Franz Bieberkopf
Forum Replies Created
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[Kevin Patrick] “I noticed Apple …”
[Bill Davis] “Apple is promoting one of their “flagship” (and highest priced) software products … with a touch of hyperbole …”
Bill,
I don’t know, I see Kevin noting marketing for what it is; I see you calling it hyperbole. So everyone is in agreement? What’s the controversy?
Franz.
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Walter,
I haven’t used it … but that has to change.
Main Stage used to be available only as part of the Logic Pro bundle.
It is essentially a performance tool for musicians – where otherwise you would use a DAW, for instance, to host your instruments, Main Stage hosts instruments and effects, but is entirely configurable and stage-friendly.
I’ll quote from the CDM article I linked to in the other thread:
… the big news here is that, with MainStage unbundled from Logic, it’s in a whole new product category. It could be a viable option for Mac owners wanting to control plug-ins and hardware from a streamlined setup, even if they’re not Logic fans. And that could open MainStage to new audiences using other DAWs. … The idea is great: make a simple, straightforward app that gets you actually playing instruments on your computer with minimum fuss.
… relevant for the “new category” comment (though that should be argued).
Add to this that you’re getting all of Apple’s top quality instruments (previously hundreds of dollars) and FX (see FCPX audio) – all for 30.00. If you have a Mac, a midi controller, and an audio interface, you’ve got a “high end” instrument set-up.
Franz.
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[Walter Soyka] “I think the comparisons between FCPX and Aperture are very interesting …”
Also the move to sell mainstage (with libraries) for 30.00 … That’s pretty astounding and will have a huge impact on wide use. (And if they develop a version for the ipad, …)
Franz.
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[Walter Soyka] “Apple created the category.”
Walter,
While I think this is largely true, some allowance should be made for Adobe Bridge which, according to wikipedia, was released at least half a year prior to Aperture.
Franz.
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[Craig Seeman] “I’d guess that Logic is getting a ground up rewrite.”
Craig,
I suspect they’re trying to get rid of those difficult, inflexible “tracks” as well as re-branding the concept of “busses” as “roles”. That kind of work can take longer than expected.
Franz.
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I thought that the following comment, from user “apoclypse” at ars technica was particularly germane:
Logic’s UI was overhauled for version 8 and the ground work was laid out for 64-bit support but the core of the application is still stuck in the 90’s. Logic has bugs in it that have been there for years that haven’t gotten addressed. The way Logic handles the audio buffer is old-school at best and there is need of some serious revisiting of the AU implementation to support or match what is going on in the VST3/Cubase world at the moment. Not to mention that Logic still isn’t using the more modern apis that Apple introduced over the last few years like Grand Central (clearly since not all things in Logic use all cores and Logic multi-core performance is generally shoddy at best), or opencl. FCPX on the other hand has been rebuilt from the ground up to use these new apis and technologies and it is the better for it.
Right now Logic still has to reload the engine when switching between multiple open projects, the same for when you change the buffer settings. Every other DAW I use (Reason, Live, Studio One, REAPER), can change the buffer size at will without having to wait until the tracks reload their plugins. Logic in general is pretty crashtastic, the AU-bridge crashes consistently. logic still relies too heavily on the environment for simple things like adding an arpeggiator to a track. Why the hell is the pitch and time machine still a post process? I love Logic, I have been using it since version 5, but I’m tired of having to deal with the crashes and and silly bugs that haven’t been addressed in years. Especially when you have the other DAW makers actually stepping up their game. Studio One is awesome and has features that we have yet to see in Logic. Cubase has some really great features that I would love to see in Logic, Even AVID is getting their head in the game (though they are extremely late).
What makes Logic popular is price. Frankly, Logic is the best bang for buck DAW on the market, at $200 its a not brainer for Mac musicians. That still doesn’t make it great, its just okay at what it does. Apple seems to be fine with middle of the raod feature implementations (Flex while cool as a UI concept has crappy timestretch algo’s imo, tends to breakup faster than Live’s implementation, imo).
Those observations ring true (in both their appreciation and frustration) – anyone who has used any of Apple’s pro apps through the years can, I’m sure, recognize certain themes.
Franz.
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Mark,
There seems to be some discussion of this in the comments to the linked articles.
I believe the way it will work is continued updates via “Software Update” for current installs; App Store updates for new purchases.
Or this might be the “end of support” for the version you have and you only get updates if you upgrade (ie purchase new).
Franz.
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Christian,
Interesting … clip connections in a traditional track environment?
What other heresy might follow?
Franz.
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[Craig Seeman] “I thought the general consensus on the forum (with a few exceptions) is that Apple’s objective was to piss off professionals.”
Craig, … you’re trying pretty hard there. Franz.
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David,
From the linked promo page:
“Final Cut Pro offers unlimited cutaway shots …”
I mean, think of the possibilities!
Franz.