Camel Audio’s Alchemy synthesizer used to cost $249, on the high end for software synthesizers. But fans thought Alchemy was worth it, and were disappointed when Camel Audio closed shop earlier this year.

As of today, though, Alchemy is back – at least for Mac users. Apple has introduced a massive free update to Logic Pro X, incorporating Alchemy and more:

• An updated Alchemy;
• Updated Logic Remote for iPad;
• New drummers;
• Drum Machine Designer;
• Drum sequencing updates;
• An enhanced Piano Roll Editor;
• Automation updates;
• Apple Music support and more.

Alchemy is also now available as part of the $30 MainStage live performance app.

Here’s what’s new in Logic Pro X 10.2:

Introduction of Alchemy

Alchemy is a new sample manipulation synthesizer that includes the following:

• Next generation synthesizer plug-in with multiple sound generators including; additive, spectral, formant, granular, sampler, and virtual analog
• Over 3,000 presets for all types of electronic music including electronic dance, hip hop, rock, and sound for picture
• Integrated keyword preset browser for finding the right sounds quickly
• Performance controls like the Transform Pad make it easy to explore and reshape sounds
• Combine up to four synth modules to create complex multi-layered sounds
• Virtual analog oscillators produce authentic recreations of iconic synth sounds
• Wide selection of modeled analog and special effect filters for producing sounds with vintage character and tonal complexity
• Create animated, dynamic instruments using over 100 modulation sources that include flexible LFOs, AHDSR and MSEG envelopes, and step sequencers
• Manipulate and combine samples in new ways using unique collection of morphing and resynthesis tools
• Import EXS24 instruments or create your own using a robust set of sampler features
• Apply independent arpeggiators to each of the four sound sources to transform simple chords into elaborate performances
• Integrated effects rack with reverb, modulation, delay, compression, and a range of distortion effects

Other new features in Logic Pro X 10.2:

• Share directly to Apple Music Connect (requires Apple Music Connect account)
• Share and backup files to Gobbler (requires Gobbler third-party subscription)
• Adds support for Force Touch trackpad
• Create custom track icons with your own image files
• 1,000 new Apple Loops from a variety of popular instruments and genres including EDM, Hip Hop, Indie, Disco, Funk, and Blues
• There are now independent settings for the handling overlapping MIDI recordings depending on whether Cycle is on or off
• It’s now possible to set Replace mode for audio recordings independently depending on whether Cycle is on or off
• It’s now possible to create new tracks with the same channel strip instead of creating a Take folder when recording audio in cycle mode
• Expanded MIDI clock options improve sync compatibility with external MIDI devices
• The new As Time Quantize option in the Piano Roll Snap menu sets the snap value to follow the Inspector quantize setting
• Audio regions can now be nondestructively reversed using either a check box in the Region Inspector, or a key command
• There are now Global Key Commands to set the Nudge value to various note values
• There is now a key command to toggle the Clear/Recall Solo button
• The Audio Editor now shows fades applied to flexed regions
• The new General > Editing preference Piano Roll: Region Border Trimming controls whether the borders of a region can be edited within the Piano Roll editor
• There are now commands in the Global Tracks Marker Set menu to convert the currently selected Marker Set to Arrangement Markers, or to convert Arrangement Markers to conventional Markers
• There is a new key command Set Locators by Regions/Events/Marquee and Enable Cycle Mode
• Open the sound library from the shortcut menu that appears when you right-click or control-click a cell in Drum Machine Designer

Additional updates

This update includes various fixes to enhance stability and reliability, including, but not limited to the following.General performance improvements:

• Quantizing large audio files is much faster
• Logic’s performance when Undo is performed is improved
• Logic no longer sometimes quits unexpectedly under these circumstances:
  • Reindexing all loops in the Loop Browser
  • Adjusting values in the Region Inspector
  • Importing MIDI files that contain unknown text encoding
  • Quitting while a configuration panel is open
  • Closing a project while the Customize Control Bar and Display dialog is open
  • When creating more than 64 Aux channel strips
  • Quitting if a V-Control control surface is installed
  • Deleting all automation on a track while playing
  • Dragging long strings of text in the Score editor
• Logic no longer becomes unresponsive under these circumstances:
  • When opening a song if a modal dialog window is already open
  • When the trim field is used to adjust Smart Controls automation
  • If a connected control surface is disconnected while Logic is hidden
  • Sometimes when disabling Phase-locked audio for a group
  • Sometimes if the number of available MIDI ports increases while Logic is open
  • Sometimes when quitting

