Logic Pro not playing sound. Sick of this problem!

[oqtheprod]

So I open Logic and it just doesn't play sound. This problem has been occuring for months now. I used to be able to fix it sometimes by changing the input/output device settings in Audio preferences back and forth between system setting and built-in but even that is not working anymore. Sound on my computer will be playing fine when I'm on youtube/FL/any other app but Logic just wants to ruin my life. I have tried uninstalling and installing Logic and that didnt work. Please do not tell me to uninstall and install the whole sound library because I am sure that won't do anything either and it is ridiculous I would even have to do that. Any recommendations before I switch to FL for good? I've been using Logic for 3+ years and custom made my 808 on here SMH

[fuzzfilth]

Please give at least some info about your computer, OS, Logic version, audio interface, etc. For all we know, you might as well be launching Logic 1.7 from floppy on an ATARI Falcon.

[David Nahmani]

One test to run is to switch your Logic audio preference output to the built-in output of your Mac, and see if that works as expected?

[Atlas007]

Have you tried launching Logic from newly created user account?

[analogika]

What interface are you using?

Do you have any tools like SoundFlower or Audio Hijack installed?

[oqtheprod]

12 hours ago, fuzzfilth said:

Please give at least some info about your computer, OS, Logic version, audio interface, etc. For all we know, you might as well be launching Logic 1.7 from floppy on an ATARI Falcon.

Macbook Air 13 inch 2017. macOS Montery 12.3.1 (latest), Logic version 10.7.4. I dont use an audio interface as I do not record vocals or live instruments

[oqtheprod]

3 hours ago, analogika said:

What interface are you using?

Do you have any tools like SoundFlower or Audio Hijack installed?

None

[triplets]

On 5/9/2022 at 6:29 PM, oqtheprod said:

So I open Logic and it just doesn't play sound.

Is Software Monitoring selected in Logic's Audio preferences?

[oqtheprod]

5 hours ago, triplets said:

Is Software Monitoring selected in Logic's Audio preferences?

Yes

[David Nahmani]

@oqtheprod have you tried the test I suggested?

[alex1fly]

On 5/10/2022 at 3:29 AM, oqtheprod said:

I used to be able to fix it sometimes by changing the input/output device settings in Audio preferences 

This is exactly what you need to do, every time you launch the software. You have to change it in the DAW's Audio preferences. Not to talk down but this shouldn't work "sometimes", it should set it correctly every time. I bounce between several DAWs and playback in Mac OS and for each one I have to select what I want whether it's my audio interface or my built-in speakers. Screenshot of your Logic audio preferences would help. Are you using headphones plugged into your Mac, speakers plugged in to an USB audio interface, something else?

HOWEVER. I will acknowledge that there are spirits in some DAWs. Cubase, for example, neeeeeever worked for me. Never. So many problems that nobody else seemed to have. And there's only so much time you can spend troubleshooting when you could be making music in whatever DAW.

[analogika]

1 hour ago, alex1fly said:

This is exactly what you need to do, every time you launch the software. You have to change it in the DAW's Audio preferences.

You have to select the audio interface every time you open Logic? The last interface used is saved as part of the Logic project. Whenever I open a project and don't have the expected interface connected, Logic complains. 

Since the sample rate is also saved as part of the Logic project, opening that should immediately set the interface sample rate, as well. 

If you have to manually select the interface in Logic every time, I'd think there's something wrong, unless you're constantly switching environments and/or interfaces. 

[alex1fly]

7 minutes ago, analogika said:

If you have to manually select the interface in Logic every time, I'd think there's something wrong, unless you're constantly switching environments and/or interfaces. 

I don't know. I just do it by default every time I open a DAW. Sometimes preferences are saved, sometimes not. But then I do switch interfaces and DAWs frequently on the same computer. 

[David Nahmani]

8 minutes ago, analogika said:

If you have to manually select the interface in Logic every time, I'd think there's something wrong, unless you're constantly switching environments and/or interfaces. 

Correct, if you want to keep using the same interface in Logic then you select it once and it will stay selected every time you launch Logic. 

[enossified]

If your symptom is you can see activity on the meters but no audio comes out, this is my only real beef with Logic. I always turn on my interface and my controller before I launch Logic and even then sometimes I get no sound. So I close Logic, cycle power on the interface and relaunch. That usually clears it. If it doesn't, as suggested above, I switch to the internal speakers which I can't recall ever not working, then choose my interface again. 

I also have learned to first check that I hadn't previously muted all system audio with the F10 key while running another app. 

