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The real draw now is Apple Silicon support. MacBook Pro with Touch Bar will find Touch Bar support welcome, bringing the ability to control various aspects of editing as well as using it to play certain virtual instruments, but now that the Touch Bar has effectively been discontinued by Apple it’s going to be a feature only users of older Mac laptops can enjoy. Some of the advanced features are initially hidden, but it only takes a couple of clicks to get them up and running. It’s a breath of fresh air for long-time usersĮase of use: GarageBand and Logic share a very similar, elegant layout, so if you like the way the free version works then you’ll be right at home with its bigger brother. The Step Sequencer is likely the most ‘fun’ way to create music in Logic, though, letting users turn pre-programmed beats and sounds on and off with a click, and the “old school” Piano Roll functionality is rolled into it, too. Whichever Mac you’re using, you’ll gain access to Flex Pitch for tweaking pitch, Smart Tempo for keeping your software instruments in lock step with each other, and Sampler can turn your MIDI keyboard into, well, a fully-fledged sampler. For those with cinematic aspirations, the move to Apple Silicon has meant that users can create dynamic Spatial Audio mixes within Logic, even on a laptop like the new MacBook Pros. It can hold one thousand tracks per project, too, meaning if your Mac has the memory, the sky really is the limit. It offers a huge number of pro features that you won’t find in GarageBand, including components like Live Loops and a Step Sequencer. Read more: GarageBand for iPad & iPhone reviewįeatures: Logic is Apple’s premiere music creation tool, and for good reason.
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Supported third-party hardware: Core-Audio devices and MIDI controllers. Supported third-party plugins: Audio Units. Supported formats: AIFF, CAF, WAV, AAC (except protected AAC files), Apple Lossless, MIDI and MP3. Mixing, however, remains a weak spot, with no traditional mixing console view that can make setting levels a little slower than you’d find in the likes of Logic. There’s even a suite of music lessons, both for guitar and piano, and artist lessons that feature the likes of Rush and Fall Out Boy that’ll have you playing (and recording) megahits in no time.
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It also offers a sound library featuring a huge variety of software instruments and pre-made packs from the likes of Mark Ronson, as well as iOS and iPadOS companion apps that add to the ways you can create.Įase of use: All of Garageband’s features are readily accessible from the get-go, and you can find even more if you dig just beneath the surface. Not only has Apple’s free option grown into an excellent DAW, it’s got a surprising amount of depth and utility, allowing for up to 256 tracks.
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Features: While GarageBand’s nature as a pack-in may dissuade you from considering it as a professional audio suite, we’d recommend giving it a try.
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