|
From:Apple
|
See Product Page
|
User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#198 |
| | Page: << 1 2 3 >> |
 Best value for new Mac users , 2008-08-06
Logic is so big that trying to describe it in a review, or to cover its feature set would be impossible. Simply put if you use a Mac and want to record or mix audio then you have got a complete solution in one box. I didn't have any previous experience with either Macs or Music and have found the software a very powerful but deep tool to use. To get started with it is not much more complex than Garage Band but it is very, very deep. The manuals that come with it are close to 2000 pages in length because of the amount of tools and options you have at your disposal.
The drag and drop interface is intuitive and the included sounds are great. They are not quite pro-level quality (i.e. Waves, Native Instruments) but they are very, very good and the Apple Units(AU) plug-in architecture is supported industry wide allowing you to easily put the pro sounds in your library.
I think the Ultrabeat drum sequencer is an excellent tool and will likely cause you to lose some sleep as you get sucked into playing with all the features. The sample loop library is huge, something like 18,000 loops so you can build a scratch track quickly to get the sound you are looking for as a base or to use as a backing track for your own recording.
The included synths are very tweakable and each has an interface that really puts their power within easy reach. If you have never looked into creating your own sound instead of simply using a sampled virtual instrument these synths will make you re-evaluate. The mixing interface is full of the controls you need and a very powerful environment and bus system allows for efficient and novel effects processing.
I use it on my 24" Aluminum iMac with a 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo chip and 4GB of system ram. I haven't had any issues of excessive CPU usage or crash inducing bugs. I am not saying some do not exist, they likely do as evidenced by the numerous discussions on Apple's own site. I just want to make it clear that the software is hardly "bug-ridden" as some people would lead you to believe.
I started with Logic Express 8 and then upgraded to Logic Studio 8, as there is no price advantage to jumping right into Studio. You get most of the features with Express and only lack a large portion of the included loop and instrument content. The full Logic Express install is around 8-10Gb and Studio comes in around 70GB. Studio took about 2 hours to do a complete install so budget some time before you fire it up on a work night at 9pm thinking you'll make it to bed on time.
While Pro-Tools is the "industry standard" for recording studios Logic holds sway over a very large number of the artists themselves. Often projects are worked on totally in Logic and only run through Pro-Tools|HD systems in the final mixing and mastering steps.
Logic Studio or Express are both tremendous values for the dollar. They are supported by every major 3rd party content supplier, receive ample magazine and web how-to article space and are used by a huge user base. this translates into being able to get answers to your questions quickly and no fear of incompatibility with 3rd party hardware or software.
Be warned Garage Band users, going from GB to Logic will cause you to want to spend more and more money on hardware and software to take full advantage of all the options in Logic Studio. It is a musician's gateway drug.
Great, 2008-07-07
I decided to go for this, transferring from being a Cubase user. I'm very happy overall, but I do miss some things. I don't think any current DAW will give you absolutely everything you want, but I'm very picky and tend to use every little detail available to me.
Pros: good bang for the buck; more intuitive than previous version; 64bit memory addressing capabilities; included programs aren't cheap
Cons: some little things like tempo editing speed and similar little details. Thats really about it. The other cons I can think of are more like 'pros' for other programs, i.e. features cubase has that this one doesn't.
I find it to be a very stable program, though I have heard a few who have claimed otherwise. I hope the most recent updates have fixed most of these problems.
Greatest software ever, 2008-06-02
I bought this software not knowing much about Mac, as I recently got my first Mac. I bought this software to produce trance and house music. After playing around with this for a couple of days, I have come to a conclusion. This is the greatest software ever made. I used to use Reason in the past, and it is a poor substitute for Logic. If you want professional software, this is your best bet.
9 of 9 customers found the following review helpful:
A complete workstation for music creation, 2008-03-30
Nowadays, there are so many different DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations) out there, that it's hard to know what to start with. Everyone has heard of Protools, and most have heard of Cubase. And then there's Sonar, Audacity, Ableton, Digital performer...and there are even more opinions floating around as to which one is the "best."
The truth of it is that every DAW has it's strengths and weaknesses, and knowing what YOU need to do with your setup is vital to picking the right software.
Here's why I've chosen Logic.
Logic Studio has literally changed the way that I make music.
There are SO many features and programs packed into this application that I STILL have not covered everything, and I'm certified by Apple in the program!