Main Window

• When cutting multiple regions simultaneously, the location of the edit window is now consistently the same for all affected regions.
• When the left corner of a flex quantized audio region is dragged to the left, the newly revealed portion of the region is now immediately quantized as expected.
• Option-dragging to copy a region now places the copy at the correct position in projects that have a start position earlier than 1 1 1 1.
• It’s now possible to vertically swipe to affect multiple instances of the Record, Input, Mute and Solo buttons in the track header.
• Locked Markers now properly display the lock glyph.
• Changing the start position of region slaved to a Groove master track no longer causes unexpected timing changes.
• The Repeat Section command no longer truncates audio loops at the left locator.
• The Repeat Section function now works as expected when applied to the Looping section of a Looped region.
• When in Flex mode, the user interface now updates properly when the Marquee tool is used to define areas to shift in time.
• On computers with smaller screens, the Track inspector no longer overlaps the Channel Strip inspector when a new project is created or when a new Main window is opened in an existing project.
• Locking a track now prevents Flex edits.
• Region Gain values are now retained when regions are packed into a Take folder.
• Region Gain now applies as expected to Take regions within collapsed Take folders on phase-locked audio tracks.
• Option-clicking on parameters in the Region Inspector again reliably sets them to their neutral values.
• All Region parameters from the MIDI Thru inspector are now applied correctly when creating an empty MIDI region.
• When a new MIDI recording is merged with an existing region, the notes contained in the merged region are no longer selected after recording.
• It’s now possible to delete a single MIDI take from within a Take folder.
• When recording MIDI to an existing region with No Overlap mode enabled, the new MIDI recording is now merged with the existing region.
• It’s now possible to close the Track Header configuration pane by clicking outside the borders of the window, or by toggling it with the Configure Track Header key command.
• Double-clicking the Pan control in the Track header and typing a value no longer results in an incorrect random setting.
• When a Track header is reduced in height to one line, the track name is now displayed instead of the Track/Region automation button.
• Naming tracks now works reliably when the Additional Name Column is disabled in the Track List.
• The Repeat Section function now extends the Project End point when necessary to accommodate the additional regions.
• Performing Undo after using the Export Active Comp to New Track now works as expected.
• Dividing a looped region with the Marquee tool no longer creates an extra region to the left of the edit position.
• Dragging a MIDI region over another with No Overlap Mode enabled no longer causes MIDI notes outside the overlapping area to be deleted.
• Marquee tool transient detection now places the Marquee borders at the correct position on regions where the Anchor has been adjusted to the right of the region start.
• It’s now possible to set the icon for all selected tracks simultaneously.

