You need to use Logic Pro for iPad.

If you’ve made music of any kind, Logic Pro is definitely a household name to you. Logic is my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) of choice, and the DAW I learned how to record & mix with.

And just like any piece of technology, Logic is evolving, and I think there is an opportunity here for producers and musicians with Logic Pro for iPad.

Being the geek that I am, I was an early adopter of Logic Pro for iPad. I have had the DAW downloaded on my M2 iPad Pro since it released in May 2023, and guys — it’s only getting better!

If you’re a musician, a producer, or songwriter, I’m telling you that this is the future of mobile recording, and potentially the modern home studio.

Like Logic for Mac - now with touch!

This is the first major change between Logic Pro for iPad and its Mac counterpart — touch!

Interacting with my DAW with touch is a welcomed addition, especially for those of us that don’t want to shell out thousands for a Slate Raven studio setup.

With Logic Pro for iPad, I can simply use my finger (or the Apple Pencil) to edit audio regions, select plugins, send audio to busses, draw MIDI, and more.

As a producer, I love how this removes some of the “engineering” aspect. Simply by introducing touch, I feel “closer” to the music I’m writing.

And not going to lie, moving faders with my hands is pretty cool — not quite Neve console cool, but still pretty cool.

Interfaces simply work

I was blown away when plugging in my iPad to my Focusrite Clarett interface. This is the interface that runs my studio, and for some reason, I didn’t think it was going to work.

Thinking back now, I should’ve known better, because Apple uses Core Audio, their low latency audio processing framework, in iPad. Although I don’t have the same amount of ports that I do on my MacBook, adding a simple dongle and plugging in my interface gives me access to all of the tools that I need to produce on the go.

These days I’m working on making this a compact, mobile studio thanks to the Apogee Jam X interface, which is about the size of a small power bank, and sports a built-in analog compressor.

Technology is wild, y’all.

AuV3 Plugins - they’re improving

The biggest limitation to Logic Pro for iPad since launch in 2023 is 3rd party plugin support. Although the Logic Plugins are great, their amp sims and drum samples leave a lot to be desired for metal musicians.

Professionals are also missing out on their favorite 3rd party plugins on Mac, and sadly, JST, Slate, Neural DSP, Native Instruments, and many others do not make AuV3 equivalents for use with iPad at this time.

You can buy some of the stuff from FabFilter — however get out your wallet, because it’s going to cost you 120 bucks!

From a developer’s perspective, there’s no reason that some, if not all of these plugins, couldn’t be compatible with iPad. JUCE, the major framework for plugins, has a built in compiler for AuV3, so it’s not a technical limitation.

I personally think it has to do with three things:

1. Another product to maintain, which in business terms, means more expense.

2. I don’t believe many professionals are using this platform yet, so demand isn’t high enough yet to justify #1.

3. An App Store problem. Apple is known to put extra restrictions on what goes into the App Store, and this could pose an additional hurdle for not a lot of return.

There is hope though. Some plug-in devs are seizing this opportunity and building for iPad. They’re also making reallygood plugins too.

For example, I’m using the Absylon plugin from Aurora DSP. This is a high-gain guitar amp sim with a built in Impulse Response loader, and it sounds incredible. I’d put this right up there with the STL Tones or ML Soundlabs stuff. On top of that, it was only 7 dollars to own the plugin — no subscription model here.

MIDI Drums

I wanted to make a quick note on midi drums, because as Logic fans know, the “Smash” kit doesn’t quite smash like modern metal requires.

Well, Apple listened and delivered here too. By using the drum machine designer, we can upload our own drum samples to use in our projects. I currently use sounds from the Departure kit from JST as my daily driver, but any set of samples you have will work just fine!

Final Thoughts

Logic Pro for iPad is a viable solution for the bedroom musician, as well as a brilliant songwriting tool for the professional producer. I believe that this platform is removing a layer of “left brain” interference with the addition of touch interaction, allowing our creative “right brain” to immerse us in the process. I think music creators need to pay attention to this as it evolves, and I’m excited to see what plugins, future DAW’s and audio technology are brought to the table, so long as the iPad continues to progress.

Remember, your tools need to work for you, not the other way around.

That’s all I got for today. Have you used Logic Pro for iPad? Leave a comment and let me know.

Stay creative, friends!

Paps.