Logic Pro

[Toets]

What makes logic pro the perfect Daw for you on OSX?
And what doesn’t live up to your expectations?

[Passing Bye]

It's not perfect DAW, there's no such an thing.

[Toets]

It's not perfect DAW, there's no such an thing.

Thats the question and the answer...

But can you also explain why Logic is not perfect for you?

[andypryce]

Needs a new or updated sampler and drum machine. Current ones are from 1950s.

[Toets]

Needs a new or updated sampler and drum machine. Current ones are from 1950s.

So that won’t be a problem if you use kontakt and other vst’s?

I agree tough that many of the build in instrument have atleast strange looking interfaces,,..

[andypryce]

Yes there are great alternatives but having integrated ones have advantages over using 3rd parties.
Like Studio One has an option to send a file from browser or arrangement to it's sampler and drum machine. Ableton Simpler/Drum Rack etc. You can not have that integration with a 3rd party device. Logic has that option for EXS 24 too but the device itself is so left behind. So to have these options with more modern devices would be great. Other than that it is mostly great and have great cpu performance compared to others.

[jonljacobi]

It's cheap, it does everything, has great instruments and FX, It's a little finicky for lack of a better word. Odd in spots. Perhaps overly-complicated in some aspects. I don't agree that it needs a new sampler or drum machine. It needs updated interfaces for the ones it has.

[antic604]

I've no idea, because I don't and never will use Apple stuff, but I hear Logic is extremely well optimised and incredible bang for the buck, too. So what's not to like?

[Ploki]

So that won’t be a problem if you use kontakt and other vst’s?

I agree tough that many of the build in instrument have atleast strange looking interfaces,,..

i don't like NI. also unlike ultrabeat, no other external sampler saves samples with the project. (horrible)

to answer your original question: (problems)
- lingering PDC/bus bug (ewww)
- PDC doesn't work on metering/GUI (makes metering hard if you hit 1000ms of latency)
- outdated environment
- horrid midi routing (you can assign a port to an instrument)
- outdated FX (ub, exs, voc transformers, all synths pretty much)
- no midi out from AUs, not midi-in for AUs on audio strips
- no 32bit fp file support on arrangement (truncating to 24bits is just dumb)
- waveform display is still non-retina (wtf?)

why it is perfect:
- i'm very fast with editing with logic
- love the mixer/routing
- love some of the built in FX
- it's stable, auto-save is great, can't remember last time i actually lost work

[Brother Greg]

I use Logic Pro’s player-piano-style scroll for composing, and I find it clearer and easier to use than the ones available for Reaper and Cubase. I can’t speak for others out there I haven’t tried. But for this reason alone, I stick with Logic Pro. Also, it’s nice that updates come for free. Tracks are easy to set up and offer a lot of options for all kinds of controls, including ones from other companies’ software. I’ve never had a problem using other companies’ plug-ins on Logic Pro.

As for included instruments, Logic Pro’s Alchemy and Sculpture are very powerful, with Sculpture being wonderfully weird. Alchemy allows blending of samples and oscillators, and it offers an incredible array of excellent presets and samples to get started with. Otherwise, I find Logic Pro’s synthesizers dated-looking and off-putting to use. The ESX sampler is clunky compared to the samplers found just about anywhere else; it’s horizontal black band for setting up controllers/modifiers/modulators has always scared the hell out of me.

Some of the effects are surprisingly good. I find myself relying on its compressor/limiter combination a lot, and the delay designer effect is quite powerful. The channel EQ is excellent, having evolved over time. The de-esser has also improved. I used to use the vocal transformer a great deal, too, but have replaced it with effects from Meldaproduction. An interesting couple of multi-effects (Phat FX and Step FX) have been added in the last couple of years. Other effects seem serviceable but haven’t grabbed me as much, and I’ve switched to using ones from Meldaproduction instead.

In short, for composing, I find Logic Pro works great. It’s a mature DAW. It has all the tools needed to get started creating music, and it makes room any outside ones I bring in. It’s deep enough that after years of use, I still find surprises in its capabilities. I only recently realized it offers a per-track arpeggiator and a per-track overriding envelope. If I were doing EDM, with an eye toward live performance, or if I were just mixing and matching music loops and drum loops, I imagine other DAWs might be more suitable. I don’t really know.

[Yorrrrrr]

I like it very much, however I cannot adjust to its workflow. I find it slow and clunky. When I return to Ableton Live, it's like a breath of fresh air. So, I use it mainly for mixing. Live for creation. Together, they're a great combination.

[Winstontaneous]

There's a lot to like in Logic...
- great-sounding instruments/FX
- Drummer!
- excellent take/comping workflow and pitch correction
- really efficient when using just builtin plugins
- Logic Remote for iOS devices

And then...
- lousy PDC
- worst plugin window handling of any DAW I've used, and window workspace presets don't remember state
- no support for most common MIDI keyboards/control surfaces
- least reliable AU host I've encountered
- flat design with small thin Helvetica font and lots of wasted empty space in re-designed plugins...zero consideration given to usability/accessibility
- no native plugin container device (channel presets aren't the same)
- PITA to manually assign buses to newly-added channels without resorting to workarounds
- no easy way to always record master output as audio in realtime without workarounds (not talking about rendering/bouncing)

[Cinebient]

There is a lot to like (and dislike) but as start it is just the best bang for money from all music tools i can imagine for me.
Alone Alchemy and Sculpture are worth it alone for me. Nothing like it elsewhere.
Everything else is a giant bonus for me.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Alchemy and Sculpture are worth it alone for me. Nothing like it elsewhere.
Everything else is a giant bonus for me.

Buy Alchemy 2, get a full DAW for free

[Cinebient]

Alchemy and Sculpture are worth it alone for me. Nothing like it elsewhere.
Everything else is a giant bonus for me.

Buy Alchemy 2, get a full DAW for free

I just wish they would add the autosampler to Logic and i would have not go the way trough Mainstage.
Also i actually like the sound design and presets which comes with Logic.
Mostly no one talks about DAW stock synths/instruments and presets but i like the one in Logic more than from most third party tools. Logic team has some really good sound designers on board.
Oh and i just like the Logic arp, simple but my favorite still mostly for live input.
Add to that all the other good instruments and FX (especially ChromaVerb is another favorite here), amp designer, drummer etc. etc. and last but not least it works great together with my iOS devices.