Editors

• It’s now easier to grab the Playhead in the Piano Roll editor.
• The Piano Roll quantize value is now saved with the project.
• Notes that start within ¼ note before the beginning of a region no longer snap unexpectedly to the region start when moved in the Piano Roll.
• The playhead is now reliably placed at the clicked position in the Piano Roll timeline.
• Defining a Brush pattern with the Brush selected as the secondary tool no longer also sets the primary tool to the Brush.
• The visible location in the Piano Roll no longer jumps to the playhead when clicking a note if Catch is enabled and MIDI Draw is displaying MIDI Sustain events.
• Performing Undo after dragging a note in the Piano Roll no longer causes Tuning in the Project settings to revert to the default  value.
• Changing or refreshing a Screen Set no longer causes Piano Roll inspector controls to revert to their default values.
• Clicking on a region no longer sometimes causes it to move unexpectedly when the Playhead is off screen and the Piano Roll is open.
• The Quantize button in the Piano Roll editor no longer quantizes unselected notes when the Q-range is set to a value other than zero.
• The Piano Roll quantization mode now matches the mode selected in the Region Inspector.
• Key labels for Mapped Instruments now appear on the keyboard in the Piano Roll editor.
• When multiple regions on different tracks are selected, notes added in the Piano Roll editor with the Pencil tool are placed in the region on the currently selected track, rather than the first track.
• It’s now possible to use the Pencil or Brush tool to insert notes into an empty region when Collapse Mode is enabled in the  Piano Roll.
• The contextual menu command Create Note now creates a note at the clicked position in the Piano Roll while Collapse Mode is enabled.
• The Velocity tool once again causes the the Piano Roll editor to scroll when click-dragged over the right edge of the window.
• It’s once again possible to access the Velocity tool in the Piano Roll using Control+Command as modifier keys.
• Time Stretch Handles in the Piano Roll editor now remain visible when switching to another editor and then back.
• Time Handles now switch off immediately when the notes are deselected in the Piano Roll.
• If the Time Handles option is enabled, then Nudge commands applied in the Piano Roll will shift the Time Handle selection along with the selected notes.
• Using the Zoom tool to rubber-band a selection of notes in the Piano Roll no longer affects the Time Handles selection.
• The Time Handle selection now includes non-note MIDI events when used to compress or stretch in the Piano Roll.
• Option-dragging the Playhead to zoom horizontally in the Piano Roll now works as expected when the Playhead is inside a region.
• The vertical positioning line is again displayed at the start of notes dragged in the Piano Roll.
• The cursor now reliably switches to the Length Change tool when hovered over the left or right edge of a note in the Piano Roll editor.
• Using the Brush tool to repeat existing sections now includes non-note MIDI events from the source.
• Notes entered while the Brush tool is in pitch lock mode are no longer unexpectedly transposed when disabling the lock mode.
• Logic no longer inserts unintended notes when toggling velocity or locked pitch mode with the Shift key while using the Brush tool.
• The Velocity slider in the Piano Roll Inspector now sets the velocity for notes added by the Brush tool.
• The Include Non-Note MIDI Events function in the Piano Roll now works when using the arrow keys to navigate from note to note.
• The key command Select Same Channel in the Piano Roll no longer also selects all regions of the same track when used on an event assigned to MIDI channel 1.
• The Shift key again works to toggle between horizontal and vertical dragging in the Piano Roll when the Limit Dragging to One Direction in Piano Roll and Score preference is enabled.
• The Play Region Solo button in the Piano Roll editor now works when the Secondary Ruler is visible.
• The Select Next Region/Event or Move Marquee End (or Marquee Point) to Next Transient and  Select Previous Region/Event or Move Marquee End (or Marquee Point) to Previous Transient key commands again work as expected in the Piano Roll editor.
• Selecting a large number of notes in the Piano Roll no longer sometimes causes unexpected noise.
• Changing screensets no longer causes the quantize value in the Piano Roll to be set to 1/16th note.
• It’s again possible to edit the position of events in the Event List when the View > Event Position and Length as Time option is enabled.
• It’s again possible to set the Channel value for multiple events to MIDI channel 1 by dragging the value of one selected event while pressing Option and Shift in the Event List.
• The Select Similar Events command in the Event List no longer selects both Relative and Absolute automation events, when only one type is selected to start with.
• It’s again possible to continue editing multiple selected events in the Event list when one or more events has reached its minimum or maximum possible value by pressing Option while dragging the value of one event.
• Logic no longer creates interpolated events between two controller events manually inserted in the Event List editor.
• The Audio File Editor timeline now shows labels for beats in Bars/Beats view mode.
• The hot spots around Flex Pitch notes in the Audio Track editor now behave more reliably.
• The Pitch slider in the Audio Track editor no longer sometimes stops working after switching from one region to another.
• When multiple regions are visible in the track editor with Flex Pitch enabled, choosing Select All no longer highlights notes outside the currently selected region.
• It’s no longer necessary to scroll in the Audio Track editor to show the note bar display for flex-pitched regions.
• The Audio Track Editor Inspector now accurately shows the current region Flex Pitch settings when switching between regions.
• The contents of a recently recorded region now reliably continue to be shown when switching between linear and page view in the Score editor.
• Sustain Pedal Off symbols now reliably display in the Score when the corresponding CC64 message has been moved to the end of the region.
• The strum up and strum down symbols are now correctly inserted into tablature with the Bravura font.
• Muted and diamond head note stems in tablature are no longer sometimes drawn with stems that span an entire page.
• Whole bar rests now reliably display at their correct positions in regions that follow a time signature change.
• The Sustain Pedal symbol highlighted in the Score Part Box now alternates between On and Off as Pedal events are inserted into the score.
• MIDI Draw in the Score editor now reliably shows names for all available parameters.
• Repeating the key command for Part Box: ¼ Note, Part Box ? Note, etc, now cycles through the related dotted and triplet note values.
• Note names are now centered properly inside note heads with non-serif fonts.
• The editor now correctly switches back to the Drummer editor when Undo is used after converting a MIDI region to a Drummer region.
• The Drummer editor now updates correctly when a Drummer region is moved from one Drummer track to another.
• It’s now possible to define a MIDI pitch for applicable input fields in the Transform Window using live MIDI input.
• The key command Sustain Inserted Note now works when the Step Input window is closed.
• It’s no longer possible to set the Step Input keyboard to octave ranges below the allowed MIDI minimum of C-2 with the Octave -1 key command.
• Environment objects can now be freely positioned within the window.

