Logic Pro X, just got a massive new update, featuring all-new Drummers for a variety of electronic and hip hop styles, new view options in the Piano Roll, an expanded sound library, and much more.
One of Apple’s most expensive software offerings, Logic Pro X sells for $199.99 / €199.99 and can only be obtained from the Mac App Store on systems running OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or newer. The new version released this week comes with a hefty dose of tweaks and new additions.
New sound samples and styles
If you’re into electronic and hip hop, the new Logic Pro X surely has something you’ve been missing (or at least had to hunt down from third-party vendors). The release notes mention “10 new Drummers that produce beats in a variety of electronic and hip hop styles including Techno, House, Trap, Dubstep and more.”
Drummer now offers sound and performance controls tailored specifically for dialing in electronic or hip hop drum grooves, while the Note Repeat and Spot Erase modes permit the creation of beats in realtime with classic drum machine style techniques.
The program’s sound library has been expanded to include 10 classic Mellotron instruments and over 200 new synth patches.
Plug-ins, view options, simplified composing and mixing tools
Users will find new sounds and features for customizing electronic drum kits in a variety of styles in the new Drum Machine Designer plug-in. Creating a sequence of notes can be done with a single mouse gesture via the new Brush Tool (Piano Roll Editor), and you can now see more notes in less vertical space. Drum sounds can now be identified by name.
To compress or expand the timing of selected notes, simply use the time handles. To correct the timing and length of notes proportionally, use Smart Quantize. Retro Synth is able to stack up to 8 voices now, and it can even create wavetables from imported audio. Yosemite users will enjoy Mail Drop and Air Drop support for easier project sharing.
Other important changes
(from the official release notes)
• Automation can now be part of a region, not just the track, which makes it easier to use effects creatively • Manage large-scale mixes more easily with the addition of console-style VCA faders • Relative and Trim Automation modes extend the options for fine-tuning existing automation • The Plug-in Manager now allows you to customize the organization of your menu
Download Logic Pro X 10.1 and enjoy all this new stuff today. If you’re grabbing it for the first time and want to fully experience its potential, remember that you need at least OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), plenty of RAM (over 4GB), at least 2GB of free space for installation and subsequent downloads, and a 64-bit processor.
