The complexity of Logic Studio means that I couldn’t hope to review it in full here (the plug-in manual alone runs to some 600 pages!). So what I’ll try to do is highlight what is new & noteworthy in Logic Pro 8.

 

The upgrade from Logic 7 was pretty painless and I was glad to be rid of the USB key that was needed for software authentication in the past. The first thing that strikes you as you open Logic Pro 8 is the new look. Smooth silver windows and glassy semi-transparent black menus give a refined and professional feel, finally Logic has the feel of an Apple product. Beyond the cosmetic tweaks there are also some useful new features.

 

A notable addition to the UI are the new ‘draws’ which pop in from the sides and bottom to create a unified workspace where you can quickly access key windows such as the Audio Bin or Wave Editor. It also means you can hide that stuff away when you don’t need it which should really help users working on laptops and smaller displays. Quick-Swipe comping allows you to easily edit together a ‘perfect’ take from multiple over-dubs. And over-dubbing itself is easier with a region-based take management which allows you to quickly switch between takes across multiple tracks. Then there are some nice little extras like the analogue-modeled compression options in the compressor plug-in and welcome tweak to the interfaces on other plug-ins such a the multi-band compressor making them more intuitive to use. And for all you musicians out there who use Logic as a software instrument on stage the new Mainstage application offers a great streamlined setup for live use.

 

Those who are familiar with Logic Pro 7 might argue that there are few truly new features, but what has changed radically is the ease in which all Logic’s features can be accessed, creating a much more logical (no pun intended) and efficient work-flow. This alone to my mind makes Logic 8 a worthwhile upgrade. And that’s before we consider the new price and that in addition to Waveburner, Logic now also comes bundled with Soundtrack Pro and Compressor, offering professional sound to picture editing and audio/video encoding.

 

Having used Logic from version 3 on a PC and moved with it to the Mac it is staggering to see how far the program has come. Though Logic still can’t match ProTools’ hardware/software integration, the integration of Logic on OSX goes some way to giving Logic an edge over other software-only offerings in terms of stability and predictability of performance. With the latest update and the new price tag Logic Studio is likely to be the first choice for many more mac-based engineers and musicians. Pay less, get more!