14 DAY TRIAL // Artists and developers, listen up! Apple’s new releases for the week ending January 25 are targeting you with three new updates for music production, and one beta for Yosemite development.
Leaving iOS untouched this week, Apple has released a single new OS X beta for testing and development purposes. A major focus was the company’s music creation software, with new features and improvements being delivered to the likes of Logic Pro X, Logic Remote, and MainStage.
OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 build 14C106a
The fifth beta in this development cycle, OS X 10.10.2 build 14C106a comes with the same focus areas as the build before it – WiFi, Mail, VoiceOver, and Bluetooth – and reportedly addresses three vulnerabilities uncovered by Google’s Project Zero.
The beta is free to download for all those enrolled in the Mac Developer Program. OS X 10.10.2 should be released publicly in the coming days, rushed by the necessity to patch security flaws that have now been made public.
Logic Pro X 10.1 with new Drummers
The first major update since the inception of Logic Pro 10 (carrying Apple’s well known “X” moniker), version 10.1 brings a large number of enhancements and new additions, including “10 new Drummers that produce beats in a variety of electronic and hip hop styles including Techno, House, Trap, Dubstep and more,” according to the release notes.
New sound samples and styles are included, as well as all-new plug-ins, view options, and some simplified composing and mixing tools. Get the full scoop in our coverage of the update at: “Apple Just Gave Music Producers a Massive Bonus.”
Logic Remote 1.2 with Visual EQ
A companion app for Logic Pro X, Logic Remote for iPad gets a new plug-in view for easier access to Logic or Audio Unit plug-in parameters, the option to shape the tone of your tracks with Visual EQ with Multi-Touch gestures, the ability to remotely add or re-order plug-ins, and options to control input settings and mics for compatible audio interfaces right from within the app.
MainStage 3.1 makes friends with hardware synthesizers
Apple’s live performance sidekick app for Logic and GarageBand gets a redesigned Compressor plug-in feature with a scalable interface that’s compatible with Retina display and Classic VCA (in addition to 6 other models), Retro Synth with the ability to make wavetables from imported audio (with 8 voices), and over 200 new synth patches and 10 classic Mellotron instruments added to the sound library.
Furthermore, the Plug-in Manager in MainStage now lets artists customize their menus, while the Auto Sampler plug-in lets them turn hardware synthesizers into sampled instruments. Last but not least, using the new Key Command editor, users can assign and manage custom shortcuts.