Mixer

• The Reset Channel Strip command now works on all selected channel strips in the Mixer.
• The Mixer now shows the record-ready status of a selected audio track.
• Channel strips can be added to newly created VCAs by Option-clicking the channel strip VCA slot.
• Clicking on a channel strip meter now clears the peak hold display on all channels when the Display > Mixer > Peak Hold Time preference is set to Infinite.
• Double-clicking an External MIDI volume fader in the Logic Mixer now sets its value to 90, as expected.
• Option-clicking on the numerical volume display in the Mixer now sets it to 0dB.
• In the Mixer, double-clicking on the output slot of a channel strip assigned to a mono output now correctly selects the corresponding mono output channel strip.

Automation

• It’s now easier to grab and drag up an automation line defined by two points at the bottom the automation lane.
• New automation lanes are no longer set to Volume if volume automation is already visible for the track.
• Region-based automation no longer is unexpectedly moved or deleted when the left corner of a region is adjusted.
• Region-based automation is now correctly retained for all regions when joining regions that were originally divided from one continuous region.
• This update improves the handling of region-based automation in cases where the start of the region is moved to the right of the first automation point.
• Automation Write mode with region-based automation no longer creates unexpected automation ramps when playback is started in the middle of a region.
• Automation Write mode with region-based automation now reliably brings the last touched parameter to the front when different parameters are written in the same pass.
• Automation nodes added to an automation lane that has been switched off no longer playback until the lane is switched back on.
• Unexpected Track automation ramps are no longer created when converting track-based automation to region-based automation when there are not regions that encompass the entire track.
• Volume automation now properly maintains the last written value after writing in Latch and Write mode.
• Region-based automation is now exported or moved as expected when using the Export or Move the Active Comp commands.
• Automation nodes created at the right side of a Marquee selection are now reliably placed at the correct position.
• The command to set automation points at the borders of overlapping regions now places the points for the start of the right-most region correctly when the anchor point has been offset in the left-hand region.
• Automation lanes labeled Display Off are no longer sometimes created after converting track-based automation to region-based automation or vice versa.
• Automation on External Instrument tracks can now be converted between region-based automation to track-based automation.
• Region-based automation now visually updates when being trimmed using Track Header control in projects that start before bar 0.
• Moving track-based automation with regions no longer sometimes results in unexpected automation ramps in projects that start before bar 1.
• Logic no longer sometimes creates extra unexpected automation points after joining two overlapping regions that both contain region-based automation.
• Changing direction while adding track-based automation with the Pencil tool no longer creates unexpected spikes in the automation.
• Imported tracks now include the volume and pan level, even when they contain no automation.
• Relative automation now works correctly in songs where the MIDI > General > Control Change 7/10 controls Volume/Pan of channel strip objects project setting is enabled.
• The Automation View no longer incorrectly switches to display Read mode when a second automation point is added while in Touch mode.
• Existing automation is no longer set to an External MIDI Instrument when new automation is being written.
• If a track is set to region-based automation mode, Logic no longer switches to writing track-based automation when the automation view is turned off.
• If a long region completely overlaps a shorter region, Logic now continues to write region-based automation to the longer region after the playhead passes the right edge of the short region.
• The position of points for Mute automation off/on is now displayed consistently whether the MIDI > General > Control Change 7/10 controls Volume/Pan of channel strip objects project setting is enabled or not.
• In Touch mode, automation no longer briefly jumps unexpectedly at the beginning of the ramp time when the fader is released.
• Midi Draw now shows the correct scale for Pitch bend and Pan in the Score and Piano Roll editors.
• Smart Controls now reliably update when automation for their corresponding parameters is written in Touch mode.

