Logic Pro Manuals – A Disappointment

Documentation

A long time ago, I posted about how the manuals for Logic Pro and MainStage were available in iBooks. Yes, that post is so old that it was called iBooks, not Books or Apple Books.

I recently found out that Apple has not updated these books in nearly a year. Logic Pro 11 came out in May 2024 and the Books versions don’t cover the new features at all. The copyrights are dated 2023. So we’re back to using the PDF versions. I can only hope this is something Apple is working on and hasn’t completed yet, because the Books version works better than the PDF in my opinion. On the other hand, Apple seems to keep track of what people use in order to focus their efforts, so if those manuals in Books didn’t get many readers, they may have decided to not bother anymore. We’ll only know if they ever update the books, they will likely not tell us otherwise.

And hey, Logic Pro 11 is really cool, but that’s for another post.

The biggest update to Logic since the launch of Logic Pro X – and it’s a free update!

Features, Updates

According to Apple, Logic Pro 10.5 is the biggest update since Logic Pro X shipped in July 2013. (That’s seven years of free updates!) From the press release,

Apple today unveiled a major update to Logic Pro X with a professional version of Live Loops, a completely redesigned sampling workflow, and new beat-making tools. With its collection of powerful creative features, Logic Pro X 10.5 will be a massive release for all musicians, including those producing electronic music.

This support page (What’s New) describes the new features and links to more detailed pages about each, while this support page (Release Notes) details changes in New Features, More Content, Other New Features/Enhancements, Stability/Reliability, Performance, Accessibility, Mixer, Flex Time and Flex Pitch, Smart Tempo, Alchemy, plug-ins, Drummer, Automation, Apple Loops, Key Commands, ARA, Score, Undo, Takes/Comping, Dynamic Plug-in Loading, Export/Bounce, Import, Smart Controls, Fades, Articulations, Control Surfaces/MIDI Controllers, Global Tracks, Track Alternatives, Track Stacks, Editing, and General. I had no idea that list was that long when I started it.

I hope to get to know the new major features soon and post about them, most notably the new samplers and the Live Loops. If so, you’ll see those articles here on this site.

The new manuals for Logic Pro X should be available as an update from the Apple Book Store, if not now then soon as reports are that some have downloaded them already.

Logic Pro X 10.4.5 Update

Updates

This week, Apple released the Logic Pro X update that was shown at WWDC 2019. This version takes advantage of the upcoming Mac Pro with support of up to 56 processing threads, 1,000 audio tracks and 1,000 software instrument tracks.

“Additionally, Logic Pro X now supports 1,000 auxiliary channel strips, 1,000 external MIDI tracks and 12 sends per channel strip. Users can also expect improved responsiveness of the Mixer and Event List when working with large sessions, and projects with numerous Flex Time edits and tempo changes perform more efficiently than ever.”

I can’t imagine ever needing anything close to this amount of power, but it’s nice to have some extra headroom, eh? More information here, full release notes here, and of course get the update at the App Store.

Some Love (Mostly) for GarageBand

Uncategorized

Link at RollingStone.com: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/apple-garageband-modern-music-784257/

“Musicians’ applause for Apple’s Garageband — which celebrates its 15th birthday this year, humbly, still living in the media shadow of many of the tech giant’s more glittering products — is similar across genres and skill levels. Artists from Radiohead to Kendrick Lamar have used the app to demo, produce and sometimes even finalize master recordings. “It allows you to not be constrained by what you can or can’t play,” Dan Smith, frontman of British band Bastille, tells Rolling Stone. “I can quickly get something out of my head. Or I can write a song from start to finish in a couple of hours.” “

iLok it or Not

Effects, Plug-ins, ,

First of all, copy protection. Manufacturers of music software seem to claim that a) music software is pirated more than “regular” software and/or 2) they are small developers and can’t afford to be pirated like Adobe, Microsoft, and Apple can. To their first point, I have never seen proof of the first claim, and I’ve asked for it. I’m guessing it’s just anecdotal, which really isn’t a kind of evidence, Mr. Hutz. To their second point, there are tons of small developers out there and they don’t use much, if any copy protection and nothing like music software companies insist on using.

I have heard one developer use what was almost a sensible argument, that if you could show him that he wouldn’t get pirated out of business if he didn’t use copy protection, he would do it. That almost makes sense, but it might be trying to prove a negative, or maybe prove a double negative!

But, as long as the developers insist on using it, we’re stuck with copy protection.

One common form of copy protection is the iLok USB key. Lots of people are not fans of the hardware iLok and I completely understand why. I am fortunate in that I’ve not had issues with mine. Personally, I do like its advantages. I don’t have to install licensing software on multiple computers and I can have my licenses with me when I work somewhere else. I can download the plug-in on whatever computer I’m using and it will work with my license, I just plug in the iLok USB key. The other thing I like is one method of copy protection for multiple manufacturers and products.

In fact, I would rather everyone just use iLok. Some companies have moved away from it lately, and I find that annoying. It seems like each one has their own copy protection scheme that I have to go through installing and configuring. Any time I get a new plug-in from that developer, I have to remember how to authorize it. I have not only their plug-ins but also their copy protection junk on my computer, and those things just add to the clutter. I think it would be simpler to just use iLok for everyone and be done with it.

Of course, the simplest solution would be little or no copy protection just like everyone else does. I don’t know if we’ll ever get there with music software developers.