Revamped Logic On The Way?

[MacRumors]

According to a blog posting (translated from original French version) getting increasing interest around the Mac web, Apple's professional audio workstation product, Logic, is being redesigned. The new version, reportedly set to use a different name, is supposedly heavily dependent on Mac OS 10.5 "Leopard" features, and will require the new OS to run. Also mentioned is the possibility of Apple using previous patents in the new version to provide tactile feedback.

According to the site, the revamped version would be launched at Frankfurt's MusikMesse, which runs from March 28-31. However, Apple currently does not plan to attend MusikMesse.

At the present time, we do not feel these claims have much substance, and post them to page 2 for interest's sake only.

[milo]

I'd love to see a major rewrite...but it better be an upgrade to Logic and open Logic files.

And it better include all the major Logic features, a rewrite that is missing key stuff (like scrapping it and just adding to Garage band) would be seen as a step back and there'd be a huge "Apple killed Logic" outcry.

They better not eff this up, lots of us are depending on this app to make a living.

[speakerwizard]

bah, when will we see our motion based shake rewrite, pheonomena wasnt it code named? come on, dont keep me waiting

[mikeinternet]

come on apple!

make this good. and make your own interfaces. i would love to say goodbye to digidesign protools and use 100% mac hardware.

[twoodcc]

this would be great, cuz it would mean that Leopard would be released then or earlier! i hope it's true!

[mashinhead]

Originally Posted by mikeinternet

come on apple!

make this good. and make your own interfaces. i would love to say goodbye to digidesign protools and use 100% mac hardware.

couldn't agree more. audio software needs the apple touch.

[mainstreetmark]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

this would be great, cuz it would mean that Leopard would be released then or earlier! i hope it's true!

Unless, of course, the pull the ol' standby.

"And we're releasing it..... in 5 months."

[thejadedmonkey]

Originally Posted by mainstreetmark

Unless, of course, the pull the ol' standby.

"And we're releasing it..... in 5 months."

That all just pisses me off. If you're going to announce something, don't have a huge event to announce it'll be out in 5 months... and then delay it a month 2 days before it's due to ship.

[Edge100]

Originally Posted by mikeinternet

come on apple!

make this good. and make your own interfaces.

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/symphony.php

This is as close as you're going to get, I think.

[longofest]

Originally Posted by speakerwizard

bah, when will we see our motion based shake rewrite, pheonomena wasnt it code named? come on, dont keep me waiting

Phenomena is still tracking for 2008. Stay tuned...

[Maxiseller]

It would also be ridiculous to get rid of the "logic" brand. So many people associate with it's image. The fact that it survives on the Apple platform hasn't dented its popularity, but starting re-branding from scratch would be a big mistake.

[Peel]

Originally Posted by milo

a rewrite that is missing key stuff (like scrapping it and just adding to Garage band) would be seen as a step back and there'd be a huge "Apple killed Logic" outcry.

But I could see Apple marketing this as a duo then: the consumer app GarageBand, and the proapp StudioBand.

[mandoman]

Originally Posted by mashinhead

couldn't agree more. audio software needs the apple touch.

Err, as it stands now, protools is WAY more mac-like than logic. Hopefully Logic gets totally revamped to be as easy to use as protools.

[Mgkwho]

Well, the obvious good news is that if this just happened to be true, it would have to come out +/= time as Leopard much like iWork, iLife etc.

March 27th anyone?

-=|Mgkwho

[mikeinternet]

Originally Posted by Edge100

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/symphony.php

This is as close as you're going to get, I think.

i know the apogee stuff is great. i used to work at a place using the ad8000. but still far from '1' company making the computer the interface and the software.

...if apple did this i'd love to see something in the 1000 dollar range. and just make it perfect and apple style. i think apple could make a new standard here.

[Scott L]

However, Apple currently does not plan to attend MusikMesse.

At the present time, we do not feel these claims have much substance, and post them to page 2 for interest's sake only.

