28 thoughts on “Logic Pro X First Look”

1. “frist look”in the intro

   1. : )

2. sad to hear and read a lot about crashes:(

3. Why do manufacturers always feel the need to change their damned GUIs so much? I don’t care for trends; I need consistency. I find several of the changes to be arbitrary, which only means it will slow me down until I get used to the new new new. I’ve been using Logic for 5 years and I don’t see where most of the changes will help my productivity. I’ll surely feel pissed for a while because the Transport has been moved. I’ll be moving the the BOTTOM of the pane and cussing for a couple of months. ZERO GAIN. I also MUCH prefer the lighter color scheme I use now. The dark one will be harder to see, period. Its just change for its own sake, so we’ll have to swallow it distastefully, as we do elections. Can I move the Transport back DOWN or apply a different skin? Bet I can’t. I hope to be proven wrong there. Logic did not need to keep up with the Joneses. So far, it looks like some solid features have been diddled in a bid to look “updated,” but that just clashes with my work flow. I love the program, but dyeing its hair and putting it in a less flattering dress is a step sideways in progress.

   1. You claim to be using Logic for 5 years and you’re still clicking the transport bar with a mouse? Come on bro if you’re so obsessed with productivity shouldn’t you be using the key commands? Gotta love these people complaining that Apple “dumbed down” or “garageband-ified” Logic and they don’t even know the most basic key commands…also every app has been going to the darker color scheme, it’s about time Logic caught up it was looking pretty 00s with the old bright gray.

      1. “You claim to be using Logic for 5 years and you’re still clicking the transport bar with a mouse? Come on bro if you’re so obsessed with productivity shouldn’t you be using the key commands?”

         Funny thing, but I do, PART of the time. I simply don’t want to see my old muscle memory forced to change for no gain. We all have different moods in making music? Sometimes I’m in a macro hurry and sometimes I’m in a more casual mouse mode because my goal is different for the moment. It wasn’t an operational necessity to fix the transport’s position on top. Cubase has that one right in making it a floating tool.

         As to the EXS24, Its not Mach5 or Kontakt, nor is it meant to be. Its flexible and extremely well-integrated, so it suits me because its made building my bread-&-butter palettes a centralized breeze. I reserve the right to love that, heh. Exotic forms of synthesis, as cool as they are, often just talk while solid libraries walk. That’s where basically all acoustic sounds and 90% of electronic ones reside. Why is a simple new analog synth “good,” but an in-house sampler that blows it away is “bad?” With all that Logic will do, geez, buy Mach5 if you really need more serious sampling power. Its a great app that blows away all other samplers; MOTU is a class act. Just try to do it with more clarity than bias. I can say this because I am totally unbiased and never make a misteak.

4. BTW, I have a large Autosampled library for the EXS24, as well as some 3rd-party things I use a lot. I’ll bet the new OS version will toast the living hell out of the whole lot. I’ve been sodomized by $#@! version changes before, so I’d better plan for another round of it. When a person keeps changing their version of things until you see them as liars, you walk away. When a software company does it, you either eat the shit or give up everything you worked for. Its the biggest, ugliest thorn of them all. Makes me want to go back and read up on Reaper again. There’s a LOT to be said for stable hardware workstations.

   1. Sorry to hear Apple is messing with your music making. I didn’t move to a Mac when they yanked the carpet out from under windows Logic users. Reaper is very powerful you will love it.

5. Man, that snapshot of the Arpeggiator next to the ES2 says it all. I’d rather wait another 4 years for them to unify the format of their product. As is, it’s a fugly mashup of retro-futurism ala Propellerhead’s Figure and 90’s software sci-fi.

   No thanks.

6. By listening to this guy in the video , I get the feeling that no matter what Logic X brings he would not be impressed .
   He spent the 1st 4 minutes of the 1st video complaining about Apple and how they screw things up .
   He starts complaining about Apple moving the transport to the top of the screen and comparing it to the daw’s he’s used over 20 years ago .
   At 3:25 of the 1st video he finally admits he does’nt like the new Logic ( big surprise ) before he even used it .
   I can tell he’s probably been using Ableton so much that he can’t see innovation when it’s right in front of him .
   I’m sorry but people like this kill the music .

