Logic Pro for iPad

Before I start.

I can't make a video and film myself.

I scared myself when I saw myself, and since I know that what I'm going to say here is going to make a lot of you run away again, there's no point in the others running away when they see my face...

So here we go:

The worst App of the new year.

Do you find this bag pretty? (LV bag)

Who cares?

Pretty or not, it will be sold.

Because if you don't have any taste and you want to show that you belong to a social class, this is the solution. And in every field it will be the same.

Because it reassures some, allows others to show off and others to pretend they belong to a class to which they don't.

No more image...

You can read this text in the comments....

In music and IT in general, we'll add to that the magic word: Pro.

Vision Pro

I sincerely don't think that chatting with your clone in 3D or watching a Disney movie is a business leader's priority.

But with the word Pro, we'll be able to sell at a very high price something that already exists and is in no way innovative.

So we were treated to Cubasis 3, which is frankly one of the worst DAWs on IOS.

And now Logic Pro.

Logic Pro isn't so bad, but its workflow is a nightmare.

What's more, for someone like me who comes from Protools (the only software you'll find in a Pro studio... over 1000$ a day without a technician...) having to open a window to edit an audio track, and only one at a time, is a complete nonsense.

But that's not the worst of it, because everyone has the right to work with the software or App they want. On the other hand, I have no right to advise you to buy an App like Cubasis. That would be intellectually dishonest as we have better on iOS.

Now let's talk about the worst:

1: Subscriptions...

When Adobe "invented" this system, over 20 years ago now, we were all against it. But then we got used to it. We also accepted that Adobe had the right to have a police force that, like customs officers, could enter any company to check that licenses had been paid for.

All of them, but not me.

I didn't accept.

I stopped using Première.

And l'II never pay for a subscription.

-

I didn't get into music to make money, even though unfortunately I did a lot of that.

If I'd wanted to make money, I wouldn't have said goodbye to my family 40 years ago and taken over one of their advertising companies.

I totally understand developers, but if you're interested in making money, make games.

That's what I did, and made a lot of money in 5 minutes. At the same time, it wasn't the same era and was lucky enough to be the first hit on the iPhone...

-

Well, all that to say that I'm absolutely against subscriptions.

But here, with Logic, it's worse

than that...

2

To use it, you need an internet connection.

I don't know why you work on an iPad.

But I do know why I switched.

Because as well as being my coffee tray, I could use it anywhere.

On a plane, in a hospital, on a lost island, anywhere...

And that's what I did.

I paid off my first iPad the day I bought it. If I'd had Logic at the time, I wouldn't have been able to because I was on a film shoot in a remote place with no Internet...

Back then, there were very few Apps, but that didn't stop me from making albums, doing music for ads, working...

It didn't stop Blur from making an iPad-only album.

Apps are great, but in a way, who cares? It doesn't matter to it that we make music.

Sergeant Peppers was made on an 4-track...

But there's one thing I don't care about.

It's my values and ethics...

And frankly, j'ai mal à mon Apple (French will understand...)

I don't think they need the money that badly.

I don't think their need for money is driving them to erase the only interesting thing about music on iOS.

Make music where you want, when you want, and bring yourself a cup of coffee!

So I'II continue to use n-track with joy and no regrets.

Without regret, because I find it much better than Logic Pro.

With joy, because it comes from an independent developer and the day I really need something, I can ask them.

And that's the first reason why I chose to switch to iPad.

OK, it's not exactly a new development, as it has already released quite a few Apps for IOS and Mac, but they weren't plugins. (There's quite a lot. You can check it out...)

https://www.strongsoft.co.uk/iPhone_products.html

If you've read "The Worst App of 2023", you'll know the first reason why I switched to iOS.

That a developer could be reached.

(Let me be clear. Every time an app comes out, I send an e-mail to the developer. Most of the time, they're super cool and send me their Apps, plus codes for you. It also happens that I get negative responses (due to my lack of YouTube views) and sometimes no response at all. Nothing...

So I send another email. Actually, two emails. The second to technical support, (from a secret email address) where I pretend to have a problem.

