Logic 9 keeps crashing

R

RobbieD

New member
Hey everyone!

Ok so I have an imac os X with a 3.06 GHz intel Core i 3 and 8 GB of memory, i use logic 9 with plugins from KOmplete 8 and melodyne. Whenever a project is near to its end and nice and full of tracks with FX, the project keeps crashing. Logic settings: 128 samples for buffer and 24-bit recording. My question is should i get a new pc? is the pc I have not enough? Please help!!!
 
RobbieD said:
Hey everyone!

Ok so I have an imac os X with a 3.06 GHz intel Core i 3 and 8 GB of memory, i use logic 9 with plugins from KOmplete 8 and melodyne. Whenever a project is near to its end and nice and full of tracks with FX, the project keeps crashing. Logic settings: 128 samples for buffer and 24-bit recording. My question is should i get a new pc? is the pc I have not enough? Please help!!!
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I'm not a Apple guy and have never used Logic, but here is what I would think. The i3 chip is the the lowest rated on the i series of chips. You should be monitoring your resources to see if they are being overloaded. Your memory looks like it should be fine, but I would imagine your CPU is overloaded. Usually systems become unstable when a CPU is above 80% for long periods.

You may have to take all of your tracks with VSTs and render them to another track as you want them. Then just use VST on the final mix or look at using them more efficiently (like a reverb being used for multi tracks). Even if you had a beefer processor, you still have to manage your VSTs and your resources.

I don't think it is just the sound tracks, I think it has a lot to do with your VSTs overloading your system. Before you buy new, check your resource usage and try revisit how you are using your VSTs. As a last resort, you can always buy a new computer, but this would be a good exercise regardless.
 
thanks for the reply! ya i figured it miht have been the cpu cuz on logic theres a 2 little bars at the bottom one read CPU the other HD, and when im playin the project or doing stuff the cpu bar is high, and if im not doing anythin, the bar is halfway. Can i change the processor of an iMac?
 
I'm pretty sure you can't change the processor, but there are things you can do.
I'm largely echoing what DM said. Great post!

One is to make sure your computer is running lean. Don't have anything heavy going on whilst mixing.
Kill safari/firefox, itunes etc.
I guess the CPU bar should be very low when you're not doing anything.

You can also take a look at your mix and see how efficient it is. If you've got four reverbs doing pretty much the same thing, create and aux track and just have one reverb instead.
Same applies for eqs and other effects.
If you have a synth for strings, bass etc, considering printing the dry synth output to an audio track so you can disable the synth and free up some power.

If you have any real time processes on the go like pitch/time correction tools (melodyne?), get the job done then commit your changes and disable those tools. Again, that'll free up some horses.

Finally, increase that buffer size. If you're not tracking, playback latency doesn't matter. Bop it up to 1024 (or higher if available) and watch your imac breathe a sigh of relief!

Activity monitor (in Applications/Utilities) will probably give you a more accurate representation of system usage.
If system memory shows any page outs, you could probably use a ram upgrade.

Check the cpu tab with logic closed (mine is currently 94% idle with some apps open), then check with logic running.
If your idle is <90% with logic closed then you'll need to look down the list and see what's using resources.
 
Just off the top of my head, LogicX with Komplete and Melodyne running.... you need more ram.

I run 12gb on my iMac and don't do that much, but if I were you I'd jump it up to 16gb (or more).
 
Just to elaborate on this from my indirect perspective...

Melodyne eats the hell out of RAM when in use. Export tracks that have already been tuned, then shut that shiz down... :)
 
Apps shouldn't crash just because the CPU is being used heavily. That's what fans are for. If they aren't working, there's something wrong with your hardware.

But before you go blaming the hardware, the first thing I'd do is compare the crash logs to see whether it is crashing in a consistent spot in the code. If so, it's a software bug, and the way to work around it depends on what the bug is, where the bug is, etc.
 
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