The App Store is somewhat deluged with music-related applications. While I find many of the instruments to be novelties, the iPhone-based remote controls available for various Digital Audio Workstations have really caught my attention.

I've been playing around with the various musical remote controllers available for a while now. When the various iTouchMidi controllers were released, I got pretty excited. Problematically, I'm a fan of Logic Pro, and these intriguing but mostly Logic-incompatible controllers weren't up to snuff for my personal needs. It was a few weeks before I discovered the available OpenSound Control (OSC) apps in the App Store.

I've played with the lineup of controllers such as OSCemote and Mrmr (iTunes link), and both of those are a lot of fun with a good amount of potential. One stood out for me, though, and TouchOSC has officially become part of my home studio setup.

TouchOSC provides an array of control screens consisting of faders, rotary controls, buttons, toggles, XY pads, multi-faders/toggles and LEDs in various configurations. It communicates wirelessly with software and hardware which can receive and send the OSC protocol. I thought I'd offer a quick rundown of the steps I used to get from TouchOSC to Logic. I'm sure the same methods can be applied to other software, with a little variation.

An overview of the controller configurations in TouchOSC can be found in the gallery below. Read on for the lowdown.

Attention Logic Studio users. Apple has released version 8.0.2 of Logic Pro. According to Apple, this update "...addresses specific customer and compatibility issues of Logic Pro 8.0. It includes Wavebuner 1.5.2 and Impulse Response Utility 1.0.2, which address issues for Waveburner 1.5 and Impulse Response Utility 1.0 respectively."

Version 8 of Logic Studio and Express became available in September of last year. If you think that rate of updates is slow, take heart. Apple recently re-affirmed their commitment to the pro applications, most notably Final Cut Server.

As usual, we ask you to report any issues you experience after installing this update.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

With the Apple Store back up, it seems that it wasn't merely maintenance this morning, as the store now bears new versions of Apple's professional music software, Logic Pro 8 (now 'Logic Studio'). Logic Studio's new features include:

• A new single-window interface (similar to Apertures)
• Improved editing
• Sountrack Pro 2.0 in the box
• The ability to "...save your key commands, channel strip settings and plug-in settings to your .Mac account for easy backup, sharing, and portability".

Logic buffs will no doubt want to check out the technical specs of the new version, which can be found here, along with the new features page. Logic Studio will set you back $499US, with upgrades starting at $199US.

Logic Express, the little brother to the studio suite, also received an upgrade to version 8, with the baby brother $199US version taking many of the new features in the Pro version including "...full notation, 24-bit/192kHz resolution, and Quick Swipe comping". Previous versions of Logic Express can upgrade for $99.

The updates just keep coming. Today Apple has updated both Logic Pro and Logic Express to 7.2.2. Logic is Apple's professional music composition program (think Final Cut Pro and Express for music).

New in Logic Pro is improved compatibility with the Mac Pro and optimized support for the built-in audio ports. Logic Express delivers the same enhancements on the Mac Pro.

That's right, kids, Apple's first Pro app to go Universal is Logic 7.2 (which is now available). There is a $49 crossgrade available for everyone who shelled out the big bucks for Logic Pro 7, but if you are using 5 or 6 you'll have to pony up $299 to able to run Logic on that new Intel Mac of yours.

Apple even offers up some top ten reasons for upgrading to 7.2, they include:

• New royalty-free jingles and sound effects Apple Loops (the same ones that come with iLife '06)
• Universalness
• lots of other audio goodness that I know nothing about

Check the crossgrade page for more info, and the Logic Pro website for the skinny about the application itself.

[via Infinite Loop]

Update: If you are looking for more indepth information about this upgrade (and from someone who knows a thing or two about audio) check out Create Digital Music's coverage.

If you haven't made up your mind that Intel chips will "save" the Mac platform, Apple demoed the Intel-native version of Logic Pro 7 at NAMM today. How fast is it? Let's just say I'm going to have to call that PowerBook of yours - yeah, the shiny 17" version - a paperweight. Don't go planning any Grammy's, that's for sure. The Intel version of Logic is doing things that weren't even possible on PPC versions. To quote Bob Hunt, as he wowed the NAMM'ers with a session full of video and high-end effects: "None of these sessions would even run on a PowerBook." It's nice to see Apple calling it like they see it. Here's hoping the music industry hops on board. I know some indie producers jumped ship a few years ago for PC's because the hardware was cheap, and many of the audio tools they were using were getting long in the tooth. Logic Pro for Intel might just be insanely great enough for them to come back home.

[Via AppleInsider]