Logic Pro 9 is here!

Maccy · 23 Jul 2009 at 16:00

www.apple.com/uk/logicstudio/logicpro/

Looks like some nice few add-ons/changes.

At £399 (£159 for the upgrade) it's quite pricey, however the Higher Education store is still offering it at a steal for £118. Definitely advised to go down this route!

Maccy · 31 Jul 2009 at 09:40

OP updated!

thewanted · 27 Oct 2009 at 15:23

Is anyone here using Logic 9 extensively? I'm looking at getting into production and would be keen to here anyone's opinion on the product.

Looks like most of the top trance DJs are making the move from Cubase 5 over to Logic 9.

nate247 · 27 Oct 2009 at 15:37

It should deffo make your shortlist IMO...

The three I would say to look at for anyone looking to get in to production are Reason, Logic Pro & Ableton Live. Probably in that order as well.

Reason for me is still the best entry level software, very intuitive & is fantastically scalable. So as your production skills improve you are able to just keep getting more out of it. Probably the biggest aftermarket community out of the lot & the learning curve is deffo not as high as the other two but don't let that fool you in to thinking Reason can't be complex because it can.

Logic & Ableton also very nice (especially Ableton) which has amazing time streaching features amongst a few other standout features. But for me, anyone looking to be a producer should start with Reason

thewanted · 27 Oct 2009 at 15:50

Thanks very much

The two I was most interested were Logic 9 and Ableton. I've not really read much about Reason. Not even sure if it runs on OSX!

Do you use any keyboards or synths nate247?

I think I'm at the bottom of a very steep hill!

nate247 · 27 Oct 2009 at 17:40

Ha ha, no problem. Ask away as its a subject I do know quite a bit about (to make a change here). Its normally me asking for PC advice so nice to pay it back sort of thing.

Reason is universal (i.e the software disk will run on either Mac or Windows). I think you can buy a download only version which again runs on both. I actually will shortly be selling a code for both Reason 3.0 & Ableton Live 7 as I have gone from having two music production PC's to now just the one (& won't be looking for much for either), but I guess thats for another time if you do choose to go with either. I had planned on using eBay but would rather they went to a good home for less money sort of thing, but anyway, regards to the software & back on topic... The only advice I can give you is most people try and bite off more than they can chew & wonder why inside of 5 minutes they arn't making Timbaland style hit records. Also people think there is one synth or drum machine producers use that makes these hit records.

Music production is first and foremost about understanding the software you are using and the programming "principles" for all aspects of that software. Learn how to program initially a really basic synth that comes with your software, learn how to sample sounds from .wav & .mp3 files. Learn the absolute single most important thing (in my eyes) which is to layer sounds (especially drums & synths). Im probably going off on a tangent here but when you first start throwing tracks together you will realise your songs sound a little thin & lack the sparkle / punch of stuff you hear on the radio. This is because the pro's successfully layer a couple of kick drums for a much harder hitting kick, then layer sometimes a few claps together for a clap that really hits hard. The important thing is to only layer things for a reason as well. No point just throwing 3 really low bassy sounds together. Better to have say one low bassy kick, then a slightly higher pitched one and maybe a snare to add that extra crackle on top.

Like I say, off on a tangent here but I guess what I am trying to say is that its best to learn the basics first and then when your skills improve start spending hundreds on better synths, sounds, instruments, sample libraries etc.

Music production is much like PC's in that you can find yourself spending fortunes on the latest kit but unless you really know what you are doing it will be for little gain.

RE your software though I honestly believe Reason is the best starting block for anyone. It contains everything you need to get started and is reallly intuitive once you find your way. I also have a couple of tutorial CD's I don't mind sending you for Ableton or Reason if you did decide on either. Also have quite a lot of samples (i.e kicks, claps etc) that I have layered myself over the years that I will send if you do decide to get in to production. Should help you get started

Maccy · 27 Oct 2009 at 21:00

If you're getting into production then I'd honestly skip Reason and buy yourself a copy of Logic 9 from the Apple Higher Education store, as it's only £118. It offers you far more mixing features and can easily have inputs from other softwares, including Reason.

If you're going to be doing electro music by yourself then perhaps consider Reason, but I'd definitely go for Logic first.

nate247 · 28 Oct 2009 at 01:03

Logic 9 really isn't a beginners software in all fairness. Likewise he may not have access to the Apple HE discount.
I'm also not sure where you get the idea Reason is specifically for Electro Music (but as somebody that has worked in the profession) almost everybody uses Reason in some form or another (standalone DAW or combined with Pro Tools / Cubase / Logic).

Get over to the Future Producers website as well. You again will most likely see over 70% of members use Reason or indeed started with it. I stand by my advice but the great thing with life is we don't all have to agree so you can also listen to Maccay also. Although the only thing I would chose to ignore is the comment Reason is for electo (its not). Check out Propellerheads site to see Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, Dance Producers etc using it.

MikeHunt79 · 28 Oct 2009 at 01:07

Reason is awesome, Logic is awesome, most of the new features in 9 seem a little pointless tho, but I'm probably going to upgrade anyway.

FWIW, the tune in my sig was done entirely in Reason 4, with limited samples, I used loads of NNNNNNNNN-19's!

Lowe · 28 Oct 2009 at 08:10

MikeHunt79 said:
Reason is awesome, Logic is awesome, most of the new features in 9 seem a little pointless tho, but I'm probably going to upgrade anyway.

FWIW, the tune in my sig was done entirely in Reason 4, with limited samples, I used loads of NNNNNNNNN-19's!

Most of the new features have been to give the more typical 'band' recording features a kick up the backside. If you're into anything electronic/dancey then the new stuff is fairly 'meh' and brings it better into line with Cubase and PT.

That said the pedalboard is great fun for mashing up loops and stuff.

nate247 · 28 Oct 2009 at 12:52

Logic 9 is a fantastic piece of software and for anyone looking for a complete studio solution its deffo up there and way better than Pro Tools IMO. I just fear that for a beginner the learning curve is far too steep.

For the novice whom simply wants to get on and make music / beats (not mastering, eq'ing, laying vocals on top etc) Reason for me is still king and so many people I know still use it as the sketch pad for laying a beat down and then re-wire it in to say Logic or Pro Tools for the vocals and to add a bit of ummmmph to the track.

Re-wire is just an amazing feature and for anyone that learns Reason it won't be time wasted because of this (because you can always still use reason almmost like a plugin). There is also still no better drum pattern sequencer than Re-Drum in Reason. Likewise for sampling Re-Cycle is awesome and you can really get some amazing beats going by loading a chopped sample in to Dr Rex & just playing around with the order of the chops, the pitch etc.

Reason is by no means perfect and when you eventually get good enough you will need to re-wire it in to its new Record software for vocals etc or something like Logic or Pro Tools. But as an entry in to the world of Music Production I don't think there is anything better.