Plug-ins

• It no longer requires two clicks on another application to bring it in front of a Logic plug-in window.
• When resizing the Drum Machine Designer plug-in window, there is now a percentage display of of the current size in the upper right corner of the window.
• The new positions of kit piece cells that have been rearranged in the Drum Machine Designer plug-in are retained when the project is saved and then reopened.
• The BPM Counter now correctly displays the tempo when in Controls View.
• It’s no longer necessary to press Return or Enter to confirm the name of a new folder created in the Plug-in Manager.
• Plug-in Manager categories that include a “/“ in their name no longer show up multiple times when clicking on a channel strip plug-in insert slot.
• Logic track names and numbers now display as expected in the Softube Console 1 plug-in.
• Logic no longer shows a “Too many files open” error when opening Omnisphere patches that contain more than 256 samples.
• The Pitch parameter for the Apple AUPitch plug-in can again be automated when running Logic in German.

Sharing/Export

• Project XML files exported from Logic to Final Cut Pro X now reliably maintain the correct sample rate.
• When importing Final Cut Pro X Project XML, Logic now places audio clips that lack time position information in the Audio Bin.

Accessibility

• The Filter buttons in the Event list are now accessible with VoiceOver.
• The Velocity slider in the Piano Roll Inspector is now accessible with VoiceOver.
• The volume slider in the Track Header is now accessible via VoiceOver.
• Volume faders and bus send knobs in the Mixer are now accessible via VoiceOver.

Synchronization

• Logic no longer sends MIDI Clock when stopped, improving sync with MIDI hardware devices.
• MIDI Clock Song Position Pointer now works as expected in Cycle mode.
• MIDI Clock transmission now behaves as expected when Cycle is enabled and the Cycle Pre-Processing Preference is set to Off.
• Logic no longer sends MIDI Clock data when the playhead is dragged while Logic is stopped.
• The Frame Rate warning Logic shows when 30 fps (non-drop) is selected now offers a “Do not show again” option.
• Double-clicking the Time display in the Transport and typing in a SMPTE position now takes the playhead to the correct position in projects where a SMPTE Offset has been set.
• The Plays at SMPTE field in the Synchronization > General project settings window now displays the correct time when the Display Time setting is set to SMPTE/EBU with Subframes.
• Importing a movie with embedded audio no longer unexpectedly SMPTE locks existing audio regions in the project.

Control Surfaces

• Touch OSC can now access Aux channel strips that are not assigned to tracks.
• Channel strips that are not assigned to tracks are no longer labeled with track numbers on connected control surfaces.
• The Spot Erase button now works on the Mackie C4 control surface.
• Mackie Control control surfaces are now reliably recognized when Logic launches.
• Turning the Logic Control jog wheel to the right no longer sometimes causes the playhead to jump to the end to the project.
• It’s again possible to step through parameters using the left and right cursor keys on Emagic Logic Control hardware.
• Select All and delete now work as expected in the Control Surfaces Setup window.
• The control surface Flip Group parameter now works with control surfaces not directly supported by Logic.