If I don't get a reply, I'm going to classify this developer as a pestifer.

I also ask them to be responsive in case of bugs.

(I've been a professional since I was 17. I've been making a living from music for almost 40 years now, although since COVID it's been a real nightmare here in Thailand, since priority has been given to Thai musicians and all the foreign production companies have closed down... But I totally understand, and anyway, I'm their guest (and I'm undocumented) so I have nothing to say, and if I'm not happy, I'll leave...)

So for this first point, no problem.

None at all, since I had a display bug with SS VC1 that was immediately corrected.

So perfect!

The second point is the sound. Processing quality and color.

I'm an old guy. When I started making music, we recorded on Studers. Everything was analog, and we spent our time making everything cleaner and clearer,

Today, everything is digital and I spend my time making everything dirty.

It's really a matter of taste, but I hate digital sound. I don't know if you remember the Yamaha 01v and those that followed, but I fucking hate that sound...

So for me, either an effect is transparent or it warms up.

(That's why you'll never hear me use an App from Bleass or Audio Damaged.

But then again, to each his own.)

SS-PE06 6 Band Parametric EQ

I love this eq. I love how it responds in the low frequencies. It has a tendency to warm up the lows and in the highs is pretty transparent. One thing's for sure at high frequencies, it doesn't have that digital thing I hate.

So frankly, for me, in terms of processing, it really has nothing to envy Fabfilter or any other eq 2 or 3 times more expensive.

As for the UI, it's perfect too. There's a spectrum analyzer, and the settings are visible (which I prefer...).

So for me, this eq is perfect, and if you're in the habit of watching my videos, you can see that since I've got it, I've used it much more often than a Fabfilter or similar.

SS VC1 Compressor

This compressor is super transparent. Very responsive. I love it.

You can see the envelope and the gain. There's a lock ahead too (love it).

The UI is very nice and adjustable.

So honestly, it's a top!

SS F1v

A Flanger.

As an ex-punk and ex-new wave, let me tell you that in my youth, the Flanger was even more important than my amp, or my pick, or even my guitar.

(Like the Chorus, by the way).

But I've grown up, or rather aged, and I have to admit that I don't use a flanger very often any more. Almost never.

Well, that was before I discovered this one.

So OK, it's a Flanger, but one that's really thought through so differently that it's almost no longer a Flanger. No, it isn't that. It's much more than a Flanger. It's a Flanger with something else.

Well, I can go on and on like this, and it's a bit silly as you've got the video just below...

For the rest, as usual.

Superb UI.

Beat Scholar

Okay, there haven't been many Drum machine / Sequencer releases in the middle of the year. I think none at all. So, some might think: "too easy".

Think again, because it's going to be hard to match. Surpass, I have a big doubt as there is little or even nothing to complain about and to spoil nothing, its Sequencer is unique, original and can be used to control another App.

1 The Drum Machine (Sampler)

1 The Drum Machine

Before going into the list of features, I'll start with what it doesn't have: Layers.

So no velocity layers, round robins or anything else.

What does that mean?

That it won't be the best drum machine for acoustic drums (I'm not talking about the Sequencer part).

Parenthesis closed.

On to the rest...

16 Pads, so 16 instruments with the ability to import your own samples.

A sample can be played mono or stereo, one shot or not.

Each instrument has its own effects rack including:

Pitch and Fine Tune, Attack & Dampp, HPF, Cutoff, Reso, Drive, Compressor and Crush.

It is not finished...

A Reverb with a Room Size setting, a Distortion and a Gain.

Still not finished as we have an Aux send...

The effects included in the auxiliary are:

Cutoff, Resonance, Crush and Compressor.

Finally, there is a multi-output function, which would have been prohibitive for me without it.

To conclude, this is certainly the best Drum Machine we have on iOS.

2 The Sequencer

16 tracks

A pattern can be settled like that:

4/4 or 1 to 32/4 or 1 to 32/2,4,8 or 16.

For each of the pattern we have a A/B mode.

A step can be divided into 42 slices.

Each slice can play a different instrument.

I hope this description is clear enough for you to appreciate the power of this innovative Sequencer.

