Logic Studio: At Last!
http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/
Yes, it’s taken a while, but with a bit of a whimper after an unusual week over at Apple with the release of the new iPods and an iPhone price-drop, Logic has finally earned the Studio tag like its Final Cut brother.
New features included in the Logic Pro 8 application (now just the main part of a so called suite of products) include a decent looking take management system, sample-accurate editing in the arrange window (finally!) and a more Apple style “one window” approach. Also included in the package is Soundtrack 2, which is already part of Final Cut Studio 2.
But most interestingly, particularly for live musicians, is the inclusion of a new application called MainStage, which is designed for using Logic’s instruments and effects (or any AU-compatible instruments and effects) live.
This is potentially an excellent development for live musicians, in particular keyboard players like myself. Logic’s EVP88 electric piano and EVB3 organ emulator, for example, are excellent instruments, but Logic’s cumbersome interface has always been most annoying (and often embarrassing) in live situations. MainStage’s interface looks very intuitive, though the main issue, as ever with using computers for live performance, will be latency.
Another noteworthy issue with this release is the price. It’s a major drop to $499 for a new copy of Logic Studio. Upgrades are a very affordable $299 for Logic Express users, but a slightly crippling $199 for current Pro users, who are being punished a little for their loyalty to the Logic brand.
Still, Apple know their users well enough, and it still represents good enough value to buy for all concerned.
Oh yeah, and the dongle is finally gone. Yippee! I guess Apple’s paranoia (which is really a hangover from Emagic days) has been outweighed by their desire to proliferate the product as much as possible. After all, pirating probably helped Steinberg for a long time, and Apple have the added bonus of knowing that even if a Logic license is being used on more than one computer, it’s being used on Macs, and that means, more Macs!
Of course, I’ll be ordering my copy immediately!
Mind you, having just received our copy of Final Cut Studio 2, I am more than busy (and a tad bemused) by Color. More about that soon…
September 20th, 2007 at 25 09259u30e13 ppm1330 9 259 3009e pm
unfortunately you can’t use logic on the same network at the same time. it’s only allowing one user per network, detecting a logic with the same serial is on the network and not letting you log on.
September 21st, 2007 at 14 09149u30e16 pam1630 2 149 3002e am
Network detection is used on all Apple’s Pro products to prevent multiple use of the same serial number. Of course, you could just temporarily plug out your ethernet cable, or turn off your airport, and keep on working. Not that I’d condone that sort of thing.