   I think Apple has done an amazing job so far with Logic X and I think the transport looks perfect at the top of the screen as if it should have always been there .
   Bravo Apple Bravo

   1. A well designed piece of modern software would let you move the transport controls anywhere you want. 😉 So, both arguments are moot.

      1. A well designed piece of software would allow you to make a screenset where you could put the transport (or pretty much anything for that matter) anywhere…. oh wait Logic can do this since like version 5. This is why logic needs to be dumbed down because people don’t know or understand its power. if they’d bother to read the manual for like a couple of minutes they’d understand how to do this basic function.

   2. “the transport looks perfect at the top of the screen as if it should have always been there .”

      Looks…! What you should ask yourself is does it accommodate speedy edits. This is about getting music done not about how cool the interface looks.

7. I really hate to be critical under the “don’t knock it if you ain’t tried it” rule. However I am disappointed with Logic X. I expected that since it was moving to one of those big, even number, divisible by 10 iterations that they were going to come up with an innovative, game changing sort of update. I see this as underwhelming. It seems that they are moving towards the Garage Band user and not the professional.

   EXS24 is a clunky dinosaur that is in desparate need of an overhaul. When you look at what Mach 5 can do 24 is sadly underpowered. I was hoping that they would incorporate some of Redmatica’s flavor in a reboot. Kontakt has become the defacto standard in sampling these days and a lot of developers are not even making products in EXS24 versions any longer.

   The drummer feature might be very useful to some musicians who need to knock together a demo. If you don’t have access to a studio and a box of mikes and gear, and a good drummer, I see this as being helpful. I also see it coming up with potentially very “Same-y” results over time.

   I do not care for the Garage Band look and think it would be good to have some skins that user could choose. The ability to move and re-dock the transport controls would seem to be essential to maintaining workflow as mention above. Are we sure that this is not possible? It would make sense.

   So my bottom line is to stay at version 9. There isn’t any major reason for me to upgrade.

8. lots of new gifts from apple, but wheres the wrapper?

9. I’m going to stick with Logic 8 for what it does really well. I like its sound on the mastering end. I use Ableton for performance and juming around/combining ideas and then bring it to Logic for the final Touch cause I like its sound.

   $200 for this isn’t grabbing me though.

10. I’ve been using Logic since the emagic days. (Ironically, I got it after Opcode went out of business, because I wanted a cross-platform sequencer.) Logic has always been a complex program with a lot of quirks. The fact that, over the years, Apple has been able to keep just about all of the capabilities of the program, while making it easier to use and more accessible to new users is a good thing, IMO. Once there’s a point release to ratchet up stability a little bit, I think that this will be my favorite Logic so far.

    1. You wanted a cross-platform sequencer … its not cross platform these days is it.

    2. amen to this. Using Logic since emagic days as well and the functionality is ALL there (and a hell of a lot more). Making things simpler while improving the functionality/features doesn’t imply Logic is ‘dumber’. It implies it is smarter.

11. Poor review and first look.
    The guy “assumes” the ipad remote will be worthless. What about a drummer? What about a singer in a booth? Had he even bothered to connect it he would have found many great ways to play instruments as well as manipulate controls.
    The “demo” of the bass amp emulation is stupid. It is meant to be used with a BASS GUITAR. I had to stop watching.
    One more thing lets stop complaining about Final Cut X. I’ve owned it since day one and NEVER had problems with it. It is a fantastic product and a joy to use. There have been many updates from Apple and I expect the same for Logic X. I am hoping for integration between the two.
    I have been a Logic user since Logic 8 was released. This new version is the best thing out there for $200. It’s all there.

