Logic Pro gains powerful music tools for Mac and iPad

Apple said Monday it updated its Logic Pro music software to help spark users’ creativity and let them produce pro-level tracks.

New features for Mac include Mastering Assistant, 32-bit recording, Sample Alchemy and Beat Breaker. And Quick Sampler Recorder adds to the slate of iPad features.

Apple pumps up Logic Pro music production app for Mac and iPad

Apple said it updated Logic Pro with powerful new features you can use across Mac and iPad. “With the new Mastering Assistant and its professional palette of intuitive sound-shaping tools, musicians can deliver a release-ready mix faster than ever,” it noted.

Logic Pro for Mac gets Sample Alchemy’s sample manipulation and Beat Breaker’s reshaping and reshuffling capabilities, already in place for iPad.

Logic Pro for iPad adds Quick Sampler Recorder mode. That lets users quickly capture “found sounds” using iPad’s built-in microphone. And they can create custom playable instruments, Apple said.

Producers with their own samples can easily build kits or custom instruments using Split View and Stage Manager for multitasking. And of course folks can work on project on Mac or iPad as necessary.

New features for Mac and iPad

Here’s how Apple described new features for both devices:

Once a mix is complete, Mastering Assistant can instantly analyze the audio and make expert refinements to the sound, adjusting elements such as the dynamics, frequency balance, timbre and loudness. Creators can also use Mastering Assistant’s initial processing as a starting point and then fine-tune each setting with intuitive controls, allowing for a mix that sounds great both in the car and in the club.

Logic Pro now supports 32-bit float recording when used with compatible audio interfaces. This helps artists minimize the digital clipping that can occur when recording more dynamic instruments or performances. With 32-bit float, even recordings made at lower levels can be easily amplified without increasing the noise floor, providing studio-quality audio and flexibility in post-production.

Introduced on Logic Pro for iPad earlier this year, Sample Alchemy and Beat Breaker are now available in Logic Pro for Mac. Sample Alchemy allows users to transform a single audio sample into a playable instrument using a variety of techniques, including granular, additive and spectral synthesis. Artists can now create a wide range of unique sound beds, pads, effects, and rhythms, pushing the boundaries of creativity.

With the Beat Breaker multieffect plug-in, creators can radically reshape and reshuffle audio in real time, slicing audio, rearranging it, and adding scratching effects. By altering the speed, direction, volume, and number of repeats for each slice, musicians can effortlessly define complex patterns that can be changed on the fly.

The Tools menu in the Tracks area and time-based editors now includes Slip and Rotate tools, enabling users to move content within audio and software instrument regions without altering the region boundaries.

2 new sound packs

Logic Pro for Mac also brings two new sound packs. Hybrid Textures sound pack includes a collection of 70 patches plus more than 80 Apple Loops featuring Sample Alchemy. Vox Melodics sound pack includes over 475 lyrical phrases, hooks, layered harmonies, FX and one-shots. Download all of the app’s free sound packs via Sound Library.

Multitasking and learning options

In addition, you can now use Split View and Stage Manager to move between Logic Pro and other apps like Voice Memos and Files. Split View also lets you open two different apps — or two windows from the same app — by splitting the screen into resizable views. Stage Manager allows you to resize windows, see multiple overlapping windows and tap to switch between apps, among other features.

Logic Pro adds in-app Lessons with additional instruction on topics including Mastering Assistant, Sample Alchemy, Beat Breaker, beat making, automation, sound packs and Play Surfaces, Apple said. The Hybrid Textures sound packs also come to Logic Pro for iPad, giving more access to Sample Alchemy.

Pricing and availability

Users can get the new Logic Pro 10.8 as a free update. New users can pay $199.99 on the App Store. Logic Pro for Mac requires macOS Ventura 13.5 or later.

Logic Pro for iPad 1.1 is available as a free update for users, or on the App Store for $4.99 per month or $49 per year. New users get a one-month free trial. Logic Pro for iPad requires iPadOS 17 or later, and an iPad with Apple A12 Bionic chip or later.

Source: Apple