Buying a used copy of Logic Pro X - possible?

goldtop

When I searched Ebay, all I saw was a lot of dodgy adverts: "send me £10 and I'll send you a download link". Hundreds of them, from £5 to £50+. Clearly none was kosher, despite some adverts claiming that these licences come from damaged computers.

Is the legitimate Logic Pro X only available from Apple -therefore tied to an Apple ID - and therefore impossible to sell on?

TheBigDipper

I'm fairly sure you buy a licence to use Logic in perpetuity (or as long as it's supported and works on your platform), and never get ownership of the software. So, the first licence holder can't legally sell it on to someone else. Certainly you'll not get updates, new instruments, etc., because Apple won't know you have it installed. I wonder if it even runs if you're not logged on as the licensed owner?... 

Actually, just started up my copy and took a look at the licence agreement. You never own it and cannot sell it without being in breach of the licence.

Funkfingers

https://i.imgur.com/FYVhIZh.jpg?1

goldtop

Thanks chaps. So they are all (of course) pirated installations, and if I want it, Apple gets the full wedge. Hmmm...

ToneControl

I am not a fan of the way apple do business
Nevertheless, they sell Logic for about 90% less than they should, to attract musicians to use Macs, so just buy it from Apple - you will not see equivalent products at this price

GavRichList

goldtop said:

Thanks chaps. So they are all (of course) pirated installations, and if I want it, Apple gets the full wedge. Hmmm...

It’s worth it though. What is it now, £200? (Bought it a year back pre-brexit, so it was £150 then). For the peace of mind, updates, support etc etc, totally worth it. As weird as it feels paying two hundred quid for an app. 

goldtop

OK, I'm going to see how I get on with the latest Garageband - which looks like Logic Lite nowadays.

If the workflow gels with my limited brain, I'll think about upgrading.

Bridgehouse

goldtop said:

OK, I'm going to see how I get on with the latest Garageband - which looks like Logic Lite nowadays.

If the workflow gels with my limited brain, I'll think about upgrading.

I use GarageBand a lot, but it is a thin, pale and anaemic imitation of Logic - if at all...

guitarfishbay

Logic is great value for money. 

IvisonGuitars

Is it £200 now?? I'm sure I paid £90 for it when X first came out, perhaps that was an offer though?

Funkfingers

Logic Pro X arrived at a fairly low price for all users. The usual upgrade discount for existing users of the previous edition was non-existent. 

goldtop said:

OK, I'm going to see how I get on with the latest Garageband - which looks like Logic Lite nowadays.

Bridgehouse said:

I use GarageBand a lot, but it is a thin, pale and anaemic imitation of Logic.

GB 10.2.0 is a gentle introduction to computerised home recording for absolute beginners. For anyone with past recording experience, GB soon becomes frustratingly over-simplistic.

goldtop said:

If the workflow gels with my limited brain, I'll think about upgrading.

That is precisely Apple's sales strategy.



One point to consider. With the launch of OS 10.13 High Sierra, 32-bit applications are no longer supported. Hence, older software instruments and effects plug-ins will no longer be supported.

GavRichList

Crucially though, the wonderful Soundtoys does. 

ToneControl

GavRichList said:

goldtop said:

Thanks chaps. So they are all (of course) pirated installations, and if I want it, Apple gets the full wedge. Hmmm...

It’s worth it though. What is it now, £200? (Bought it a year back pre-brexit, so it was £150 then). For the peace of mind, updates, support etc etc, totally worth it. As weird as it feels paying two hundred quid for an app. 

have  you seen the price of Office, Protools, photoshop?

GavRichList

ToneControl said:

GavRichList said:

goldtop said:

Thanks chaps. So they are all (of course) pirated installations, and if I want it, Apple gets the full wedge. Hmmm...

It’s worth it though. What is it now, £200? (Bought it a year back pre-brexit, so it was £150 then). For the peace of mind, updates, support etc etc, totally worth it. As weird as it feels paying two hundred quid for an app. 

have  you seen the price of Office, Protools, photoshop?

Oh I know... it’s the lack of physical copies now that feels odd. I’m of the protools LE & MBox generation. 

goldtop

Yes, the lack of getting anything at all, and even being unable to sell on your licence makes Logic an expensive bit of guesswork. All or nothing. As one of the things for me is how well it would run my sort of workflow on a 2008 iMac with 3.06GHz/4GB, I'm a bit loathe to take a punt.

But I may buy one of the hooky ones from Ebay for £10, and if it does work fine, I will send £100 to a random Cayman Islands bank account and tell Apple to go look for it.

goldtop

Funkfingers said:

One point to consider. With the launch of OS 10.13 High Sierra, 32-bit applications are no longer supported. Hence, older software instruments and effects plug-ins will no longer be supported.

Exactly - my recently bought iMac is on El Capitan and I will be unplugging it from the Net. No updates of OS/DAW/plug-ins. I will keep it frozen as it is now. This, of course, means that all sorts of 'must-have' plug-ins and sample/loop packs will be unavailable. But that's fine. I will treat it like a lump of hardware and work within its limitations.

Funkfingers

goldtop said:

2008 iMac with 3.06GHz/4GB

The Mactracker benchmark figure for your computer is 3170. My i7 MacBook Pro is 5529. Some of my more extravagantly plug-in heavy Projects cause the occasional bout of frantic fan activity when the processor is pushed hard. 

Mactracker claims that the maximum RAM your iMac can take is 6GB rather than the 4GB quoted by Apple. I'm not sure whether six is arrived at by mixing one stick of four with another of two or, like my 2007 MacBook, you install two identical RAM sticks but the computer can not address all of it. 

goldtop

Thanks for that. Yes on the RAM - 6GB is undocumented but possible. Perhaps an SSD at the same time.

Jalapeno

Funkfingers said:

goldtop said:

2008 iMac with 3.06GHz/4GB

The Mactracker benchmark figure for your computer is 3170. My i7 MacBook Pro is 5529. Some of my more extravagantly plug-in heavy Projects cause the occasional bout of frantic fan activity when the processor is pushed hard. 

Mactracker claims that the maximum RAM your iMac can take is 6GB rather than the 4GB quoted by Apple. I'm not sure whether six is arrived at by mixing one stick of four with another of two or, like my 2007 MacBook, you install two identical RAM sticks but the computer can not address all of it. 

Had the same on my Mac Mini - there's 16GB RAM installed, but it'll only access 4Gb

TheBigDipper

goldtop said:

<snip>
But I may buy one of the hooky ones from Ebay for £10, and if it does work fine, I will send £100 to a random Cayman Islands bank account and tell Apple to go look for it.

No, send it to HMRC and tell Apple you're paying their tax bill directly and cutting out the middle man. 

Funkfingers

There is no shame in running Logic 9. It is probably a better match for your machine specs. The main omissions are the artificial intelligence Drummer/Percussionist and the Alchemy synthesizer.

SysReq: https://support.apple.com/kb/SP673?locale=en_GB

Knowing Apple, you probably need to download the first version then, update incrementally.  https://support.apple.com/downloads/logic