Logic Pro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Logic Pro | |
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| Developer: | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| Latest release: | 7.2.3 / 2006-09-27 |
| OS: | Mac OS X |
| Use: | MIDI Sequencer + Digital Audio Workstation |
| License: | Proprietary |
| Website: | www.apple.com/logic/ |
Logic Pro is a MIDI sequencer and Digital Audio Workstation software application that runs on the Mac OS X platform. Originally created by German software developer C-Lab, then Emagic, Logic Pro became an Apple product when Apple bought out Emagic in 2002. A cut-down version, Logic Express, is also available from Apple. GarageBand also uses Logic's audio engine.
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[edit] History of the Logic sequencer
[edit] Early History
Logic started life as the MIDI sequencer C-Lab Creator on the Atari ST platform in the 1980s (the ST was an early favorite among MIDI users during the mid-80s.) As the program advanced, and music notation was added, it was named C-Lab Notator. Sometime in the late 80s(?) due to massive growth in popularity of Cubase, Creator/Notator was given a complete rewrite and became Logic. With increasingly powerful computing hardware becoming available to users throughout the 1990s, succeeding generations of the Logic software were released with ever more powerful inbuilt audio processing tools. New versions of Logic do much more than simply send and receive MIDI messages, and Logic's Audio Unit based effects and synthesiser plugins have become well-respected tools for composers and producers worldwide.
Notator first arrived in the USA from Germany in the fall of 1988 with version 1.12. This was a tremendous event for those who were trying to do electronic music on computers. Digidesign was their early US distributor. Up till this point, sequencers were crude and clumsy, or were esoteric and difficult to navigate and had few if any graphics and didn't use the mouse. Notator was like a dream come true in terms of ease of use. It had a clean "hi res." paperwhite display, like the Mac, but larger, and its complex midi crunching functions were non-destructive and a mere mouse click away. It was also relatively expensive. Notator 1.12 had a suggested list price of $649.
Over its history, the program evolved through many version upgrades and was offered for both Mac and Windows.
[edit] Effects of Apple's Acquisition
A lot has happened since Apple's acquisition of Emagic (and Logic) in July of 2002. Support for the Windows version was dropped and Apple now treats Logic Pro as one of its flagship software 'pro' applications for the Macintosh platform. Besides the release of the incredibly successful Garageband, Apple consolidated over 20 different Emagic products, including all instrument and effect plug-ins, Waveburner Pro (CD Authoring application), and the Pro Tools TDM support package, into a single product called Logic Pro. Apple also released a scaled down version of Logic called Logic Express, replacing two previous versions that filled that position called Logic Silver and Logic Gold.
In late 2004, Apple released version 7 of Logic Pro and Express. A few of the noteworthy additions to Logic Pro 7 included the integration of Apple Loops, Distributed Audio Processing - an innovative technology for combining the power of multiple computers on a network, 3 new instruments including; Sculpture - a sound modeling synth, Ultrabeat - a drum synth and sequencer, and 9 new effect plug-ins including, Guitar Amp Pro - a guitar amp simulator, and a linear phase corrected version of their 6 channel parametric EQ. In total, Logic Pro 7 now included 70 effect plug-ins and 34 instrument plug-ins, which is more than any other dedicted plug-in collection available, let alone another digital audio workstation application.
Logic Express 7 included the integration of Apple Loops, major upgrades to its scoring ability to bring it on par with Logic Pro, and a smaller set of the new plug-ins. Both new versions benefited from a host of additional feature enhancements that were developed primarily in response to user requests. A few of these include the ability to save and recall channels strip settings, global tracks, auto-crossfades, and a Shuffle edit mode in the Arrange.
[edit] Features
Logic Pro provides software instruments, synthesisers, audio effects and recording facilities for music synthesis. It also supports Apple Loops - professionally-recorded instrument loops that can be used as beats and are royalty-free. Audio effects include distortions, dynamics processors, equalization filters and delays. The Space Designer plugin, for example, simulates the acoustics of audio played in different environments, such as rooms of varying size, or producing the echoes that might be present on high mountains. Logic can work with MIDI keyboards and control surfaces for input and processing. It also features real-time scoring in musical notation, supporting guitar tablature, chord abbreviations and drum notation.
Logic Pro and Express share much functionality and virtually the same interface. Logic Express is limited to two-channel stereo mixdown, while Logic Pro can handle multichannel surround sound. Both can handle up to 255 audio tracks, depending on system performance (CPU, Hard disk Throughput and Seek time). A Logic Pro/Express feature comparison table can be found on Apple's site.
The application also features distributed processing abilities, which can function across an Ethernet LAN. One machine runs the Logic Pro app, while the other machines on the network run the Logic node app. Logic will then offload the effects and synth processing to the other machines on the network. If the network is fast enough (i.e. gigabit Ethernet) this works in real time. This allows a user to use machines that are not powerful enough to be used as the main DAW but still able to make a significant contribution to the digital signal processing.
[edit] Discussion Forums
The official discussion forum is operated by Apple.
The Logic User's Group, or LUG, is a 10+ year old community of 20,000+ professionals and newbies that started life as Emagic's official Logic forum and has today grown into the biggest Logic community on the net. The LUG launched new custom forums in September 2005 as an alternative to the advertisement-filled YahooGroups forums: http://logic-users.org/forums
Logic Pro Help is an online Logic Pro community, offering a forum with file sharing functionalities where users can ask questions and exchange templates, icons, impulse responses, plug-in and channel strip presets, as well as browse through a collection of professional tips and tricks on Logic.
Logic Pro Files Started in February 2003, it's the most comprehensive file sharing portal dedicated to Logic Pro. Members may freely download and upload thousands of Logic icons made expressively for Apple's Logic Pro. They may share Logic Templates, Channel Strips, Environments too. The free Logiconizer helps Logic users build their own icons sets, install them and bring them along in the studios in order to use the same icons anywhere.
Sonikmatter, created in 1995 by former Kurzweil Mailing List refugees as a place to discuss a more broad digital music technologies topic, is a long time Logic website. Topics are very well organized, and the focus is on the use within the most professional music realm. Newbies are welcome but are often told to search the vast archives before asking the same thing over. Moderators include Apple staff members, current and former Logic employees and members of the former Rocket Network staff.
LogicUser.net was started in 2002 as an English language variant of the older, German language, LogicUser.de and now has over 4,000 registered users. Questions and discussions are invited on all aspects of using Logic D.A.W in any legal version, and its interaction with other programmes and hardware.
[edit] Notable users
Some notable users include: Brian Eno, The Chemical Brothers, Deep Dish, Christina Aguilera, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Aaron Walton, Vince Clarke from Erasure, 'N Sync, Linkin Park, Mike Oldfield, Roger Waters, Nine Inch Nails, Peter Gabriel, John McLaughlin and Gwen Stefani.
A more complete and regularly updated list of Celebrity users can be found at http://logicprohelp.com/vip_users.php.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Apple Computer software | |
|---|---|
| OS: | Mac OS X | Mac OS 9 |
| Consumer: | .Mac | iLife | iTunes | iWork | AppleWorks | Mac OS X |
| Prosumer: | Final Cut Express | Logic Express |
| Pro: | Aperture | Final Cut Studio | Logic Pro | Shake |
| Bundled: | Front Row | iChat | Photo Booth | QuickTime | Safari | TextEdit |
| Server: | Apple Remote Desktop | Mac OS X Server | WebObjects | Xsan |
| Discontinued: | HyperCard | MacDraw | Mac OS | MacPaint | MacProject | MacTerminal | MacWrite |
