Logic Express 8 for Mac
I have been recording music for a long time. If I trace my roots it goes back to trying to write stuff on an old 486 with a Roland MT-32, recording it to a tape deck in a home stereo, then using split cables and another stereo to bounce tracks together.
When I first got my hands on cakewalk it was light fireworks in my head, then Pro Tools, well…that was just another huge leap in what would be a 20 year obsession.
Recording technology has changed so much, from those early days to day, I am able to sit in my den and record up to 16 channels of audio simultaneously at better than CD quality, and mix and edit them non-destructively with an unlimited array of instruments and sounds that were previously only known in $5,000 professional synthesizer workstations.
The price of entry for all of this power? A decent Mac computer and $199 for a software package called Logic Express 8.
Logic Express 8 is no wicked step-child to Logic Pro 8. The difference lies in the exclusion of 4 core professional features.
- Support for high end control surfaces
- DAE/TDM Support (if you don’t know what it is, you don’t need it)
- DAP or Distributed Audio Processing, which means hardware enhanced audio performance
- Surround Sound
Toss in a few other effects and synthesizer plug-ins, and Logic Pro 8 is more of an enhanced version of Logic Express 8. This is unusual in that many times the consumer oriented versions are usually so drastically different that they are really similar in name only.
This is underscored by the fact that Apple’s Logic Pro Training book is for Logic Pro 8 and Logic Express 8 in the same book. The additional features are covered in an advanced book. Using the application is exactly the same.
Apple’s PR Engine advertises these bullet points for Logic Express:
New in Logic Express 8.
Logic Express 8 makes it easier than ever to translate musical inspiration into professional recordings. A redesigned interface and a range of powerful, easy-to-use features put sophisticated tools at your fingertips.
Single-Window Design
The Arrange window in Logic Pro 8 consolidates production activities in a single, elegantly-designed workspace. You can record multiple takes; cut, move, or stretch audio with sample accuracy; browse channel strip settings; audition Apple Loops; and drop chords onto your lead sheet—all from one central space, without managing multiple windows.
Effortless multitake recording
Region-based take management speeds up multitake recording, editing, and processing. An expandable take folder makes it simple to recall overdubs, and entire take folders can be moved and edited like regions.
New audio editing tools
Work faster and with greater precision using powerful new features like snap-to-transient selection, graphical time stretching, and sample-accurate editing in the Arrange window.
New Instruments
Logic Express now includes Ultrabeat, ES2, and the complete EXS24 Sampler.
Simplified setup
Production-ready templates, a streamlined track setup window, and dynamic channel strip creation get you up and running fast. Improved ReWire support provides easy integration with other music applications.
Quick Swipe comping
With breakthrough Quick Swipe comping, you can simply swipe over the best portions of each take to create a seamless comp, complete with transition-smoothing crossfades.
Portable preferences
Save your key commands, channel strip settings and plug-in settings to your .Mac account for easy backup, sharing, and portability.
New Effects
Logic Express now features Guitar Amp Pro, Ringshifter, and full-featured Pitch Correction.
That’s a mouthful! In spending two days with this software I have to say that it’s everything it’s billed to be. For someone with a good bit of Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) experience, it’s a very good interface. Everything is easy to find and configure. I had it up and running with a firewire interface and MIDI keyboard in minutes.
There is literally no latency. When using Reason on PC I have had many problems getting fast MIDI tracking with software synthezisers and that is not a problem here.
The drum plug-in Ultrabeat is great sounding and simple to use.
I will be diving in more this weekend and will probably do a videocast and some more blog posts about it, but color me impressed. This is one fantastic piece of software.
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