MrSpock Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 It's only dawned on me that I use my Mac for NOTHING other than music production. I've had it since 2009 and haven't done anything other than music with it (plus have no intention to change this - the Mac is purely my 'music machine' - anything else (boring stuff!) gets done on a laptop). By moving the stuff off the Mac that I don't use (ie: practically everything!), will this free up more power, etc. for making music? If so, what can I move (and what can't I? I don't wanna bugger things up!) Any thoughts on this matter greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 If you're machine has been working ok, leave it be. Getting rid of other stuff that is not running at the same time won't change a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Thanks Triplets! OK, but what if my system HASN'T been running okay? Is it 'normal' to be running into 'System Overload' error messages when you're barely six tracks into a brand new project? For example: my latest 4 minute ('epic' He! He!) Logic song project currently features just six 'Audio' tracks (NB: without 3rd part plug-ins) namely: - 1 Vocal (with Hi Pass/Verb/Compression/EQ plug-ins on channel strip) - 1 Acoustic Guitar (with Verb/EQ/Compression/Stereo Spread plug-ins on channel strip) - 1 Rhythm Electric Guitar (with Logic's 'Clean Echoes' channel strip preset) - 1 Riff-y Electric Guitar (with Logic's 'Garage Rock' channel preset) - 1 Lead Electric Guitar (again with Logic's 'Garage Rock' channel strip preset) - 1 Electric Bass Guitar (a Logic bass preset - I can't remember which one! I'm on my laptop right now & will need to check!) As a rule I tend mainly to work with 'Audio' tracks (MIDI tracks & sample loops only occassionally). Where the above song is concerned it is/was my intention to add the following: XII String Acoustic (x1); BVs (x3); Acoustic Drums (O/Hs (x2) + Kick (x1)); Handclaps (x3); Cowbell (x1); Tambourine (x1). By my reckoning that's about another 12 tracks I'll need to add to do the song justice. Thing is, my system's stalling left, right & centre as is. Going from past experience, the more I attempt to add, the worse it will get (and it feels like it can't get any worse where I'm up to already!) Sorry to blab all this out like this here but ... I NEED HELP! It's becoming a real bone of contention and the means of production is REALLY stunting both my workflow & creativity. EXTRA INFO: I've tried raising my Buffer Size from 128 to 512 but latency begins to rear its ugly head! I've tried freezing tracks but I've a feeling this might actually be making things worse! Sice I don't have any MIDI tracks, it's always an Audio track that's highlighted on playback. My project stalls constantly (error code: -10010) when tracking and regularly in playback mode. Any further thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anp27 Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Any further thoughts? Use an SSD if you're not already doing so, both for your system and your recording drive if you can afford it. Get the fastest SSDs you can afford. Install only the programs you need onto your system. Having the bare minimum will save you disk space and clutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 What are the specs of your Mac Mini? Where are you saving your projects/recording to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 Use an SSD I don't even know what an SSD is! Will look into it - THANKS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 What are the specs of your Mac Mini? Where are you saving your projects/recording to? Cheers Triplets! I'll go look into it and get back to you. CHEERS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eriksimon Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Can you also put up a screenshot of your mixer? That way I don't have to load all those channel strip settings to see which plugins they use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anp27 Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Use an SSD I don't even know what an SSD is! Will look into it - THANKS! You need an SSD (or two). It is life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 You need an SSD (or two). It is life. OK, if I need one (two?) in my life ... what exactly is an SSD? (Plus how come I haven't come across SSDs 'til now? I'm guessing they're a relatively new thing yeah?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eriksimon Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Modern SSD's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive) have been around for a few years now, but they have become (much) more affordable the last couple of years - but they were already invented in the 1970's. So, within the relatively short era we now have personal computers and such, modern SSD's are relatively not that new. Every computershop, online or store now sells SSD's, they are pretty common, and they have been discussed frequently on this forum too, so... looks like you haven't been paying attention... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 So... looks like you haven't been paying attention... Sorry Erik! Trying to get up to speed now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 OK (hope this works!) Here's a bunch of screenshots of my Mac (as requested). Hopefully someone can help me get to the bottom of all this! Six tracks in total (so far!) and stalling (ERROR CODE -10010 every time I try to record something!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 And here's the channel strip screenshots of the tracks I've recorded so far .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 Hopefully the above screenshots of my Mac system info plus current project track channel strips might ring a bell with someone out there & illuminate whether it's something ... A) That I'm doing wrong B) That there's something wrong with my set up or C) Both of the above! Just to recap: As you can see from the above shots (my actual system & current project), I'm only a mere SIX ('Audio') tracks into my latest project yet I'm constantly getting the -10010 error code EVERY time I try to record. As a result I just can't make any further progress. Hopefully some kind soul can spot something from the above info provided that is wrong and point me in the right direction as to how I can improve things and just get going here. ANY advice as to how I might be able to improve things would be VERY gratefully accepted as this constant stalling issue is seriously putting a complete spanner in the works on the creative front. This 'means of production' problem (problems?) is a complete roadblock for me right now. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY HELP!!! PS: My OS is Mountain Lion and I'm still working in Logic Pro 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 PPS: Let me know if you require any further info here (more screenshots, etc.) and I will provide it ASAP - I 'm absolutely desperate to get to the root of this problem in order to (finally!) be able to properly get going this end & start making glitch-free recordings with my Mac. CHEERS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Couple of things: 1 - Don't have Time Machine running while using Logic. 