Audio editing, MIDI editing, Composing, Arranging Scores, Electronic music, Rock, jazz, world, hip hop, live recording, Live gigs, post production, Sound to video, mixing, mastering, Guitar and Bass effects, synthesizers, sound synthesis...and the list goes on!
You can literally do everything that you want to do creatively with your music.
It comes on board with a fantastic set of plug ins and effects for any application, a mind-blowing set of software synthesizers that can be used to make completely unheard of sounds, a fantastic drum editing software instrument (Ultrabeat) that lets you program sequences, either live or in recording, or create your own drum beat from scratch in any tempo or time signature that you want...with any drum kit that you want. Oh, and if you can't find any drum kits out of the 50+ kits that you like, then just make your own, either through samples, or synthesis, or editing an already existing kit in the software.
You can mix in mono, stereo, or surround, and most of the complex software instruments have surround instances where you can automate any one of the synthesizer's parameters in stereo or surround.
As a guitarist, I can plug in my guitar directly to the interface and have a really good set of effects and settings right on board. And if that doesn't work, I can always just mic up my amp and record that way.
Take recording is easy, and post record editing is a breeze. Vocals (obviously dependent on the mic's and the preamps) are easy to record, edit, compress, and do whatever you want...even a Vocoder if that's your fancy.
I have so much control over everything involved in the songwriting process, and I can try completely new and different sounds just to see if it works. It's hard to cover it all in a little review.
Now, all that being said, every program has it's weakness. Here are the negatives to the program.
1) Learning curve. Don't let this intimidate you, because there are plenty of great resources to get you started and it's just worth the time it takes to learn it. But Logic is no joke on it's complexity. If you have used another DAW before, then this is not as much of an issue...although you will still have to relearn some things.
If you have NOT used a DAW before, then the first time Logic opens, you will have to just look at the screen for a little bit just to try to see what all is there.
If you aren't willing to delve into taking a little time to learn how to use software, then maybe you should look towards another DAW that's a little more straight forward on the front end i.e. Garageband.
If you are looking to open the box, plug in an instrument and record a few tracks and put some vocals on it...and that's it...then I would definitely steer clear of Logic.
2) This one goes to Protools users. Logic does NOT have a few of the in depth tools that Protools has. There aren't many that it doesn't have...and there are workarounds for everything. So you can do almost all of the FUNCTIONS of protools, but not in the same way. So if you were raised on Protools, that might be a frustration for you. Here's an example, if you are just in love with your "play from cursor" command, you won't find it in Logic. For me, I've just altered my workflow a little bit, and I don't really miss it. But if that's a big deal to you, then it's something to think about before purchasing Logic.
3) Know your system! There are several plug ins in Logic that are memory and CPU intensive. If you are not running a top of the line Mac, then you will need to learn how to most efficiently use your system resources to get the best results. Logic will quickly let me know when there is too much going on with "System overload" messages. That was very frustrating at first. Now I have a better plan in place to handle each task in my workflow. So either get lots of RAM, or prepare to learn how to allocate your resources.
4) Hard drive space. This isn't necessarily a negative, but for anyone looking to take Logic on a laptop, Logic uses about 40GB for a full installation. Definitely look into external media. On the install, you can choose to install some of the loops and other space takers onto external drives, which will help when you are working with less space. So if you are only working with 100GB or 120GB drives, then this is going to take a huge chunk of your space.
For everyone else, this shouldn't really be an issue...and besides, it shows how much comes with Logic on board. ;-)
Overall, I am going to stick with Logic for quite some time. It is the centerpiece of my studio, and has greatly enhanced my songwriting and composition workflow.
Hope this helps.
3 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
Brilliantly Perfect...but requires Intel Processor, 2008-03-01
This is the most solid music software I've ever used - it barely moves my CPU meter with heavy plug-in's instantiated on 15 tracks (w/ 4 gigs of ram) - and it's tremendously stable; I've been using it for 8 hour sessions w/ Rewire for months and have had no problems. However, I also installed on a G5 and it simply wasn't coded for PPC processors (it's obvious it was an afterthought). Apple probably saw no reason to dedicate engineering resources to a fully stable port of Logic for PPC - as most pro users end up upgrading hardware anyway (and it's incidental incentive to drive their hardware business). If you're considering the upgrade to Intel Macs - this program is such a steal that it might be worth it. I'm only using the IMac 2.8 ghz and it screams - making the whole experience far more fluid and enjoyable. So - if you're still on PPC - hold off, you're better off w/ Logic 7. If you've already made the switch to Intel, you're in for a treat!
|
| Page: << 1 2 3 >> |
|