ChrisJ

Under the 'Track Header Components' there is a 'Show On/Off'... is there a way to always have this 'On', ie every time logic starts up. Thanks.

define "iffy" ie Why do you think blu-ray is a no-no. Tapes are for enterprise server systems, SQL etc, that continually do backups, they're not for "media" users. And their prices reflect it !! Tip: If your not using a drive, store it in a cool dark place. Also put it in a zip-lock bag, but make sure you put some silica gel packs in there too. Both together keep dust and moisture out. I use 2" external usb 3 drives. They are small, light, encased, fast and not so expensive.

Hi i know the laptop is now officially 'retired', but I aint made of money, so it will have to keep going. And on mav it's doing fine. Sometimes there is a problem that some (just the latest logic and one nifty midi capture) wont work, but everything else is fine. I get the feeling that some of the apps out there don't work too well with el cap, the start-then-wait, then continue-then-wait, as they might be using older functions, that el cap does not like. Or that el-cap want's an ssd and my mav system does not have that. And that causes the very annoying and productivity killing hickups in the system. I also have an mac-air, running Yosemite, it works well, audio / vst / midi performance. I'm not interested to change it, even thought it has an ssd, I dont have neither the time nor inclination to do testing on it, and if it does not work as expected, spend more time restoring everything. For the most part, what it does it, it does well. And I don't want to get trapped on the mouse on a wheel of incremental changes to the os as apple now do, el-cap - sierra and the issues that can arise. I need hardware to for for me, not the other way around. And software wise apple are far from the best at writing efficient code. That's the catch with older and somewhat older hardware, find what works well, and if it keeps you productive, and the things you need work, to coin a phrase, "why change horses in mid-stream". But know that apple are designing only for newer machines, so if you stay with mav, be comfortable in you own skin that you dont care about such items. If you're the kind that wants every new bell and whistle, then you'll really need not only to upgrade the os, but your hardware as well. Also here is a link for you, it's for a pc maybe you have one, or a friends does, I connected the mav mac drive via usb 3 caddy, and an empty drive and cloned it. it basically does a sector by sector clone of a drive, REGARDLESS of what OS it is, if it's multi boot, or whatever the config is. It's small, it's fast, it works well - Good design. And it's free. http://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/ PS I looked at studio one I found it not as intuitive as Logic, certainly no where near the installed library of instruments, nor the scope of logic, in-terms of UI design, selection of tools, nor it's ability to perform as well, nor it's ability to work well with video. I'm not a fan of presonus, for many a reason. But some people like it, so hey, if you have time, load up the free Studio version see how it works for you. Cheers Chris

Interestingly I can see why OWC are saying, "it may be the drive is trying to get power from the Apollo and since the Apollo does not have bus-powered FW ports, it never powers up. " Because the same thing has happened to me with usb, sometimes it would be ok, other times you could hear the drive re-tracking and trying to spin up. So it would work some days others not. Yours is weird as you Already have external power. But in the interest of possibly getting you a quick fix. I solved my (usb) problem with a external powered hub. I do wonder if a firewire hub with external power might too help you, maybe if you can borrow one? If only to stop you limping, I know it's not much fun.

One: search online for online courses, write to them see what they offer in this field, there are quite schools offer this kind of material, tell them what you want, see what they can do. Your looking at a large field, which may require a lot of understanding, and learning. (ie. i dont know how much you know, eg music theory) Two: pick up a copy of "The planets" by Holst, and get the sheet music too. If it's good enough to "inspire" Hans Zimmer then it's good enough for you. Can you read and understand what Holst has done? Any of it? All of it? None of it? Three: If you have kontakt, look at the factory library, listen to the orchestral sounds of each instrument, how well do you know the sounds of each instrument? How well do you know its range, it's emotion. Then answer you own question, how does this emotionally make me feel if it's a) a solo instrument, or b) an ensemble. Repeat for different melodies in different ranges. It's a large (actually huge, inc orchestration) question your asking in general terms, and there is a lot to learn. Not all trailers are Kettle drums and French Horns, some are incredibly subtle and each one tries to convey emotion and mood in a very short span of time, and that takes time to learn and master. In fact re-reading this, do two and three first, then do one, you'll have a clearer understanding of what to ask, what you're looking for, and how they can best serve you. Best of luck.

if you put the os on the ssd it boots fast, if you put the samples kontakt reads fast. Which do you want to be faster, which do you do more often - reboot the machine or load samples into kontak - worth thinking about and testing out.

I think LennarDigital will find this really helpful and will be clearly able to address it, much more so than here.

"have an IT friend who is suggesting that I may have a failing HD" ---- Open Disk Utility - look at S.M.A.R.T. Status. To help you figure out is this a OS problem or a Logic problem.

