Should I Upgrade to Logic Pro 9 (Logic Studio 2) Yet?

Is Logic Pro 9 and Logic Studio 2 a worthwhile and safe upgrade to make right now? Also, do the new features warrant the upgrade price? In a word, yes. But be warned, there are some exceptions that may slow you down and have the potential to crash your projects. I know it sounds like a show-stopper, but it's really not if you know how to handle old projects and a new system. I'll share my experiences that should lend a hand in your decision to upgrade.

Maybe you're like me. Maybe you find yourself knee-deep in projects in Logic 8 and you don't want to waste any time adjusting to changes in a system. But maybe you're also like me in that you are just too damn excited by the new features in Logic Pro 9 (detailed in my article here and briefly on Apple's website here) that you can't help yourself. Don't worry, if you stick to the formula your projects should be safe.

Separate Installations/ Backups. First and foremost, back everything up. Back everything up. Back everything up.Is that enough of a warning? Good, it's crucial to testing your projects in Logic 9. I'll refrain from shouting, but trust that this is an extremely important step. If something goes wrong, you'll want to be able to revert to a previous state and this is the easiest way. Second, keep your installation of Logic Pro 8 in a separate location (just putting it inside of a folder, inside the Applications folder worked for me) so that if you are having any problems that can't be fixed, you can open the project in Logic Pro 8 and work as you were before the upgrade. When you install Logic Pro 9, make sure you don't overwrite Logic Pro 8, just in case. The developers of 9 were kind enough to add a new feature to Logic Pro 9 that makes creating new projects easier, called Selective Track Import. This is much more secure than re-opening Logic 8 projects in 9 and crossing your fingers.

Selective Track Import. This is a system in which Logic allows you to import portions of old projects into Logic 9 individually. For example, you could load all your channel strip settings with none of your plug-ins or I/O sends or you could import just the tempo map and global track settings and leave the channel strips behind. This is configurable, easy to use and extraordinarily useful for our purposes. All you have to do is open the project with the tracks and settings you want to use in the internal browser in your arrange window and upon clicking, Logic will automatically show you your options for Selective Track Import.

What this means to us, is that we can create a new project in Logic 9 and then import only the tracks/ settings/ plug-ins that we know to be safe and reliable for use in Logic 9. A great addition to an already flexible browser system and the number one way to avoid problems when opening old projects.

3rd Party Plug-Ins - This brings us to a big sticking point, one that has been particularly tough for me. Many 3rd party plug-in manufacturers had little or no notice that Logic 9 would be coming out, so they haven't had a chance to prepare updated versions of their plug-ins. This translates to nothing but headaches for those of us who just can't stay away from having the latest software in our studios. I've noticed that the more advanced the plug-in, the more problems I seem to have... Which makes for an interesting catch 22, because they are the ones I use the most.

So how do we work through this? We use the Selective Track Import feature, of course! I've noticed that Logic 9 doesn't seem to like opening projects from Logic 8 and then having the settings and plug-in parameters changed and saved in Logic 9. However, it doesn't seem to mind when you create a fresh project in Logic 9 and then import all your tracks and plug-ins through Selective Track Import. How's that for planning ahead? I noticed I had the most problems the first time I opened a project directly, so if you get a crash when saving new changes from versions 8 to 9, try opening it again and deleting the (crash) extension. It worked for me about half the time and Selective Track Import worked on the other half.

With a little caution, you can avoid having any serious problems. Try to avoid recording audio into a project in which you have not tested all your 3rd party plug-ins. Try to avoid opening projects in Logic 9 and then back into Logic 8, and just generally test everything before relying on it. Remember when I told you to keep Logic 8 around? Well if you're having these problems and they're slowing you down, this would be a great time to go back to your previous versions of your projects in Logic 8.

GarageBand Instruments - As I've been testing all my old projects, with their various setups and environments, I've noticed another issue that may slow down your workflow. I had yet to upgrade to the latest version of GarageBand for fear that it may have messed up my instruments in Logic 8. So when I got Logic 9, naturally I Look how that turned out for me... As I opened the projects from Logic 8 with GarageBand instruments being used in them, I noticed that some of the presets had not been carried over and my instruments were not loading properly. Everything new in GarageBand works great, but a few of my old instruments are gone completely and I had to find suitable replacements.

This is one of the few problems that cannot be fixed by reverting to previous versions of the projects. Once you make the upgrade to the latest GarageBand, those old presets are gone and will either have to be remade or replaced. Be careful, it can be a big problem for some.

Keeping Your Workflow Smooth - As long as you stick to the methods of testing before relying on a new project to work and opening with Selective Track Import, you should be able to work around most problems that come up in your upgrade. I've managed to solve every problem I've had so far and you should be able to as well. Use Selective Track Import, back up Logic 8 and your old projects and don't be careless when it comes to recording audio into untested projects. A potential crash could cost you hours of time and depending on the session, may be a permanent loss.

In my opinion, Logic Pro 9 and Logic Studio 2 is the most comprehensive DAW available and certainly the most bang for your buck. Don't let these minor hang-ups stop you from getting a taste of the new features. Logic Pro 9 is amazing, the problems are minor and can easily be worked around.