It may be true that these claims don't have any substance, but according to the Musikmesse exhibitor search engine, Apple IS at Musikmesse:
Apple Computer International Ltd.
Hall: 5.1 Walkway: A Stand: 29
Hall: 5.1 Walkway: C Stand: 72
Hall: 5.1 Walkway: D Stand: 82

So it would be more correct to say that Apple does not list Musikmesse on its upcoming events list. Perhaps to throw people off the scent?

Actually, it's funny that all this hullaballoo here, at Ars Technika, BigBlueLounge etc is all from one post on a French site. Shows how starved people are for any news of Logic, I think.

[Edge100]

Originally Posted by mikeinternet

i know the apogee stuff is great. i used to work at a place using the ad8000. but still far from '1' company making the computer the interface and the software.

...if apple did this i'd love to see something in the 1000 dollar range. and just make it perfect and apple style. i think apple could make a new standard here.

It won't be a PT killer until it deals with the single biggest issue facing native DAWs: latency.

The Symphony is the first native system to get PT (HD, not LE)-like latencies. PT HD systems aren't more powerful than quad core MacPros; but they do allow very low latencies through plugins, which is what Apple would have to ensure for ANYTHING to be a PT-killer.

Right now, I don't see Apple getting into the native hardware game; there are other products that do things VERY well (RME, Metric Halo, even MOTU). The Apogee partnership is where the PT-killer will come from.

[Mr Skills]

Originally Posted by mandoman

Err, as it stands now, protools is WAY more mac-like than logic. Hopefully Logic gets totally revamped to be as easy to use as protools.

You beat me to it! If anything, Logic is like the Windows of the music world: you can do anything, but it's not very friendly.

[aafuss1]

I'd like to see the Logic name stay-it's such well known.

[k2k koos]

If true, I'd welcome a rewrite, keep al the goodness, instruments, flexibility etc, add a lot of Mac style ease of use and interface refresh, better Rewire support, open any type of soundfile without the need of translating, importing etc, and KEEP the name.
Logic is a good to great product, is well established, and well respected, no need to change that, just make it even better, full universal binary, or have seperate PPC and Intel optimised versions.
Especially, all those cool features like touch tracks, build in arpeggiators etc, make them more accessible. Logic can do soooo much more than people think, make it easier for them to access and for crying out loud, REWRITE THE USER MANUAL FROM SCRATCH!!

I'd probably buy it, even if you just call it Logic 8, and it's really only worth to be called Logic 7.5, but depends a bit on the price tag :-)

[Geetar]

Originally Posted by mikeinternet

i know the apogee stuff is great. i used to work at a place using the ad8000. but still far from '1' company making the computer the interface and the software.

...if apple did this i'd love to see something in the 1000 dollar range. and just make it perfect and apple style. i think apple could make a new standard here.

Interesting idea, but the reason that Prism, Lavry, dCS, Weiss and to a (slightly)lesser degree Apogee etc. are so good is because of the analog as well as the digital stages and power supplies in their converters; the protection of the analog level signal stages from the mess (and this is not inconsiderable) that the other stages can make in operation is crucial as, concomitantly, is a well-designed clock and a power supply that doesn't leave its dirty 'orrible fingerprints all over the signal being passed.

I've seen no evidence that Apple have a clue or even care about this to date. Why should they, when others do it so well? The A/D/A in all the Macs I own is of marginal quality- just about acceptable- and I've yet to record or listen to music from a Mac that wasn't improved hugely by using outboard conversion.

It's a cost consideration of course, but that doesn't change the fact that Apple right now know b*gger-all about well-implemented conversion. Apple "style" won't get you good sound any more than an iSight will enable you to originate broadcast quality video. A $1000 piece of Apple gear that looks the part will be beneath the notice of pro users, but too costly for amateurs and wannabe's.

[Mr Skills]

Logic's big problem for me is that it betrays its MIDI-only origins so blatantly.

