First Peak: Apple Updates Logic Pro And Express.

I’ve owned and loved Logic since before Apple owned Logic (they purchased Logic owner Emagic five years ago in July). Among audio tools, Logic is considered one of the best, and a rival to the popular ProTools.

With the update to Logic Studio, Apple stakes out new turf and familiar turf. Even if you know nothing about Logic, the audio production workspace, you’ve seen some of what it does.

Logic’s audio technology showed up in Garageband a few years ago, making it the single most capable audio production tool ever to ship with a Mac—for free.

Logic Studio and Logic Express are the latest Apple software tools for professionals and pro-sumers to create audio production master pieces that are unparalleled on a Mac.

Apple has set a trend with their professional applications. For example, FinalCut Studio is a complete non-linear audio and video production suite. FinalCut Express is the basic video editor and production tool for those with less money, and fewer needs.

Logic Studio contains nearly every audio component you can think of to create music masterpieces, going far beyond the capabilities of Garageband or Soundtrack Pro 2, included in FinalCut Studio.

What’s next? Aperture Express? Maybe. Apple’s Aperture is a professional level photo management tool that extends well beyond iPhoto and competes with Adobe’s Lightroom. Many Mac users have gained experience and photo manipulation needs beyond iPhoto. Maybe there’s an Aperture Express waiting with the first release of Aperture Studio.

I’m dreaming of the future. The here and now is Logic Studio and Express, waiting to take you and your music beyond Garageband.

The original Logic came with a USB dongle. It’s gone. All that’s required now is the serial number to make Logic play. Also new is the single-window design. Gone, too, are the on-screen palettes that always got lost in the window shuffle.

Everything else appears to be new, too, including production-ready templates in Logic Pro 8 (included in the Studio suite), and the ability to save key commands and channel strip settings and plugins to your .Mac account. That’s handy for musicians on the go.

I’ll do a more extensive, detailed look at Logic Studio once it can be put into use, but what you’ll see in Logic Studio (and less so in Logic Express) are professional audio mixing and effects capabilities that would have cost tens of thousands of dollars just a decade ago.

It isn’t just a tool for multitrack audio recording (music or voice or loops or whatever). There’s precision track editing, and a graphic surround sound tool to take your current audio tracks and move them into the pro level.

IF you love to write music, Logic Pro is a writing studio—capture and develop the music in your head, and bring it to a CD (maybe to the iTunes Store?).

Logic Studio is made up of a number of components, perfect for studio production. MainStage is the component that lets musicians perform right along with software instruments. If your band is missing a drummer, not problemo—add one via MainStage.

Audio post-production is handled with a Logic version of Soundtrack Pro 2, the audio sweetening component in FinalCut Studio. Add multiple tracks, add loops, add instruments, add video, mix out to a final production, or share with a FinalCut production.

Also new in Logic Studio is the Studio Instruments component. 40 instrument plug-ins integrate into Logic Pro 8 and MainStage. For the musical designer there’s Studio Effects which can enhance productions with another 80 professional effect plug-ins.

It appears as if Apple has taken the old Logic Pro application, sliced and diced some of the plug-ins and effects, gave them new capabilities and a new name.

That’s fine by me. More is better, and Logic costs less money than it did a decade ago and even five years ago.

Make sure your Mac has a healthy DVD player because it’ll get a workout with the Studio Sound Library. Remember those Jam Packs for Garageband? About $100 each? Studio Sound Library contains five of the Jam Pack collections with re-designed content to work better with Studio Instruments and Effects.

Wait. There’s more. Apple included 18,000 royalty-free loops to further whet your creative appetite. 1,300 EXS instrument samples, 2,400 Channel Strip settings and 600 royalty-free surround sound channel strip settings.

As if that’s not enough, other tools from the FinalCut Studio suite also show up in Logic. The Apple Loops Utility, Compressor, WaveBurner, and a new Impulse Response Utility.

If Garageband is limiting your creative field and you’re itching for more, look closely at Logic Studio. Just like FinalCut Studio, it’s packed with value and features and components that are sufficient quality to drive audio production for a movie, or a complex music video you make yourself. Or, just your first CD.

Just as Apple did with FinalCut Studio, they did with Logic Studio—lots of demo features for each component and a fully video tour. The price tag to produce professional quality audio and video is lower today. The only barrier is your desire to create.