Apple’s Logic Pro X digital audio workstation got an expansive update yesterday, with the release of Version 10.4. The latest version of Apple's long-standing DAW is free to all current owners and is available now to all new buyers.
The biggest update is the inclusion of what Apple calls Smart Tempo. The new feature’s Automatic setting will sync audio to the set BPM, allowing musicians to record tracks without a metronome—with all their natural variations of tempo—and then snap everything to the beat.
It will be interesting to see if this will sound natural when automatically syncing live instrumentation, or if it will destroy a given vibe, but Smart Tempo will certainly benefit producers and DJs when they want to standardize the tempos of pre-recorded songs or combine samples from various sources
Another feature new to 10.4 is the Chromoverb—a reverb with a colorful chromatic user interface that lets you choose from 14 presets and then sculpt the reverb to apply different amounts to different frequency ranges. This feature can prove useful in creating both natural sounding reverbs and eerie, exaggerated effects if you, for example, apply tons of reverb to only the highest or lowest frequencies.
According to Apple, other new additions include a standalone Mellotron plugin, a Vintage EQ Collection of analog equalizers with period-correct interfaces, the Step FX and Phat FX sequencers and effects packages, and improved string and horn collections with greater control over articulation for more realistic-sounding orchestrations.
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