Apple released a big update to Logic Pro X today, adding Live Loops, a beat sequencer, a revamped sampling tool, and more. Apple calls it the app’s “biggest update” since the music production software launched under its current name, Logic Pro X, in 2013. The new tools are particularly focused on electronic music, hip-hop, and beat making.
The update adds in a pair of music creation tools that have been in GarageBand for several years now that let users quickly start tinkering with beats and sounds. Live Loops allows musicians to create beats out of a series of adjustable loops that can be dragged and dropped around a grid, and a new Step Sequencer feature lets you create beats by programming a pattern that they’ll play on.
These new features could be really helpful for musicians who like to work across both of Apple’s music creation apps. As my colleague Dani Deahl pointed out when signs of these features leaked earlier this year, the inclusion of these tools in Logic should offer “greater flexibility when transferring projects between the two programs” and could help Logic stand out since competing digital audio workstations don’t offer mobile counterparts.
You’ll be able to transfer Live Loops directly between Logic and GarageBand after the new update. Logic’s Step Sequencer offers more options than GarageBand’s Beat Sequencer, so while you can import GarageBand sequences into Logic, they’ll have an expanded set of features available to them once in the pro app.
This update also includes a major revision to Logic’s sampling tool, which has been around for decades. The new tool streamlines the process of building multi-sample instruments, offers new synthesis and modulation features, and has an automatic sampling tool that lets Logic analyze a recording and turn it into a playable instrument. There’s also an auto-sampler feature that can capture the sounds of a connected instrument like a modular synth and turn it into a recorded instrument. Files still save in the same format used by Logic’s older EXS24 sampler and are backward compatible so they can be moved between apps, but some of the new features available in Logic may not be supported elsewhere.
The new version of Logic Pro X, version 10.5, has a number of other updates, including new drum machine tools and updates to its companion app, Logic Remote, that’ll allow users to control tools like Live Loops that are really meant to be used with touch controls. As before, it’s available for $199.99 for new customers or as a free update to existing Logic owners. Apple is currently offering a 90-day free trial as well.
