Once in a while a piece of technology comes along that I feel was specifically made for me. It makes everything it's supposed to do easier and faster, and that usually means better and cheaper as well. But I don't think I've ever had that happen to me twice by the same product until now. A few years ago I purchased Logic Pro 7 which completely changed the way I wrote music. It allowed me to focus on the sounds and rhythms not the knobs and buttons. It was such a revolutionary change that I can't remember the last time I wrote something down on staff paper.
Fast forward to two months ago when I upgraded to Logic 9 (and a new MacBook Pro and display). Within two hours of firing it up I fell in love with making music all over again. I would say Logic 9 has not only improved the quality of the sound of my tracks and forced me be even more creative, but it literally gave me back hours (possibly days) of my time. And of course time is money, etc, etc…
The multi-take recording/editing is the single best feature in my mind. There have been other programs that provide similar features but none that have made it so easy for the musician to pick and choose which parts of which take you want. I'm not the greatest guitar player, but having that live sound (versus samples) is something I feel adds so much more to a track. I usually get the lick I want when all is said and done, but most of the time it happens on say the 3rd take or maybe parts of different takes. Recording, stopping, cutting, pasting, rerecording….all gone. All I have to do is play the part over and over again as many times as I like and then move a slider over the sections of each take I want to use. This is also extremely useful when recording vocals where I miss one pitch on one section. I can snag it easily from another take. The best thing about that is, most of the takes happen one right after another, so there's limited issues with the small nuances that occur because I stop and pause for a moment. (Such as not matching the tone of my previous take). I can't express how much time and sanity that has saved me. Logic 9 is worth it for that upgrade alone.
It's also worth mentioning (although I don't use it to its full potential) the new flex-time has saved me both time and my voice. When recording a vocal I really don't worry anymore about nailing a certain release or entrance. If it is slightly off, I just shift it over. I don't have to re-sing it multiple times until I get it right. This is very helpful when trying to record harmony parts and matching articulations.
As someone trained on traditional instruments, Logic 9 (Studio) seems like it was made so that I, personally, would be able to use the skills I have and produce amazing tracks. I'm looking forward to having it be a major player in the creation of my album due out next year.