Logic Pro X - First Impressions

The appearance of the upgrade to Apple's flagship audio Application Logic Pro from 9 to X yesterday came as a complete shock to everyone. Some people had almost written it off, thinking there might never be another incarnation of this popular program. As soon as it was announced, it became almost instantly available from the App store so I didn't waste any time downloading it after seeing the spec.

Apart from a overhaul of the graphic interface, two of the most attractive (and long sought after) new features to me were the Midi Effects and Flex Pitch. There have been Midi devices such as Chord, Arpeggiator and Velocity in Ableton for years which have always given Ableton the edge when it came to creative programming, so integrating these into Logic will give it a massive boost.

I've been a fan of Melodyne pitch editing software since it was first released, and have always dreamed of having this facility working natively in a DAW… so I was over the moon when I saw the new Flex Pitch feature which works alongside the existing Flex Time facility. Not only that, but in my mind it makes the editing process easier, as you can use Logic's tools to chop up notes for example.

Add in the new Drummer tool, new look mixer, Soundcloud integration, new sound library, the Retro Synth, smart controls and free iPad controller App to name a few, and this is a major improvement to an already very powerful application. Oh, and did I forget to mention you get it all for £139?