Apple today unveiled Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Logic Pro for Mac 11, a major update that delivers a variety of new features, including:
- Session Players, which expand the Drummer capabilities in Logic Pro to include a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player;
- Stem Splitter, to extract and work with individual parts of a single audio recording; and
- ChromaGlow, to instantly add warmth to tracks.
“Logic Pro gives creatives everything they need to write, produce, and mix a great song, and our latest features take that creativity to a whole new level,” said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple’s senior director of Apps Worldwide Product Marketing. “Logic Pro’s new AI-backed updates, combined with the unparalleled performance of iPad, Mac, and M-series Apple silicon, provide creative pros with the best music creation experience in the industry.”
Here’s what’s new:
Session Players: A Personalized AI-Driven Backing Band
Session Players provide an AI-driven backing band that responds directly to feedback. Apple says that “Session Players augment the live-playing experience while ensuring artists maintain full agency during any phase of their music-making process.”
- Bass Player was trained using advanced AI and sampling technologies. Users can choose from eight different Bass Players and guide their performance with controls for complexity and intensity, while leveraging advanced parameters for slides, mutes, dead notes, and pickup hits. Bass Player can jam along with chord progressions, or users can choose from 100 Bass Player loops to draw new inspiration.
- With Chord Track, users can define and edit the chord progressions to a song, and the virtual Bass Player will follow along perfectly. Plus, with Studio Bass plug-in, users gain access to six new instruments, from acoustic to electric.
- With Keyboard Player, users can choose from four different styles, designed in cooperation with top studio musicians and made to accompany a wide variety of music genres. Keyboard Player can play everything from simple block chords to chord voicing with extended harmony — with nearly endless variations. Like Bass Player, Chord Track adds and edits the chord progression of the song, so Keyboard Player follows along. Using Studio Piano plug-in, users can select additional sound-shaping options, with the ability to adjust three mic positions, pedal noise, key noise, release samples, and sympathetic resonance.
Stem Splitter: Recover Great Recordings
With Stem Splitter, an artist can recover moments of inspiration from any audio file and separate nearly any mixed audio recording into four distinct parts: Drums, Bass, Vocals, and Other instruments, right on the device.
With these tracks separated, it’s easy to apply effects, add new parts, or change the mix. Powered by AI and M-series Apple silicon, Stem Splitter is lightning fast.
ChromaGlow: Dial in the Perfect Tone
ChromaGlow models the sounds produced by a blend of the world’s most revered studio hardware by leveraging AI and the power of M-series Apple silicon.
Users can dial in the “perfect tone” with five different saturation styles to add warmth, presence, and punch to any track. They can also choose from modern clean sounds, nostalgic vintage warmth, or more extreme styles that can be shaped and molded to taste.
Project Round-Tripping
Apple says that, since its introduction last year, Logic Pro for iPad has seen rapid adoption. And working between iPad and Mac is easy with project round-tripping, allowing users to make music while on the go and continue perfecting their project when back in the studio.
Pricing and Availability:
Logic Pro for Mac 11 will be available on May 13 as a free update for existing users and for $199.99 (U.S.) for new users on the Mac App Store. Logic Pro for Mac 11 requires macOS Ventura 13.5 or later.
Logic Pro for iPad 2 will be available on May 13 as a free update for existing users, and available on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial for new users. Logic Pro for iPad 2 requires iPadOS 17.4 or later.
Was rushing to go and update. Almost broke my trackpad. Been keeping FL studio installed for quick stem separation but I use logic for work mixing audio for game trailers. Can free up some storage on my hard drive.
Also interested in messing around with the players, logic keeps things less convoluted and more elegant than a lot of “player/midi generators” like reasons players and the AudioModern plugins.
As ever incredible value. As ever an underwhelming update. One new plug in by the look of things, a “character” one. Then a load of play along things. The AI label will be interesting, will these adapt to you or you adapt to them as the drummer plug in has been doing for years? Im sure there’s under the hood stuff to make it M chip only. As long as it stays stable
I don’t dig particularly deeply into logic (I’ve used it for decades, I’m just not very curious. I just want to write Sh!t songs using synths and plug in synths), where are the modifier type things to modulate your manglations?
I’ll bet ES2 still has its counterintuitive interface and all the rest are much the same. It will keep its help files that make no sense. I don’t think they’ve ever enable me to figure out a problem. I’m sure it will keep running out of steam with 10 tracks with a couple of effects each (on a newish M2). I’m sure it will remain impossible to actually manage all the plug ins you end up buying to fill in the gaps. Novation and Melda still haunt my computer – impossible to get rid off (I’ve given up trying and so has their “support”).