By the way, I've just remembered a comment:

Can you place an event out of the grid?

No, but if we consider that we can have 32 steps and that each of these steps can be divided into 45 steps, which gives us a total of 1445 steps, perhaps the right answer would be yes. (I also just remembered that I forgot to answer. Sorry, I may answer holding....)

What's more:

A swing option, a Dice with few options. (Velocity, Instruments, Slices,...)

Unlimited Undo & Redo and MIDI out.

A well-stocked sample and pattern library.

To conclude:

For acoustic drums, there is not on iOS Drum Machine as powerful as a sampler like AudioLayer or Decent Sampler (knowing that Decent Sampler doesn't have a Multi Output feature)

But there are few tricks to fake a multi layers Drums that I will show you soon.

For the sequencer now.

There is no drum sequencer as powerful as this one.

Playbeat and Octachron?

Playbeat is certainly the closest but can't do as much as Beat Scholar.

Octachron is different. It is more like a Lumbeat App. (Playbeat also but I prefer much more Octachron for this purpose. I will explain why soon.)

To conclude my conclusion,you can buy it with your eyes closed!

Phonolyth Cascade

This beginning of year, we had 2 beautiful Reverbs. Crystalline by Baby Audio and Photolyth Cascade by Yuri Turov.

So why did I choose Cascade, you ask?

In a very short time, I really got used to it.

You can watch this video above if you haven't seen it already.

I find the available settings very well thought-out. The fact that you can modulate the feedback or delay is also something I love.

So that's why I use it, knowing that both have superb processing quality.

My other reverbs are:

Velvet Machine, also by Yuri Turov.

SparkVerb, which I use mainly for snares, and Thafknar for impulse responses.

King of FM

Xinematix

Well, you'll certainly find my choice a little curious, given that the 2 winners aren't really Synthetizers. More like expanders.

Xinematix and King of FM.

So why this choice?

First of all, it's the sound of these 2 Apps. Each in a very different register has unstoppable presets (sounds). The funny thing is that both use the same principle of mixing layers. 2 for King Of FM and 3 for Xinematix.

So very few settings for each of these 2 Apps. An ADSR, effects, a sequencer for King Of FM and, of course, the ability to mix layers.

The second reason why I chose these 2 Apps is that I have a problem with Synthetizers. Well, here's my opinion, which is my own.

There are lots of Synthetizers, and in a way that's normal, because in a way it's not very creative to create a Synth. Let me explain. If you look at all the Synthetizers out there, you're bound to find something that none of them have. Tomorrow, I can create a synthesizer from animal sounds. Nature sounds, water,...

So whenever a Synthetizer comes out, I'll see if I can recreate it in Drambo (using other Apps). And most of the time, I succeed...

I won't go into too much detail on this subject, as I'll have to talk about it again very soon...

So, here's my pick of the best Synthetizers in the middle of the year.

Oh yes, I almost forgot.

A special mention for SUBscription Synth, which has something I've never seen before.

(You can watch the video)

Also, King of FM is Free!!!!

KQ Voice Plug-ins

KQ Voice Plug-ins are a Vocoder and a Pitch Shifter.

(I have to make the videos....)

But that's not all...

(I don't think "not only" was intended in the design of this App. That the developer needed utilities to create his vocoder and, once created, added them to his App. I don't know if that's the reason, but in any case, it's pretty cool for us since it gives us 5 Apps instead of one...)

So KQ Voice Plug-ins is also a denoiser.

This denoiser is very good even if it doesn't rival that of Klevgrand or n-track, but it does the job superbly.

(Video below)

An audio bus, a bit like Audiobus or IAA, only better...

4 stereo buses and a Mixer.

Why better?

Because I can place it wherever I want on one of my tracks. Before effects, in the middle, at the output...

Anywhere.

(Video below)

The MIDI bus is also very practical, as it lets you choose which MIDI you want to send to an App (just like the audio bus). Let me explain...

If I have a MIDI track in Drambo that I want to send to n-track, I won't be able to choose it because n-track will receive all the MIDI out from Drambo. With KQ Voice Plug-ins, no problem...

