Logic Pro - Worth it?

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

I’m too’ing and fro’ing over spending £200 on Logic Pro. I use GarageBand at the moment, mainly as a MTR for recording audio (no synths etc).

I’ve been looking at adding a small synth to my rig - MicroKorg FTW - but for less money I could get Logic Pro which has more…stuff.

My main concern is over whether it’ll run satisfactorily on my 2013 MBP, and whether the £80 I’ll save on the MK is worth it for going ‘back in the box’. I’m hardware-focussed for everything and don’t get much of a kick out of programming things on a laptop…

So; is it worth the money? Is it performant (enough) on an older machine?

Thanks for the help, y’all.

#2

Do you have a 13" or 15" MBP? Logic runs fine on my 2012 iMac. It’s an incredible value for what you get, not only in terms of synths but also production capabilities. There’s solid EQs, compressors, effects, etc.; pretty much everything is serviceable, even if some things aren’t best-of-breed. You could make a professional-sounding album from Logic alone.

That said, it may not be worth it for you if you’re not looking to record much and you don’t enjoy using software synths. It’s hard to compare it to something like a MicroKorg, which will give you instant gratification.

If your goal is to record albums, investing in Logic would be a great way to up your game. If your goals revolve more around playing and only occasionally recording sketches, the new synth might be more enjoyable for you.

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#3

Thanks for the reply, @fierywater. I’ve got a 15” MBP - it’s got 8GB RAM in so should be OK to get Logic going.

i think, realistically, I will manage to find frustration in any kind of synth programming so that might be a moot point on my part. As an ex-Logic user (not since version 7, IIRC) I know how powerful some of the synths are and would be more than good enough for what I need. TBH, the audio editing capabilities are a big draw; end to end crossfade edits… YES.

I definitely want to record some music properly and release a couple of EPs this year. GarageBand is probably good enough, but it really stops at track recording…

#4

I will second the overall value you get for $200. Alchemy alone would probably be worth the cost plus the plugins they offer are actually very very good (I use the EQ and the Comp. plugin all the time). I use and have used nearly every DAW on the market and after being forced to use ProTools for a few years I was able to pick my own DAW and Logic X was an easy choice.
The only issue I have with Logic is the “Environment.” It’s very dense and capable but you need to devote serious time to understand and use it to it’s full potential. To be honest, I’m still confused by how it handles MIDI at times so I now avoid it all together and just use the “External Hardware Plugin” on a track for all my MIDI needs.
I wish someone would make a comprehensive, fairly easy to follow tutorial about the Environment but so far I haven’t seen anything that didn’t leave me feeling just as confused as when I started it.
Cheers!

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#5

Also, the “MIDI Transformer” is arguably one of the greatest tools for writing realistic MIDI arrangements I’ve ever used…EVER! It also needs some time to digest it’s full potential but once you are there, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

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#6

Ha! Yes. I remember ‘the environment’. I once tried to progaram some stuff in it to act like a modular FX processor but it quickly got out of hand!

Thanks for the words, too. I’ve used a few of the big DAWs over the years but - even after playing professionally for donkey’s years - never really got ‘into’ the fine, fine details of recording. It’s gotten more serious now because it’s a proper hobby that I and other people seem to enjoy… The output cannot be lazy or half-assed!

I think I’m going to take the plunge, once I’ve cleared enough space on my Mac. It’s not got a huge HD.

#7

I think Logic is completely worth it, it’s a really good deal for what you get, but also I thought I’d let you know you can get Mainstage 3 for $30 and it has all the logic software instruments an fx and whatnot…

There’s no timeline for multitrack recording, it’s setup for live playing and having quick access to software instruments and it has extensive midi control options. It’s actually a pretty sweet program for the hub of a live setup…

I don’t really recommend it over logic, they’re both different for different uses, but for $30 you can have all logic’s plugins so I thought I’d mention it…

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#8

Logic X works great on my 2010 15" MBP

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#9

It will work fine on your MBP. Worth it for mixing tools alone. I wouldn’t bother with the synths if you already have hardware. Just use it as a MTR, audio editor and mixing system.

If you still have the license for 7 why not try it out? I loved 7 and 8. Probably more than X. 9 and X were when Macs started getting shit.

7 and 8 were released around the time that mac went from PPC to Intel. Does 7 still run on current OS? If it does, install it, save your cash and buy a MicroKorg.

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#10

One hot tip: Wait until you see a sale of Apple iTunes cards (we have them here in AUS on a regular basis), and buy the $200 (sorry can;t find pound sign) for 10-20% off and add that to your store credit. Then Logic Pro is a steal!

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#11

Don’t know about Logic, but Ableton Live Suite runs fantastic (running 10 beta now) on my 2009 iMac with Sierra. I suspect Logic would too.

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#12

I ran Logic Pro X fine on a Late 2012 Mac Mini with only 4GB of RAM for a long time. But I don’t use the soft-synths much. I mostly use Logic for editing / finalizing / pseudo-mastering audio. But the plug-in use can get pretty heavy there and it handled things fine.

But the synths should be fine. I mean - the big powerhouse synth built into Logic these days, Alchemy, runs on iPhones and iPads (recent ones only, but still).

(I just barely gave in and upgraded my ram to 16GB. Crying as I did so. Having grown up on a Commodore 64 with only 64K of ram, I don’t want to live in a world where 4GB is not enough! But I guess these are the times we live in. Used to run whole corporate servers on lesser specs than this…)

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#13

MPB2011 8GB Ram with Mac OS Sierre … and I´m recording an album at the moment. Totally love Logic and it´s workflow. Yeah enviroment is a big big mess and such a shame compared to Ableton. But it reminds me to a real mixing desk and the sound especially of 64bit render engine at 96khz is … well I would say 4K :slight_smile:

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#14

Thanks for your input, everyone.

Just about to pull the trigger on it; the mixer and extra audio editing functionality (See: crossfade edits…) is worth it alone for the type of music that I make. Plus Alchemy and the other synths are going to give me some extra sonic colour, too.

Edit. As @sampleNhold said, I hunted down a couple of discounted iTunes vouchers and saved myself £11. Bonus!

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#15

It’s great!

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#16

This thread (particularly someone mentioning The Environment) got me thinking it might be time for me to try using Logic to actually compose and do stuff with my hardware. I’m no fan of the piano roll, but I think tinkering with the MIDI event list could be fun and trying to set up and use my Machinedrum and friends. Heck, may even have to give Overbridge with the Analog 4 another try!

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#17

Any Daw is worth it.
Doesn’t matter which one.
They all have pros and cons.
Best value and most important thing music wise you’ll ever spend money on imo

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#18

Perhaps a close second to Monitors/headphones?

Logic is like the Yamaha HS series of the DAW world, affordable yet surgical.

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#19

Yes you are right, second to good monitors

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#20

haha … would better call Logic the ADAM AUDIO A7X under the DAWs :wink:

There is a hole tread here on Elektronauts about Overbridge in Logic.

Really like the new FM synth / Retro Synths … looks like a DX7 and wonder if an external hardware FM synth like Yamaha Reface DX or Korg Volca FM can sound really different … as both is digital.

But would be nice to talk with you guys about your workflow in Logic X and share some tips & tricks! I´m using Logic since the early days, started with Micro Logic in the mid 90thies after reading an interview with Steve Stoll … so since then - and even after a short holiday break with Ableton … Logic all the way. But never learned any short cuts :smiley: