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Apple introduced a free update for Logic Pro, adding support for spatial audio and support for the new M1 Pro and M1 Max CPUs.

 

Apple has made good on its promise to bring spatial audio authoring tools to its Logic Pro DAW. Anyone who downloads the version 10.7 update can now create tracks that support the Dolby Atmos-powered format, and thus release them on Apple Music if they wish.

 

Logic Pro 10.7 brings Dolby Atmos to Apple’s DAW: mix your tracks in spatial audio

 

What’s new in Logic Pro 10.7:

 

• Now with a complete set of mixing and rendering tools, Logic Pro allows anyone to author songs as Dolby Atmos music files compatible with Apple Music. Musicians, producers, and mix engineers can expand their stereo projects to the surround channels supported by Dolby Atmos, using new mixer and panner controls.
• In addition, 13 plug-ins within Logic Pro — including Space Designer, Limiter, Loudness Meter, and Tremolo — have also been updated to take advantage of this new creative capability.
• With the new MacBook Pro, musicians also get workstation-class performance for creating massive spatial audio mixes, can quickly load large sample libraries, and can use up to 3x more plug-ins for recording.
• Logic Pro also now comes with all the new Producer Packs1, introduced in GarageBand this summer. The sound library features beats, loops, and samples created producers Boys Noize, Mark Lettieri, Mark Ronson, Oak Felder, Soulection, Take A Daytrip, Tom Misch, and TRAKGIRL.
• Logic users now have access to 2,800 new loops, 50 new kits, and 120 new patches they can use in their own songs — all royalty-free.

 

New “immersive audio” tech, which supports Dolby Atmos, is coming to the Mac DAW later this year

 

New mixer and panner controls have been added to Logic Pro to enables users to access Dolby Atmos-compatible surround channels, and 12 existing Logic plugins, including Space Designer, Limiter, Loudness Meter, and Tremolo, are now Spacial Audio-friendly, as well.

 

The 10.7 update also adds the Producer Packs that landed in GarageBand over the summer – users can now access beats and samples from the likes of Boys Noize, Mark Lettieri, Mark Ronson, Oak Felder, Soulection, Take A Daytrip, Tom Misch, and TRAKGIRL.

 

In addition, you get 2,800 new loops, 50 new kits, and 120 new patches, along with the original multitrack project of Lil Nas X’s Montero (Call Me by Your Name), which includes a Dolby Atmos spatial audio mix of the track.

 

Find out more on the Apple website.

 

Logic Pro 10.7 is available now as a free update for existing users. The price for new users is $200/£175.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apple introduced two new redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops, powered by the M1 Pro and M1 Max. The redesigned MacBook Pro models promises immense performance, expanded connectivity and improved audio.

 

Billed as “the first pro chips designed for the Mac,” the M1 Pro and M1 Mac go beyond the standard M1 in several key respects.

 

The M1 Pro offers an up to 10-core CPU and up to 70% faster performance than the M1, with GPU performance that promises to be up to twice as fast. Memory bandwidth is 200GB/s – that’s getting on for three times that of the M1 – and you can install up to 32GB of RAM (the M1 tops out at 16GB).

 

 

And the M1 Max has greater enhancement; it has the same 10-core CPU as the M1 Pro, but doubles the GPU core count to 32. This is said to equate to four times faster GPU performance than the M1. This chip can handle up to 64GB of RAM, and the memory bandwidth speed is 400GB/s.

 

The M1 Pro features a ProRes accelerator in the media engine – designed for fast and power-efficient video processing – the M1 Max gives you two, so pros can edit even more hi-res streams simultaneously. Apple claims that the new MacBook Pros will maintain their performance levels whether they’re running on mains or battery power.

 

The new MacBook Pro models omit the Touch Bar from the previous generation – the function keys are back in its place; we can’t say we’re sad to see it go – and there’s a Liquid Retina XDR display that features the same mini-LED technology that’s used in the iPad Pro. The display offers ProMotion technology that features an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz.

 

The bezels surrounding the display are now thinner, meaning a larger active area to work/play.

 

The new MacBook Pros:

 

• Feature improved keyboards, “bringing back the familiar, tactile feel of mechanical keys”;
• Eliminate the Touch Bar, a feature that turned out to be a major UI misstep for pro users;
• Bring back MagSafe, a magnetic power connector that can keep your computer from getting ripped to the floor when someone steps on your power cable; and
• Eliminate the need for a lot of dongles, by including a wide range of connectivity options, including HDMI and an SDXC card slot.

 

Connectivity has been enhanced – all new MacBook Pro models come with three ThunderBolt 4 ports, an SDXC card slot, an HDMI port and a headphone jack that now supports high-impedance headphones. As predicted, the MagSafe power cable connector has returned, and the fast charge feature means that you can juice up to 50% in 30 minutes.

 

In addition, other features include a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, an improved array of mics, and a “high-fidelity” six-speaker sound system that promises 80 percent more bass than the one it replaces. Spatial Audio playback is also supported.

 

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros start at $1,999/£1,899 and $2,499/£2,399 respectively. Both of these machines contain the M1 Pro chip – the M1 Max can be selected in either of them if you are willing to pay for it.

 

The new MacBook Pro models with M1 Pro and M1 Max models can be ordered now, and will be shipping from 26 October.

 

Find out more on the Apple website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Daddy Has 100 Synths, by Billy Cardigan, is a new Dr Seuss-style rhyming children’s book that documents the relationship between a synth-obsessed father and his child (sample couplet: “Why do you need to bring your Bass Station/Even when we go on family vacation?”).

 

The book is fully illustrated and features couplets like “This one is polyphonic and has a vocoder! This one was used by Giorgio Moroder.”

 

This toddler-friendly hi-tech tome is the work of Billy Cardigan, one half of musical duo Shy Boyz, and the writer of both previous children’s book My Daddy Has 100 Pedals, and Obtuse Chambers, a collection of short stories about guitar pedals and players.

 

The benefits of reading to your children are well-documented. You can also check out the sample pages from My Daddy Has 100 Synths below.

 

My Daddy Has 100 Synths is available now for $20.