Additional Updates

• This update includes various fixes for issues related to patches and content.
• A Multitimbral instrument saved as a Track Stack patch no longer loads as separate instruments when the patch is recalled.
• The “grace period” for MIDI notes played before the start of a project is again always a quarter note, regardless of the Cycle and Cycle Pre-Processing settings.
• Projects saved to iCloud Drive now show up in Logic’s recent files list.
• Sliders in the preferences window can now be incrementally adjusted with the mouse wheel or touch pad.
• The Normalize Region Parameters key command now properly changes the MIDI channel of events within regions on Software Instrument tracks.
• The New Track with Duplicate Settings menu command and key command now work with Drummer tracks.
• Canceling Flex analysis now works consistently.
• Project templates can now be set to tempos that include decimals.
• Software Instrument loops created in versions prior to Logic 10.1 now play back properly.
• New files dragged into the Project Audio window are now placed at the bottom of the list.
• There is now a Cancel button in the dialog that appears when notes cross the point at which a MIDI region is divided.
• Living Groove connection now works as expected with quantized audio regions.
• The Physical Input object in the environment now displays each port’s device name, as well as the port number.
• Resizing Global tracks no longer sometimes causes graphics issues when more than one Global track is visible.
• The division value 1/192 is again available in the LCD.
• The key commands Increase/Decrease Last Clicked Parameter by 1 now work in the local Inspectors for the Piano Roll, Score editors, Track Header channel strips and Mixer Channel Strips.
• There is now a contextual menu and key command for deleting all region-based automation for all selected region or regions.
• It’s now possible to delete the first Tempo Set in cases where more than one Tempo Set exists.
• Selected tempo events in the Tempo track can now be reliably deselected by clicking anywhere in the background of the Tempo track.
• It’s now possible to copy/paste tempo events from the Tempo List to a new Tempo Set in the Tempo track.
• Clicking on a tempo event in the Tempo track no longer selects the previous event when that event is the same value.
• Tempo events created by clicking the + button in the Tempo List now immediately appear in the Tempo track.
• Erasing the first Beat Mapping event in a project no longer causes the SMPTE position of the first Tempo event to shift when the project SMPTE format is not 25 fps.
• Marker text can now wrap to the next line if the Marker track is tall enough to accommodate more than one line of text.
• Markers displayed in the Timeline now update as expected when a new Marker Set is chosen.
• After a Marker List editor has been closed, it no longer reappears when a screenset is recalled, or a song saved after closing it’s reopened.
• The first point in the Tempo track now displays properly.
• It’s again possible to learn MIDI commands when the MIDI port is set to All.
• The Set Locators and Goto Position dialogs now allow the position to be entered in time code format, as well as bars and beats.
• The Musical Typing window no longer opens when a new project with a Software Instrument track is created and the option to Open Library is disabled.
• MIDI events no longer sometimes disappear when two SMPTE locked regions are glued together.
• The Audio > Editing > Crossfade Curve preference for Merge and Take Comping now correctly affects crossfades created when comping takes.
• The Repeat Section command no longer causes the Playhead to change position.
• The Set Locators by Marker and Enable Cycle key command again works as expected.
• Logic projects again reliably display Quick Look previews.
• When the cursor is in an Inspector, pressing Option no longer incorrectly changes the cursor to the Zoom tool.
• Key commands to control the Transport now work when the Time & Pitch Machine window has focus after processing some audio.
• Moving an Arrangement marker no longer sometimes causes protected text markers to be deleted.
• If Cycle is enabled, Logic will ignore selected regions and use only its range to determine which portion of a project to include when exporting audio to a movie.
• The MIDI In display on Mapped Instruments now updates to show the last played note.
• Regions selection is no longer changed unexpectedly by changing to a different screenset, or reloading a song.
• The Audio Crossfade Options for Merge key command now opens the correct preferences panel.
• Performing Undo after importing tracks no longer unexpectedly changes the color of markers to the default color.

Logic Pro X is available for US $199.99 in the App Store. 10.2 is a free update for existing users. MainStage is available for US $29.99.