Logic Pro 9 – Drums, Grooves & Guitars

Apple recently released a new version of Logic Studio, and we have now added a new training course for Logic Pro 9 as well as updating our DAW Shootout. The new versions of most Digital Audio Workstations during the past year have focused on drums, grooves, and, to a lesser extent, guitars. So Logic is basically keeping up with the Joneses. Here are some of the more notable new features.

Flex Mode – Better than Apple Loops?

Most of the buzz about Logic 9 has centered around Flex Mode, a new facility for time stretching. Now, of course, time stretching has been available in Logic for a long time using Apple loops. However, converting an audio region to an Apple loop is a bit of a pain since the Apple Loop Utility is still a separate application, even though you can invoke it directly from Logic. Also, you cannot warp Apple Loops, that is, manually adjust the timing of selected portions of the audio region. Warping can be useful for correcting the timing of drums or vocals which aren’t quite “in the pocket”, as well as for creating special effects. You can warp multiple tracks at once using the Flex Tool which is great for aligning drums when all of the drum kit pieces have been recorded as separate tracks.

Flex Mode does have its limitations. As we demonstrate in our course, the sound quality of the time stretching can be fairly sensitive to the particular Flex Mode (Rhythmic, Polyphonic, etc) that you choose. Also, unlike Apple Loops, Flex Mode does not support the concept of a root note, and you cannot do real time pitch shifting. Thus if you need to match the root note of a region with the root note of your project, you’re back to creating an Apple Loop. Personally, I prefer a single integrated function for both time stretching and pitch shifting like Elastic Pitch & Time in Pro Tools or Audio Warp in Cubase. However, Flex Mode does provide a quick and easy solution for manipulating drums. Our Listen & Compare section includes an audio demo of Flex Mode time stretching, so you can judge the audio quality for yourself (This section is currently being updated. So if it’s not there now check back in a couple of days).

Custom Grooves – Feelin’ Groovy

In previous versions of Logic, you could not extract or apply grooves in real time. Now with Flex Mode you can extract a groove from an audio region and then apply it to another audio or MIDI region. This YouTube video, which is a reformatted excerpt from our new course, demonstrates how.

EXS Slicing – Who Needs REX?

REX is a popular format created by Propellerheads Software, and is used mainly for time stretching drums and bass loops. You can use a REX loop in Logic, and the tempo will automatically adjust to the tempo of the project. However REX files are also popular for another reason. Internally REX files are chopped up into separate slices based on the transient peaks of the audio. Using a REX player like Propellerheads Dr. Rex, you can access each slice with a MIDI note. Thus, in effect, you can create a drum kit from a single loop, and play it with a MIDI drum track.

Normally you would need to purchase Propellerheads’ Recycle to create a REX file. However, Logic 9 has added a function which automatically chops up a file into REX-like slices and loads them into the EXS24 sampler. Thus you can create a new drum kit from a loop and play it with a MIDI drum track in the same way as you would use Recycle and Dr. Rex. We demonstrate how to do this in our tutorial on Loops & Remix.

Drum Replacement – Move Over Drumagog

For the functions I’ve described so far, Logic is playing catchup with at least some other DAW’s. However, Drum Replacement is a function that none of the other DAW’s that we track currently has. If you decide you don’t like the sound of a particular drum in a set of drum tracks you can replace it with a MIDI track that plays a drum loaded into the EXS24 sampler. Here is another YouTube video, which is a reformatted excerpt from our new course, that demonstrates how to do this.

Amp Designer & Pedal Board – Who Needs Amplitube?

Logic also added a couple of goodies for guitarists. In recent years plug-ins like IK Multimedia’s Amplitube and Native Instruments Guitar Rig have become popular for replacing the hardware amplifiers, speakers, and pedals that guitar players have used for a long time. Logic already had the Guitar Amp Pro plug-in, but it’s pretty basic compared to the third-party alternatives. The Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins are a significant upgrade to Logic’s guitar Amp Simulation capabilities Apple also included a good set of Channel Setting presets for these plug-ins. Thus if you aren’t up to designing your own guitar rigs, you can still create killer guitar riffs by using such presets as British Invasion, Honky Tonk Crunch, and Power Pop Chords. Our Listen & Compare section includes an audio demo of the Brit Invasion Crunch preset, so you can judge the audio quality for yourself (This section is currently being updated. So if it’s not there now check back in a couple of days).

Guitar Chord Grid Library & Editor – 4000+ Chords

Logic has also added some enhancements in the Score Editor for chord grid notation. The Chord Grid Library now includes 4000+ guitar chords. And if you still can’t find the fingerings you like, you can always create additional chords grids with the Chord Grid Editor.

The Laundry List

For the record here’s the complete list of major upgrades in Logic Pro 9. As I mentioned earlier, we have also updated the DAW Shootout for Logic 9. The Flex Mode enhancements really didn’t improve Logic’s score that much since in the past most of those functions could also be accomplished using Apple Loops. Nonetheless Logic did pull slightly ahead of MOTU Digital Performer in the ratings. Logic has always been one of the top Digital Audio Workstations, and this upgrade solidifies that position.