Get onmidisksweeper and go manual to remove those pesky files that you can never find. I had to get it to remove everything Native Instruments.
Thank goodness it runs on OS13. I just spotted the poor iPad sods can’t buy it permanently. I hope this doesn’t happen to the full fat version
Yikes. I feel like I just got wedgied by the Terminator. I’ll be talking like Minnie Mouse for a month. Will I fiddle with the new stuff a little? Sure. You never know when you’ll find just two minor things that ring your personal bell hard.
Am I mega-thrilled? No. Session Players kind of creeps me out. Its reeks of karaoke in a whole new way. I never quite took to Apple Loops, even as good as they are. I’m still old-school. I want to hear the sweat it takes to do it by hand.
ChromaGlow is one of the pluses, though. Its feels similar to a couple of end-of-chain massagers I like, such as Music Hack’s Master Plan. Its nice to be able to dial in that last 10% of polish.
I hate to be a typical “back in my day” type, but how hard is it to come up with a bassline or some simple keyboard comping? The devaluation of craft, taste, and discovery continues to hit new lows.
What if you’re not a bass player? Or a keyboard player? Or maybe you do play bass and/or keyboards, but want/need to throw something together quick just as a placeholder. Or maybe you throw it in to see what you can discover in the AI’s output.
Then Learn. It is fun. It makes you a better musician. Everyone wants instant gratification theses days rather than to invest in themselves.
100%
I was on the comments here recently with someone about AI poking it’s way into EQ plugins, DAWs, software etc
His argument was “Hey man get with it. These are the working musician’s new tool set and if you don’t learn to use them you will be left behind old man”
How I laughed. Having spent roughly 30 satisfying years learning the tools of my trade and applying them in interesting ways, I am now seeing a generation that is learning nothing more than how to choose a preset or push a button
I can’t imagine how utterly unsatisfying that must be. It completely trivialises the skill and craft of sound technology/production. Not to mention that if you do try and fake it, you will inevitably find yourself in a situation where you haven’t a clue what you’re doing
Yes it’s a broad generalisation but it’s also a growing trend. And the more companies like Apple cater towards it, the more common it will be
Stop being such debbie downers, bois
As sad as it is, he’s right. I see it as sampling with a ton more control for folks who dont play instruments or know music theory like myself. The barrier to entry is gone. You either adapt or be undeniable but most will do neither.
This is the new musicians versus synthesized musicians or bands versus hip hop sample based music. Now its AI versus pretty much everyone against AI for anything.
“They took our jobs, der deee derr”- South Park.
it doesn’t have to remain in the finished product. it can be great to have a temporary line while you’re crafting another one. then, as you’re not invested in it, you can discard it whenever you want with zero heartache. if it allows to experiment with different feels so you can come around one you like most, I say that’s great. if you’ve been developing your track for some time, it’s not easy to leave its rut to experiment with something different – I, for example, tend to have the track ingrained in my head too much to be able to see something contrasting that could fit it, when it needs it.
also, getting at that accident that elevates everything onto a new level is not simple when you don’t have great practice in an instrument. this can give you some basis to latch on.
great invention, imo. the quicker you can test different things, the quicker you’ll come around unexpected and interesting directions.
if people will use it for their end products – fine by me. not that I’ll listen to their music or anything. neither will you.
It’d be ideal if Logic’s AI writes everything and the only thing left for me is to swap out the snare, add a plug-in or two, then sign my name to the track.
Dear Apple,
With all the improvements being made to Logic I am running out of excuses as to why I am not finishing tracks.
Thank you,
Running-out-of-Excuses
Excellent update and it’s FREE – paid ridiculous small amount of $199 more than 12 years ago for Logic Pro and haven’t paid a single cent for an update since…
How many DAWS can do that..?!
Nothing to complain about, love it ?
FL Studio
Such cry babies here… Amazing free update. If you don’t want to use the new tools, you don’t have to. How minding blowing, god forbid they give you options.
And STEM SEPERATION!!!! That alone is HUUUUUUUUUGE!
tools are for technicians, musicians play instruments.
and composers play musicians.
“Practice makes perfect!” – Dr. Terwilliker
Eh, AI, Shmayi! Its so new, the real usefulness is still up in the air. It’ll smell like a sales gimmick until it kicks in more fully. MPE is in the same boat, for me. I’m going to end up with some sort of controller to one side, for the expressive things they do well. Still, neither AI nor MPE will totally outshine laboring over an instrument by hand. It’ll depend on how much they come to enhance it.
Will they ever provide an RGB or HEX colour mixer for track colours etc? Am sick of that palette!