by Mark Wherry
Either by design or coincidence, Apple has once again followed the company’s October announcements of new MacBook Pros (joined this year by a new Mac mini) with November updates to Logic Pro for both Mac and iPad. And with the release of Logic Pro 11 for Mac and Logic Pro 2 for iPad earlier this year, incorporating AI-powered features into the music production workflow, Apple adjourns the annum with point-one updates for Logic Pro across macOS and iPadOS platforms.
You know the game’s afoot when the headline feature for a Logic Pro update is a new reverb plug-in. However, we’re not just talking about any reverb. Logic Pro’s new Quantec Room Simulator plug-in provides near-perfect replicas of Quantec’s highly sought-after Room Simulator (often referred to as simply QRS) and Yardstick algorithmic reverbs.
Logic Pro now includes Quantum Room Simulator, a new plug-in that lovingly recreates the original QRS and Yardstick hardware.
Released in 1982, the QRS was the brainchild of German inventor Wolfgang Buchleitner (né Schwarz) who approached the problem of room simulation from a musician’s perspective rather than that of a trained engineer. Therefore, unlike contemporaneous digital reverbs—such as the EMT 250 or Lexicon 224, which employed dense echo and feedback networks—the QRS took a somewhat unique approach, modelling sound propagation and reflections. It also added a Freeze effect, trapping the sound between the walls of a simulated room that could only exist in theory.
The Yardstick was an updated QRS for the 1990s with digital I/O, and Hugh Robjohns reviewed one of the final Yardstick iterations—the 2496—back in the July 2011 issue (www.soundonsound.com/reviews/quantec-2496-yardstick).
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Logic Pro’s implementation of Quantec’s Room Simulator—and the clue is very much in the name—is that, in designing the plug-in, Apple chose not to model or emulate the original hardware in the same vein as the Compressor and Vintage Console Collection plug-ins, for example. Instead, Apple acquired Quantec’s technology and set about developing accurate recreations of the QRS and Yardstick, something that would serve as both an homage and a preservation of the original schematics, algorithms, and code developed by Buchleitner who sadly passed away in 2016.
Wolfgang Buchleitner, the inventor of the Quantec Room Simulator (left), and some of his notes used by Apple to faithfully recreate the original QRS and Yardstick hardware.
Even if you’ve never owned an original QRS or Yardstick, the Quantec sound is instantly familiar. Peter Gabriel is one of its most famous users and told Apple the QRS was “a key element to my sound for a good number of years. It appeared on records like Passion and Us and I loved using it to build harmonic drones to start my live set with, which then evolved in a song called Across the River.”
Enya’s 'Orinoco Flow' owed its ethereal pads to the QRS, Depeche Mode used it on some of the band’s most iconic tracks from the Violator album, and Pink Floyd deployed it for ambient, vocal, and instrument effects—as well they might—on A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Hans Zimmer was another early adopter and still had two Yardsticks in one of his home studio racks back when SOS visited him in 2002.
One reverb a Logic Pro update does not make, however, and Apple’s developers have added many features in response to frequent requests from existing users. For example, in Logic Pro for Mac and iPad you can now reorder channel strips in the Mixer by simply dragging them, rather than having to move tracks in the Tracks area, which feels like it’s been a long time coming and is incredibly welcome.
In addition to reordering channel strips, Logic Pro for iPad also makes it possible to reorder plug-ins in the Plug-ins area. Again, this is a real time saver and something that intuitively seemed to be missing when I reviewed Logic Pro for iPad back in the November 2023 issue.
Another expedient feature is the inclusion of a search field in the pop-up menu listing available plug-ins when adding an effect, instrument, or MIDI plug-in to a channel strip—or even assigning a send—in Logic Pro for Mac. When adding a plug-in via the menu, you can now start typing to find the required plug-in, and Logic Pro will search for both the plug-in name and the sub-folder in which it’s located. You can then select an item from the results, using either the mouse or cursor keys, and add the plug-in by clicking or pressing Return.
Logic Pro 11.1 for Mac has a new search facility when selecting plug-ins from the pop-up menu (left) or via the ‘Search and Add Plug-in’ Key Command. Here you can see the results of the same search performed via both methods.
This functionality is complemented by a new ‘Search and Add Plug-in’ Key Command, which is assigned to Control-Command-P by default. Rather than opening the plug-in pop-up menu in a channel strip, the Key Command opens a larger field in the upper-centre area of the display, similar to performing a Spotlight Search. Again, you can simply start typing when the window appears, the first item is automatically selected (or you can navigate using the cursor keys), and press Return to add the plug-in or Escape to dismiss the window.
Removing plug-ins and send assignments is also easier, since you can now Command-click an appropriate slot to vanquish a particular insert, instrument, or send. Nice! Clicking a plug-in and selecting ‘No Plug-in’ always felt rather clunky, especially when needing to eliminate multiple plug-ins at a time.
Finally, a new sound pack is available and brimming with sonic intrigue generated by a wall of synth modules and far too many patch cables – I’m sure I heard some Buchla 200e magic in there! Modular Melodies contains over 160MB of both audio and instrument loops, many of which contain some inventive Channel Strips Settings using Alchemy and a daring effects chain.
Pricing & Availability
Logic Pro 11.1 for Mac can be downloaded from the Mac App Store as a free update for existing users. It remains priced at $199 (US) for new users.
Logic Pro 2.1 for iPad is available as a subscription from the App Store for $4.99 (US) per month, or $49 (US) per year with a one-month free trial for new users.
