Think different has been a slogan of both Emagic and Apple over the years. Using Logic, with all it’s customizable options, has always been a portal to unbridled creativity, stretching the imagination with all of the creative possibilities it offers. And now Logic 8. Think different. I can’t remember any single update to Logic in the past fifteen years where there has been such a dramatic change to the basic Logic model and how users will interact with the program. Is it a positive change? Think different. It’s not a yes or no answer. Best I can suggest is, you’re better off not resisting it, not swimming against the current.

 

It’ll be hardest for us old time users to make the shift. I predict that over time, more people will be using Logic in similar ways than ever before. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The new interface offers so many new enhancements with key commands that will be vital to work efficiently, that I, along with many long time users, decided to abandon years of key command customization in favor of starting over with the defaults. There are too many new key commands necessary to fit in. It’s the logical choice at this point. It makes the transition all that much harder though. Short term pain for long term gain. That’s what I keep telling myself as I fumble through my ten page key command list for routine functions I have been doing automatically for years.

 

And so, there will likely be a plethora of hidden tips and tricks, gems to mine, as the power of the new version slowly unfolds and reveals itself over time. I’m going to start today with a small thing.

 

The new Arrange Window takes up a lot of screen real estate that, depending on your work style, can be construed as wasted. The built in Transport Bar at the bottom, and the Tool Bar at the top, while definitely useful, can not be turned off. The space they take can eat in to valuable screen set layouts. I have found two things that help. By control clicking in the Tool Bar and calling up the new Shortcuts menu, you can toggle the Tool Bar view to text only. This will reduce the height taken up by it slightly. At the bottom, despite the fact that the Transport Bar cannot be removed, the entire Arrange Window can be lowered down below the bottom of the screen. It won’t trigger the dock. So, effectively, the Transport Bar can be hidden by lowering out of view. And of course then leaving room to display more tracks.

 

So that’s it for now. Welcome to the brave new world. No need to resist. If it’s not now, it will be later - so you may as well go with the flow rather than putting it off. The change is ultimately inevitable. As long as their is ultimately more that is gained than lost - it’s good. And so far it is good. As long as you don’t resist thinking different.