    1. The best thing out for $200 is this http://www.reaper.fm/purchase.php

    2. I am the total opposite when it comes to the Logic remote. I have plenty of uses for it… mostly in live performance.

12. I bought it yesterday and work on it about ten hours.
    here is what I have to say about it :
    1) I was really happy to discover the new bass amps, it sounds pretty cool ! I recorded some fretless (a 5 string Warwick) bass that usually sounds muddy and undefined (in all the virtual amps available on the market), I was really surprised, the result was just amazing !
    2) The new drummer thing : I was afraid to found it useless but that was not the case. I programmed some basic beats, recorded my bass and guitars over it and then record trough my electronic drum : a huge gain of time !
    I didn’t try every possibilities and sets of sounds but they sound much better that the awful kits (really shitty snares) in the previous version.
    3) The new old synths…I didn’t really focus myself on that part I already have favorite plugs and hardwares…
    4) Guitar amps : I only use clean tones, I found distortions not very pleasant (prefer my pedals). I didn’t tried all the new presets but they also sound better that the last version where I was using just between 5 or 10 max of their presets.
    5) Design : I am also working with renoise so I like the dark background.
    transport bar, up, down ? who cares ?
    6) the tuner : it’s silly but the tuner on logic 9 was always bugging and was never precise. This one works perfectly !
    7)arpeggiator : +1

    For the moment I really didn’t had bad surprise (except to have to update my osx).
    Maybe some find that is looking too much “garagebandish ” but it still a professional tool.

13. I’ve been playing with it for a day and that’s the appropriate word…’playing’… while 9 had me working, this one feels more distracting…. I’m sidetracked. It’s like some clever kid got a hold of the code and spliced Garageband into Logic and this mutant hybrid is the result. And why couldn’t they at least re-skin the Apple AU plug-in’s? Just dark grey to go with the new look instead of the ageing blue. On the plus side I immediately notice how much snappier it is. It loads fast.

14. I really enjoy this website and i always come away feeling i have learned something about a new app or musical instrument etc…However i do feel this particular coverage is not to the usual Synthtopia standard. Perhaps just not my taste.
    Overall this reviewer seems to be doing a first look while actually discovering (and still installing) the program. Talk about bleeding edge, I respect his bravery but perhaps use the program for an hour and develop a qualified demo.
    My sincere apologies to Chris Agnelli of Sonic Academy but I must say to Synthtopia fans there are better previews out there.

    like others i have used Logic since version 2.0. Also cubase 2.5 Ableton,Reason and beyond.

    In Logic Pro X indeed a few colours have changed and controls have moved and been refined. However I do not share the sudden urge to jump ship or yell at the internet about such apparent madness. Perhaps im just a fanboy or worse but I know just as with every OS and Logic upgrade I and many will adjust. I think most people here will too, and if you don’t adjust and decide to jump ship to a new app then good for said vendor the economy could use a boost anyway (or perhaps said jumpers are not paying?)

    Anyway the sky is certainly not falling and this update to me at least looks to be very complete however unfulfilling it may appear to those looking for focus on other areas.

    As for the price, Logic Platinum used to sell for close to $1000.00 us at one time. Avid are now charging $299.0 CDN for Pro tools ver 10 to 11
    I respect not wanting to spend $200.00 but the price is unbelievably fair.

    In the coming days I will be interested to see more qualified coverage of this upgrade! Thanks to Synthtopia for keeping us up to date!
    Cheers

15. Logic Pro X

    Still no proper midi out support in Logic. You can’t even record the notes to midi that the new cool arpeggiator generates. Seriously, Apple!

    Logic=Not really ( Think about The Environment) here.

    $200? No thank you. I guess we will wait and wait, and maybe the version after LPX will finally have midi out support, and no damn non musician environment, no crap hyper editor, and polyphonic flex pitch. I bet Bitwig will have all this at version 1.5
    Support the true innovators instead, not those that just latch on stuff to not loose out on sales.

16. “Still no proper midi out support in Logic.”
    Thanks that’s all I needed to hear.Going to stick to logic 9.

17. I tried Logic 9 and found it no real improvement on Logic 8 so have stuck with 8 for several years now. I’ve waited god knows how many years for Logic X and expected some mammoth industry standard breakthrough with a huge control surface that would make my jaw drop and cost around £2000 for the full kit. Instead I’m presented with the very disappointing Logic Pro X with it’s new GUI’s and a Drummer. Anyone wanting a Drummer over the past few years will already have BFD, EZ Drummer or Superior Drummer anyway. It’s no real advantage over any of it’s predecessors and a huge let down to the Logic community who have anticipated so much more than this, and which looks like it should have been released 3 and a half years ago. As cheap as it is I’m not buying this so it looks like I’ll still be using Logic 8. Now Steve Jobs has passed is this the end of Apple’s innovation?