| Apple Logic Studio | 
 enlarge | From: Apple
Category: Software
List Price: $499.00
Buy New: $449.99
You Save: $49.01 (10%)
New (5) from $449.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 252
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Macintosh, Powermac, Mac Os X
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Standard
Shipping Weight (lbs): 13.8
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 8.4 x 6
MPN: MA797LLA
Model: MA797LL/A
UPC: 885909196012
EAN: 0885909196012
ASIN: B000VY7HTM
Release Date: September 12, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 A complete workstation for music creation March 30, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
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.
Brilliantly Perfect...but requires Intel Processor March 1, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
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!
Logic 8 great for either Intel and/or G5 PPCs January 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Logic 8 is great. I have it running nicely on a MacBook Pro 17" running Leopard 10.5.1. It also runs great on my iMac G5 PPC running OS X Tiger 10.4.11. I still have Logic 7 on the iMac and it runs nicely as well. It is quite a fantastic piece of software. And at a bargain price. As it comes with really 3 main apps (Logic 8, SoundTrack, and Mainstage plus a number of nice utilities) and all 5 of the loop packs that originally sold for $100 each. Logic tho is difficult to learn in that it has some much capability and power.
I would recommend this highly to any user of Logic Pro 7 running G5s and/or Intel-based macs. Since I can run either Logic 8 or 7 on my PPC G5 I am not quite sure what the other reviews are complaining about performance issue are. I have experience none. But then again I don't record 5 plus real time musician and numerous realtime audio instruments jams simultaneously either. So a grain of salt is to be taken here.
Mickster
 I went back to Logic 7!!! January 24, 2008
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
I found the UI to be painfully sluggish. On my 2.3GHz Dualcore G5 with 4GB RAM Logic 7 was super snappy and responsive. Now, with Logic 8, when I try to scroll a window or move a fader it takes a second to react, and usually by the time it realizes I'm trying to scroll, I've gone way past what I was trying to look at. It's especially bad when I'm trying to write automation. It's not smooth anymore, but instead it jumps around.
I haven't even touched the new features yet, because I can't get the basics to work anymore. All in all, I'm not impressed Apple! I've gone back to 7 until this all gets worked out.
New UI is nice... otherwise it's a disaster on my 3 Macs January 7, 2008
3 out of 10 found this review helpful
I've been using Logic since version 5, then 6.4, 7.1, and 7.2. Other than infrequent stings by Core Audio Overloads on 7.2, it's been a great ride.
So, I naturally upgraded to Logic Studio.
Some clarification about what Studio is, for those of you who will be coming from Logic Pro 7:
* Logic Pro 7 with a new UI, and a few new features introduced, and a few
removed. This is NOT a major rewrite of the business logic underneath the application, so don't expect that.
* Mainstage. New application. You'll either use it or you won't.
* Sound Track Pro. Already written application for video soundtracks. You'll either use it, or you won't.
* 5 Garage Band jam packs.
The following are marketing mechanisms only:
* Studio Instruments as a separate entity. If you have 7, you already have these, with a few reworks to Ultrabeat and EXS editor... surround updates to some if you need that.
* Studio Effects as a separate entity. If you have 7, you already have these, with the exception being Delay Designer, which as I said really is EXCELLENT.
* Studio Sound Library as a separate entity. If you have 7, you have these, with the exception being the 5 garageband jam packs.
Nothing wrong with advertising, I suppose, and Apple is very good at it. Just make sure you know what to really expect.
So now, the verdict on Logic Pro 8 itself:
I did the UI, I really do. It's a vast improvement over Logic Pro 7.* and below, which I found quite clunky and getting dated.
But, once you get past the "wow" effect of the new UI, you'll likely realize what I did: that's basically it where Logic Pro 8 is concerned. There are some other features, but not many. It's basically Logic Pro 7 with a new UI.
Worse:
ALL of my most hated defects are still there!!! All of them. The didn't fix any of them.
And some of these are CONSIDERABLY worse in Logic Pro 8 compared to 7.2 on the same systems I've been using.
- CORE AUDIO OVERLOADS on 3 track songs!! You either get them or you don't. I've tested for 4 months now, on multiple machines with multiple interfaces and multiple audio configurations, and I can't make them go away. If you get them, they're TRULY stifling. I get them 3 or 4 times each for the first 3 or 4 projects I play. And if you do get them, be prepared for the "if not everyone gets them then they're not a bug, and it must be your system" crowd. They mean well, but they're convinced, incorrectly, that it's not Logic Pro... it's you or your system (consequently, a system that MUST be an Apple: "it just works" - whatever).
- Sometimes, dragging a region across a looped region (bumping it accidentally, or pasting to the wrong track, or dragging across tracks) causes the looped region to loop to the end of the song. Undo doesn't change this, since Logic Pro doesn't know it did anything. Once it's looped to the end, you can't drag it back from the end to where it was supposed to be... it won't let you. So... convert aliased copies to real copies, and delete them, or revert to a previously saved version of the project.
- Stopping in the middle of the song, rewinding to the beginning, and hitting play, will play back the buffered audio from your previous stop position. Goofy, and it even persists into exported audio. Kind of funny to hear while demoing your songs in your car. :-(
- Disk Too slow errors on 3 track songs!!
- MIDI/Audio Sync errors on 1 track songs
I get all of those periodically to often, with nothing but Logic Pro and the OS. No 3rd party plugins, and I've tried 5 audio interfaces now. Multiple hard drive configurations... every audio preference configuration combination you can do.
And, we even get some new bugs:
- Pink noise bursts periodically
- MIDI tracks playing back out of sync with one another
- Crashes after freezing tracks
Nearly 4 months of wasted time... $1500+ later on trying to throw horsepower and new interfaces at the problem... and I'm still going no where.
Sad. I since genuinely PREFER Logic to my other DAWs, but:
On the same machines, all of the following operate PERFECTLY:
Ableton Live 6
Ableton Live 7
Cakewalk Sonar (bootcamped)
Cakewalk Project5 (bootcamped)
I would not buy this application again, and my Logic life is probably over. I cannot in good conscience recommend this application to anybody.
Take care
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