Apple has unveiled the next version of Logic Studio with major
upgrades to Logic Pro and MainStage and more than 200 new features.
Logic Pro 9 features new Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins that
provide realistic virtual guitar amps and stompbox effects to create
custom guitar rigs.
A new set of Flex Time tools allow Logic users to manipulate the
timing and tempo of audio. MainStage 2, Apple’s live performance
application, includes the new Playback and Loopback plug-ins to
provide backing tracks and creative, real-time loop recording for
performing on stage. Logic Studio also includes the new Soundtrack
Pro 3, with new multitrack audio tools for video production, and
Compressor 3.5 for encoding in a variety of formats.
“The new Logic Studio is ideal for professional musicians, live
performers and GarageBand enthusiasts who want to take their music to
the next level,” says Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president
of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Guitar players are going to love Amp
Designer and Pedalboard and the new Flex Time tools allow you to
quickly improve your recordings and create tighter performances.” The
new Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins give guitar players
incredible new recording and sound design capabilities. Amp Designer
recreates 25 legendary vintage and modern amp heads in beautiful
detail with matching controls and 25 paired speaker cabinets that
emulate the sound and feel of a guitar running through a real tube
amplifier. Guitar players can create their own custom rig by mixing
and matching amps, cabinets, reverbs and EQs, and can choose from
three different microphone types that can be positioned in 3D space
to capture the ideal guitar tone. Pedalboard adds an assortment of 30
guitar stompbox pedals that can be arranged in any order to produce a
wide variety of lush, creative effects including overdrive,
distortion, fuzz, delay, chorus, flange, phaser, tremolo, treble
boost, wah and more.
Flex Time is a new collection of tools that allow musicians to
quickly manipulate the timing and tempo of recorded audio, including
vocals and instruments, to create tighter performances. Using the
Flex Tool, individual beats in a waveform can be moved effortlessly
with a mouse click, without the need for tedious slicing and editing.
Audio Quantize can instantly fix or adjust the timing of an entire
performance by aligning notes and beats to a musical grid with a
single menu selection. Varispeed provides the ability to slow down
and then speed up an entire multi-track production to help record
challenging parts. Flex Time also enables recorded tracks to be moved
between different Logic projects and matched together, even if they
were performed at different tempos. All Flex Time edits are performed
non destructively and in real time, even when using the highest
quality settings.
MainStage 2 lets musicians use all the instruments and effects from
Logic Studio to turn their Mac into the ultimate live performance
rig. The new Playback plug-in provides musicians with a backing band,
allowing them to perform with pre-recorded audio, like drums, sound
effects and other accompaniments that can be triggered to play while
they are performing live. The new Loopback plug-in allows musicians
to record, layer and jam along with their own performance so a single
musician can lay down a rhythm and then play a lead over it.
Soundtrack Pro 3 adds powerful new audio editing tools including
Voice Level Match which extracts volume information from the vocal
content of one clip and applies it to another without altering any
other audio content, so editors can easily correct mismatched voice
levels. An enhanced File Editor includes new tools to make
sophisticated edits and fine tune volume adjustments by targeting
specific frequencies such as the rustle of a paper or the bump of a
desk without affecting dialogue. The new Advanced Time Stretch
feature stretches and compresses audio with incredible precision
using three Apple-designed algorithms or other algorithms available
as third party plug-ins. Soundtrack Pro and Compressor are also
available as part of the new Final Cut Studio, allowing Final Cut and
Logic users to collaborate and share files.
Logic Studio is now available through the Apple Store
(http://www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized
Resellers for a suggested retail price of US$499 and existing users
of Logic Studio and Logic Pro can upgrade for a suggested retail
price of $199. Full system requirements and more information on Logic
Studio can be found at http://www.apple.com/logicstudio. Logic
Express, a streamlined and even more affordable version of Logic for
GarageBand users who want more power and control, will ship in August
for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) and will be available
through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized
Resellers.