In "September 2016 issue of Sound On Sound they talk about a stereo widening delay effect with respect to processing vocals". To understand why this works, you have to understand why the Hass Effect happens and the factors that cause it, otherwise you're just twiddling knobs. When you do grasp the math, then you can manipulate the effect to do more, a lot more. Just as Sound On Sound are, and with DAW's there's a lot of possibilities to explore. An easy read not much math... (You'll learn a lot more if you read his phd paper, math is required & some physics with biology too) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precedence_effect

Or if you're going to use Kontakt, take a look at the 'Factory Library' there is a minor version of the whole of the Vienna Symphony orchestra, and that 'Factory Library' comes with Kontakt. Okay yes, it's el cheapo's, ie free version of Eric's link, ... but... a true stereo version of a well picked reverb and some excellent carving of eq, and some careful compression and some sweet automation, means it can sound really good. And there is a lot more in the 'Factory Library' besides, a band, a choir, synth, drums, world instruments, etc, worth a look. If you get the 'Kontakt Player', and this 'Factory library' both free, I think you might be able to see if it works for you, without spending a dime. Regarding legacy items in logic you might want to look under the many "horns" that are there. (dont know if they will suffice)

IF, and I cap that specifically, it's a logic problem, what you can do is go to the 'track configuration' and enable the power buttons (it does it for every track). Turn them all off, and then one by one turn them back on. This way you can see s David says, what the cpu meter and disk meter is doing. IF logic is not the issue, then it's time to resave the project, with all the audio in the project (checkbox on save), give the project a new name. Do the usual things in mac os to ensure there is disc space, etc prefs etc. Reload the project. and see what's happening with the cpu and disk in this new project with the methodology of power buttons above.

Hi couple of things you need to look at. Free disc space, do you have enough. In the activity monitor is there anything that's eating a lot of ram (causes vm switching). You need to look at WindowsServer (process in activity monitor), that draws the menus. Something must be making this spike in cpu. Try this, removing transparency in the control panel, disable switching of gpu's. Try not to have a web browser running when working, any web browser, specially Chrome, it uses the gpu. Also as a test dont use external monitors. There are other things to do such as cleaning caches etc and plist, but these get complicated. So see if there is any apple update that you not installed that specifically mentions "windowsserver". BE CAREFUL If you do this, With NO apps running, go to the activity monitor, and select windowsServer, and end the task. IT WILL close work down WITHOUT asking and take you back to a log-on screen. It may calm the WindowsServer usage, for that session. (sorry about the caps, but it will end apps and you will lose work.)

Hi and to chime in, I believe that Eric is right about the lacie, and it doing to sleep, there are technical things you can do to adjust this, I would suggest, first if there are any drivers update them, if there is any firmware for the drive update it. Speak to lacie ask them if there is any way you can use a hdparams style of app too to adjust the sleep time. Also and concurrently, load the project and resave it, making all the audio a part of the project. The reason is you want to load the project on the local disk drive and also the lacie. Test each one out while you have the "Activity Monitor" app, open and on the disc tab, what is using all the disc activity, is it logic or is it something else. Try doing the same thing on the lacie too. Also check you 'energy' preferences, is it set to put the disk's to sleep? Then look at loading the project waiting 10 min, then trying playback, does this makes any difference in either case for either the disk or the lacie. You really have to quite methodical and rigorous in doing this test, but when you speak to lacie, clear data like this might well encourage them to advise you better, and let them know you have checked out all the possibilities.

I knew it'd be subjective, and that's ok. Thanks for the assist.

I listen to Born and Born Raw files, What I notice is a few things; in the raw files i can clearly hear the vocals which are getting lost in the mixed version. There seem to be too many differing reverbs happening and they are not playing too well, reverbs should be 'the glue' the makes all the elements sound like they were all recorded in the same location at the same time, I'm honestly not getting that, with 6 space designers your making it harder for yourself to achieve this. I'm also getting drum volumes jumping socal and bluebird have a different sound but also a difference perception in volume. You'd need to balance them a little better with the faders. I'm feeling too that some compression on the drum and eq all around is missing here to tame everything, it feels like a wild hair day. Same is true for individual volumes. I know this is just your rough, what i would suggest, is take the elements and keep things real simple first, seeing on the channel eq where the range of the sound is, try that for every element, then think how can you keep these elements in balance, do you need high/low cuts where if any are the boosts needed how will they play with others. Then try it out adjust the eq's see how it changes the sound, see how the others have room to exist or not, ie is it getting muddy. Ask yourself is the bass in the drum pumping and drowning out other elements too much, do these drum sets mix well ie how much do they overlap how much do they complement. Then after eq move to the next set of plugins, go row by row, slowly building the sound, and by doing this you keep the mix balanced, and no one thing will get out of place to much, and to tame it, if it does will be easier. And if you want or need to add volume automation or automation on the plugin it will be more focused, that's again why a complex out plugin chain, just makes this harder to get that 'sound'. Try to get what you want without 5 plugins on the stereo out, you need to get it there before it hits the out. Typically on mixing desks on the out you'd get a compressor (gentle) and a reverb that's it... Try going for that, as it will make you concentrate on the sound of each element more, more working as you go, and less in trying to resolve issues on the out channel, which is going to be harder and more difficult to achieve the kind of clarity and sharpness you hear today. Good luck.