[analogika]

On 5/13/2022 at 4:08 PM, enossified said:

If your symptom is you can see activity on the meters but no audio comes out, this is my only real beef with Logic. I always turn on my interface and my controller before I launch Logic and even then sometimes I get no sound. So I close Logic, cycle power on the interface and relaunch. That usually clears it. If it doesn't, as suggested above, I switch to the internal speakers which I can't recall ever not working, then choose my interface again. 

I also have learned to first check that I hadn't previously muted all system audio with the F10 key while running another app. 

My intuition says that sounds like a poorly written audio interface driver… I am not a developer, though.  

[David Nahmani]

On 5/10/2022 at 9:13 PM, oqtheprod said:

None

I wonder if this was in response to Audio Hijack or the interface question: are you using an audio interface or the Mac's built-in output? 

[enossified]

2 hours ago, analogika said:

My intuition says that sounds like a poorly written audio interface driver… I am not a developer, though.  

I've seen this with two different audio interfaces, one was Firewire and the other USB. The USB interface is class compliant. 

I see I overlooked something in an earlier post. The OP wrote he is not using an audio interface, that means he is using Built In Audio. I've never had problems with that.

So I have nothing more to add to this thread.

[AndyP]

We are in the same exact boat.  I too am sick of this problem!!  I don't think Apple has a clue how to fix this.  I have spent COUNTLESS hours on the phone with them and nothing has worked.

[oscwilde]

@AndyP
What Mac, what Logic version, what OS version, what audio interface?

[polanoid]

In the macOS System Settings, have you set Sound -> Sound Effects -> Play sound effects through to the same Audio Interface that you have Logic output to? In that case the macOS Volume Controls additionally control the volume so you would need to turn them all the way up (or use another device like built-in audio for the system sound effects)

[sunbrother]

Just another data point on this- I don't know if it's related but this started happening to me shortly after I transitioned to using an Aggregate Interface. When it happens, it occurs in every single project I've tried loading.

And for clarification on my particular issue, when this happens all the individual channel meters in the mixer display no audio even when I am playing back. I'm talking about simple playback of a mix, not monitoring or anything like that. No activity on any of the meters in Logic's mixer.

My Aggregate Interface is only used by Logic. The system uses one of my interfaces, same for system sound effects. Either way, it occurs in Logic regardless of the interface I select. Even in a new project with a single Apple Loop. It does not occur if I use the Mac Studio Speakers but I can't really get any work done like that so that's only helpful in an informational sense.

The only way I have found to fix it is to reboot all my interfaces. Perhaps the order I boot them in is a factor, I haven't tested extensively outside of how to fix it.

Maybe in my particular case it's more of a Core Audio issue and Logic is just showing me the symptoms.

Edited April 9 by sunbrother

[oscwilde]

2 hours ago, sunbrother said:

Maybe in my particular case it's more of a Core Audio issue and Logic is just showing me the symptoms.

Sounds like it.
You have an 828es....assuming TB to the Mac - how is it connected (AVB, etc.) and combined with what other I/Fs to create the agg device?
 

[Atlas007]

2 hours ago, sunbrother said:

Perhaps the order I boot them in is a factor

I would believe so…

[sunbrother]

4 hours ago, oscwilde said:

Sounds like it.
You have an 828es....assuming TB to the Mac - how is it connected (AVB, etc.) and combined with what other I/Fs to create the agg device?
 

828es via USB, not using AVB. The second interface is a MOTU 4pre via Firewire.

In the greater scheme of things, I think the greater theme of this thread might just be CoreAudio having issues occasionally and not really signaling to the user with how to fix it... which is indicated by many of our "fixes" involving restarting and toggling. Just a hunch.

Edited April 10 by sunbrother

[Dr. D]

Just happened to me too... pretty annoying.
I'm still on trial period and I think I won't purchase this software when it's over. this issue is very uneccepted. 

[fuzzfilth]

Please give at least some info about your computer, OS, Logic version, audio interface, etc. For all we know, you might as well be launching Logic 1.7 from floppy on an ATARI Falcon.

[enossified]

I have a MOTU M2 (USB 2.0) and I’ve also had issues with it not outputting audio.  

Usually it happens when I open up a project. I sometimes have to reboot the M2 and in some cases close Logic and reopen it as well. It simply doesn’t pass audio (nothing shown on the M2 meters) although Logic’s meters show signal. Now and then I've had it go south in the middle of a session but that’s much more rare.

This has happened since Logic 10.4 (now on 10.7.9) with both a 2011 iMac and now with an M1 Macbook Air and with OSes from El Capitan to Monterey.

I haven’t bothered to contact MOTU support about it but I’m not running a pro studio.

[fuzzfilth]

Hm. I have run Logic for decades of years with over a dozen audio interfaces, and the only times I lost audio is with a dodgy USB cable. Everything else is rock solid.

So I can't advise anything here.