2- What exact model is your external FW drive? Which is where you're saving and recording to, correct? 3- Did you check the CPU and I/O meter to see which one is peaking before you get the overload message? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Thanks again Triplets! I'll go check and get back to you .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 You need an SSD (or two). It is life. My existing external drives are: a 500GB FW for Logic and a TB USB for Time Machine backups. I'm not at all sure what type of SSD might work for my set up and hope someone might suggest a compatible one (two?) but, being 'the thrifty type' this caught my eye (ie: 50% off!) and I was wondering if this might serve the purpose (bear with me, I know nothing about stuff like this - I'm just trying to get all this 'behind the scenes' stuff sorted out so I can crack on with what I'm fairly good at namely 'muzak'!): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kingston-SSDNow-V300-2-5-120GB-SATA-III-Solid-State-Drive-/381078574900?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item58ba0d9734 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Do you know if your FW drive spins at 5400 rpm? Which, incidentally is not what you want. It should be 7200 rpm. What is the exact model and brand of that drive? And did you check the CPU and I/O meter in the transport display? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Do you know if your FW drive spins at 5400 rpm? Which, incidentally is not what you want. It should be 7200 rpm. What is the exact model and brand of that drive? Hi again! Here's the external FW drive I'm using .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 It's a 'Seagate GoFlex Pro for Mac' 500GB FW 800 that runs at 7200rpm. Here's some screenshots of it connected to my Mac: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Did you check the CPU and I/O meter in the transport display? Here's a screenshot of what (regularly!) happens when my machine stalls during recording. I get this error code on average around 20 times per hour every tracking session ie: REALLY frustrating making it impossible to get going with a song (in an ideal recording world the 'means of recording' would be invisible to me therefore allowing me just to concentrate purely on music making - I'm really not very good at the technical side of things as you've probably already established!) Another point I should mention is, even before I get the continual -10010 error code from hell, looking at the Audio I/O level meter whilst recording the meter is almost always in the red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ok, the hard drive is good. But from your screenshot I see another thing: You're not recording to the FW drive but to the internal HD. On your machine that's a no-no. And one core on the CPU is maxed out. Not a good sign either. Do a Save As and choose the FW drive and Include Assets (audio files). Try recording again and see if that changes things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 What is the exact model and brand of that drive? Hi again! Here's the external FW drive I'm using .... So is this no good now?? When I bought it (around about 18 months ago now) I was advised by the sales guy that it was a good buy for my Mac set up. Do I need one of these SSD things and if so what type? Whatever it takes really as I just need to get going this end. Again, thanks in advance for any further advice/insights! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ok, the hard drive is good. But from your screenshot I see another thing: You're not recording to the FW drive but to the internal HD. On your machine that's a no-no. And one core on the CPU is maxed out. Not a good sign either. Do a Save As and choose the FW drive and Include Assets (audio files). Try recording again and see if that changes things. Oh yeah, good spot! I completely forgot to mention ... I was having the same problems recording to the FW external drive so I moved the whole project to the Mac's internal drive but no joy. Maybe something's changed in the meantime? I'll go move the whole project back to the FW external and try making some more recordings (as you suggest). Cheers! PS: Would I just be better getting one of these SSDs do you think?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 PPS: Thanks again Triplets, really appreciate your efforts here Sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Other things that I see from your screenshots: Try using busses and auxes for your reverbs and delay instead of inserts. It'll save cpu Don't use stereo plugins on a mono audio track, make them mono. See if turning Amp Designer and pedalboard off brings the CPU meter down. Use Guitaramp pro instead, which is less of a cpu hog. Turn time machine off and don't have any other programs running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Other things that I see from your screenshots: Try using busses and auxes for your reverbs and delay instead of inserts. It'll save cpu Don't use stereo plugins on a mono audio track, make them mono. See if turning Amp Designer and pedalboard off brings the CPU meter down. Use Guitaramp pro instead, which is less of a cpu hog. Turn time machine off and don't have any other programs running. OK, excellent advice. I'll go put it into practice .... thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSpock Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Don't use stereo plugins on a mono audio track, make them mono. Can I pick your Logical brain again?! Excuse my ignorance here but can you give me some further insight on the above point. Thing is, there's a couple of dedicated Logic guitar channel strip presets that I often use (as shown in my above screenshots) one of them being Logic's in-the-box 'Clean Echoes' guitar sound. I don't alter a thing! It works well with my guitar & I just like the sound I get with this preset purely 'as is'. Here's my set-up process. Literally all I do to achieve my guitar sound is as follows: Electric guitar (NB: mono source) DI'd into my interface > In my Logic project I create a new mono Audio track & record enable it > I make sure 'Software Monitoring' is enabled so I can here the sound whilst I'm playing (I hate playing with a dry DI'd electric guitar sound - no soul to it!) the I make sure the Low Latency button is active > I go to Library/Electric Guitar and then select the 'Clean Echoes' channel preset ... and basically THAT'S IT! There's my preferred clean guitar sound right there. So ... my question is, why would Logic have designed such a preset ie: for a mono guitar source when, as a rule (right?), one is not really supposed to use stereo plugins on mono audio sources? I don't get this. Also, following your advice ... HOW DO I GO ABOUT MAKING THIS PRESET MONO?? (Sorry if this seems really obvious but I don't know how to do this - all the component parts of this sound (eg: Compression/Spread, etc) appear to be in stereo too ie: not just the standard guitar amp & effects.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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