The Environment, for example. Great for hard-core MIDI (linking things together, arpeggiators, all that nonsense); unnecessary bloat for audio. What audio routing options are possible in Logic that are not possible in the simpler, environment-less Pro Tools? Why is it ever useful for me to have two copies of the same audio track in the environment?

Audio editing, as well. Despite the clunky fudge known as the "Marquis Tool", Logic still treats Audio regions like MIDI regions, that must be chopped before they can be moved.

Apple are famous for "sweating the details" - all the tiny little things that make your workflow faster and more enjoyable. They NEED to do this in Logic, like Digi have with Pro Tools. To provide one simple example: after all these years, I still can't fathom where the screen will be focused when I zoom in (using keyboard shortcuts). Pro Tools zooms in on the place you have selected, or the last place you were editing - it always just seems to zoom in where you were looking. And don't get me started on what happens when you zoom out.

Another example: I want to import stuff from another session. In Pro Tools I just go to "import session data" and it is beautifully easy. In Logic it is a nightmare. Even the simple act of pasting regions into the session is a faff. And as for, say, trying to import all the drum settings across a dozen tracks...

One last example: the difference between Logic and PT when I click in the scroll-bar to jump a page to the right. PT jumps a bit less than a page, so I can still see where I was; Logic jumps the entire page, losing context, and I always find myself manually scolling back a little. Thank goodness I bought a mighty mouse.

I love Logic, and I use it every day. But I still curse it every day. It needs a real re-write. I'm happy to relearn some things if they actually Apple-ify it.

[color guy]

Great post #22

The focus on midi is a holdover from the days when layering audio tracks would bring your cpu to a screeching halt.
Ui, Workflow, file managment, latency, summing algorithyms all need work.
I would strip it down to a basic default mode and let users activate features as needed, so they don't consume resources in the background.

[surferfromuk]

Originally Posted by Mr Skills

Logic's big problem for me is that it betrays its MIDI-only origins so blatantly.
etc
etc
etc

Great post on Logic. I love it and I wrote an album on it but it's not a patch on the refined hardware like execution of Pro Tools. If taking on PT has been the design brief for Logic 8 then I think it's going to be an incredible package...let's hope that was the design brief becuase simply 'bigger, more features and more plugins/synths crammed into the existing logic arrange/environment framework' isn't going to cut it...I think their core audio channel and bus routing engine needs a serious overhaul too...

One things for sure it's going to be a crazy April/May and June for Apple.

So far I got ;

1: Iphone
2: New iMac & Macbook Pro (with LED display)
3: New 6 G Ipod on Iphone platform
4: Apple TV
5: The beatles exclusive on Itunes
6: New Logic 8 with large ‘Touch display’
7: New iLife
8: New iWork
9: Final Cut Pro 6
10: Leopard


Did I miss anything ?

I'm still half-waiting for Apple to annouce there buying EMI sometime this year!!...

[Peace]

Originally Posted by surferfromuk

Great post on Logic. I love it and I wrote an album on it but it's not a patch on the refined hardware like execution of Pro Tools. If taking on PT has been the design brief for Logic 8 then I think it's going to be an incredible package...let's hope that was the design brief becuase simply 'bigger, more features and more plugins/synths crammed into the existing logic arrange/environment framework' isn't going to cut it...I think their core audio channel and bus routing engine needs a serious overhaul too...

One things for sure it's going to be a crazy April/May and June for Apple.

So far I got ;

1: Iphone
2: New iMac & Macbook Pro (with LED display)
3: New 6 G Ipod on Iphone platform
4: Apple TV
5: The beatles exclusive on Itunes
6: New Logic 8 with large ‘Touch display’
7: New iLife
8: New iWork
9: Final Cut Pro 6
10: Leopard


Did I miss anything ?

I'm still half-waiting for Apple to annouce there buying EMI sometime this year!!...

Yes.

You missed the Homephone 7" square multi-touch Video Skype Phone utilizing iChat that you mount on the wall