In conclusion, this App is a Must Have, a Killer App, a game changer and will certainly save you an enormous amount of time one day.

Before I start, I must remind you that I'm only talking about effects released before July 2023, and that the reason I'm mentioning it here is that there's an effect I love, a new developer I love, but who only started releasing his Apps in July.

I'm talking about OSC Audio and its sumFX Multi FX and another effect I'll tell you about soon...

So, having said that, my favorite effects in the middle of 2023 are..:

"Are", yes, there are 2, for audio effects::

Beep Street's Combustor and GSDSP's MagicFusion and GSDSP MMM for MIDI.

GSDSP MMM

I don't really use MMM, since I work with Drambo, but if I remember when I was still on AUM, I used to use LK's X/Y Pad all the time, which is great, but not as great as MMM.

With MMM you can modulate all your audio effects.

An aside.

We often talk about modulation for synthetizers, certain effects like filters, but modulation of effects, of all effects, is the thing that will make your mix personal. Much more than modulating the layer of one of your Synthetizers.

This is one of the reasons why audio editors always convert effects to audio tracks.

For Synthetizers....

Why do you buy a Synthetizer in real life? (Hardware)

For one reason only.

The sound! You get 10 of them if you can afford them, and you know what they're for. For what kind of sound. And above all, we know what they can and can't do. Like a guitar...

(I don't care about the characteristics of the latest Akai Sampler, because I'll choose an EMU anyway, because I prefer its sound).

I don't care if my Synthetizer has a good delay or a good reverb, because in 99% of cases I wouldn't use them.

So okay, we use plugins here.

We've got all the synthesizers we want and we've got tones. We've got at least thirty free ones alone. (More maybe. I don't have a count...)

Do I have to learn them all by heart?

Are you crazy !!!!

No way!

I know Drambo and Mela 4 by heart.

The others, the day I make my video...

Then I clean the cash from my brain, put everything in its trash and empty it.

A note here:

I'm not a blogger. Never try to get you to buy an App. Never read a manual. Have never taken a lesson in drums, guitar, piano, bass or sitar, which have been my instruments for 40 years.

I work a bit opposite to what all your bloggers show you.

So for me, a synthesizer is pretty basic.

I press a key. Load 2 or 3 presets. If I like what I hear, I keep it. If I don't like it, I delete it.

How did it make that sound?

I don't care.

How does it modulate it?

I don't care.

For me there's only one thing that matters.

Go fast when I create. Because I have to go as fast as the ideas come into my brain. And fast when I'm working for someone, because time is money.

So if I take a Synthetizer, it's because I like its bass, I like that it's x layers,...

The rest I won't use because I can't remember how all the Synthetizers I have work. I don't have the time or the memory in my brain to do it.

So, if I want to modulate a Synth, I'll take an App to do it. I know this App by heart and it will work for all my Synths, all my effects. For everything...

And with MMM you've got the best. And it's free!

Combustor

Combustor?

It's the best!

I don't think there are many Protools users here. But if there are, I don't know if you remember this plugin (I've forgotten its name). It was part of the pack of plugins you got when you bought a Protools "Pro" on chassis (there were no other Protools at the time). This blue plug-in...

Well, it was my favorite plug-in.

I abused it...

Well, with Combustor, I feel like I've got it back.

Only better!

I love Combustor!

So easy to use. Use it on everything to do everything.

From the effect to the Synthetizer.

I don't know its price. I don't even know what it's supposed to be used for, having as usual not read the app store description. But here goes. For me, this is a plug-in to put in the top 10, 5,...

GSDSP MagicFusion

Well, it's much the same.

I still haven't made a video showing you how it's really used. A vocoder, having only discovered this when I went to get its artwork from the app store.

(I'll make a video soon...)

Why do I think it's great?

Because it lets you work with 2 audio sources and manipulate them as you like. Modulate them as you like. Well, it's a GSDSP plug-in so, as with all their effects, you can use all sorts of LFOs that interact with each other.

And frankly, once again, I don't think there's a Synthetizer that will let you do that....

Well, that's my choice!