Colorado-based electronic project, Ping Trace, is currently working on a new full-length album slated for a late spring '09 release.

"This album will delve deeper into the down-tempo, chillout space that we started to explore with our Traces EP. We are developing our live show, preparing for the spring, but most of our attention is currently on recording the new album." says Sven, the band's keyboardist / programmer.

Ping Trace's DAW of choice is Logic 8.

"I had actually been away from music production for nearly ten years and after getting back into it, one thing was clear: the DAW has come of age. While evaluating the various programs, it became apparent that there are numerous first-rate choices in the market," he says. "For me, it's about the speed of production and having a working environment that makes sense to me. There are few things more gratifying than the ability to have an idea, then be able to take the impulse and create music in an instant. Life and inspiration are fleeting; it is not good to squander either. I find that Logic 8 allows for rapid production while generating a very high quality product."

Some home recording enthusiasts suggest that Logic has a steeper learning curve than other products on the market. With Logic 8, Sven says that most concerns have been addressed.

"Apple's acquisition of Logic was great for Mac users and a deal killer for PC users. Apple has taken a product that was previously very difficult to use out of the box and has made it painless," says Sven. "Many of my buddies who loved Logic under Emagic now claim that Apple has 'dumbed it down.' My feeling is that Apple has done the DAW community a favor by making an exceptional product more accessible by flattening the learning curve. Most of the features that users loved when Logic was under Emagic are still there, but seemingly easier to access. I find that Logic 8 is now very intuitive, whereas ten years ago it was a product that I steered clear of."

When he first ran into Logic (Logic 4) things were not simple but then what was back then?

"The first experience I had with Logic was about 10 years ago while I was working at a music store in Colorado. Emagic's Logic 4, I think, it promised great flexibility and the idea of integrated audio. As with all music software of the time, audio was a very difficult challenge and required a large budget," he says. "Because Logic 4 had a steep learning curve, I was more apt to push Cakewalk or Cubase, which had a better out of the box experience for most users. Personally, I was very comfortable with Cubase, and, at the time, I just could not justify the investment in time for learning a new system."

But a decade on, when he reentered music production and began evaluating products he had a change of heart.

"I found that Logic 8 really delivered the features that make for quick production. My favorite features are audio related and are mostly new to this version of Logic." he says. "The multi-take feature makes getting the best take so effortless. You can just loop a section -- say the chorus -- click record, and make a new take on each pass of the loop. Then, you can go back and evaluate each take using the best attempt. What makes multi-take even better is the quick swipe comp feature. Quick swipe makes a composite of all your multi-takes. By swiping only the best part of each take, you can easily make one "super take" with no little or no further editing. Again, better product, shorter time."

The included Apple Loop Utility is yet another advancement that allows for flexibility in production. After quick swiping the perfect take, you can flatten to AIFF and use the Apple Loop Utility to add attributes such as genre, key, scale, tempo and so on; and then add the loop to the library for future use. After processing the loop in the Apple Loop Utility, the loop can be manipulated to match a song's key and tempo. These new features really make production painless.

But what is still "wrong" with the DAW. What would he change if he could?

"If I had a complaint, it might be that it takes over 45 GB to fully install Logic. This is the result of throwing in the vast number of plug-ins, utilities and massive sound libraries. At install, it is possible to elect not to install everything. So, if hard drive space is a concern, it's possible to reduce the overall installation size by not installing some, or all, of the sound libraries (which account for the vast majority of the space required.)," he says. "The second issue I have with Logic 8 is the lack of a floating transport control. I found this to be a real annoyance- especially when working in multiple monitors. I found a work-around by using the control surface Alpha Track by Frontier Design Group, which is amazing and nearly eliminates the need for mouse and keyboard. But that's a whole different story."

He admits these objections are really just nitpicking. Gearwire forced him to be a negative.