Logic crashing like crazy and now can't record MIDI

[GeneralDisarray]

I have become so frustrated with Logic Pro X that I'm thinking about trying alternatives. Maybe a software that costs only $200 once and you never have to pay for an update is too good to be true. I keep telling people, Macs are more expensive, but you have all this great software like Final Cut and Logic that you buy once and never pay for an update.

And I can't remember the last time FCP X crashed, but Logic has been a nightmare lately. Now, I truly hope this is something that is not Logic's fault, but rather a plugin or user error. But I'm getting crashes at a pace that is insane, sometimes two in a span of five minutes, and never at a point where I'm pushing my Mac to even remotely close to the top. I have seen YouTubers push Mac Studios with projects that have over a hundred tracks, and this happens to me even with new projects with one track.

It usually crashes when doing something in Eastwest's Opus, like loading a preset in any of its instruments, or just random stuff. But this doesn't mean that Opus is to blame, because it's simply the plugin I use most of the time. Today I was using the Kontakt 5 library and I was trying out different basses from the orchestral folder, and it crashed again. It seems that it will crash at random for doing the most basic tasks, and I thought it was the template that I was using, which I took a lot of time to create, with different layouts, and preferences that don't get saved in the general preferences. But I started a couple of projects from just the empty default project and it crashed in a few minutes.

So I can't really put the blame on Opus, because it has crashed in Kontakt, Arturia V Lab and even bundled instruments.

And to top it all, today I try to play something on the MIDI keyboard, and it plays fine, but the moment I hit record, then it starts acting really weird. It doesn't play anything when I hit a note, and after a couple of seconds, it plays the note but not the way I pressed it, but really long, and then it switches to maybe the fifth note I played in the keyboard, sometimes really short, sometimes really long, completely unusable. 

It feels as if it was an old computer that I'm overloading with this stuff, but both Activity Monitor and the CPU and RAM usage in Opus don't show me anything. It's at around 11% CPU and I can't remember the RAM, but it's also very low usage, and this machine has 64 GB of RAM.

But it's not Opus, since I created another new project, loaded Arturia V Lab, which I had used without problem until recently, and same thing. Then I loaded a bundled instrument, same thing.

Now, I thought maybe there was something wrong with my new MIDI keyboard, but if that were the case, then why does it work perfectly fine except when I try to record?

So I don't know what to do anymore, I'm just tired of the crashes, and the thing is, I did some digging, and found that instability and crashes in Logic are not unheard of. This is not Final Cut Pro X

Is anybody else experiencing crashes all the time, or at least more often than what you would call normal? I mean, to me it's pretty bad when I can say that Logic Pro X is crashing on me way more than Adobe Premiere, which I'm not using all the time like I used to, but it was terrible when I had to use it every day. But it never crashed as bad as this, at most 4 times a day. Logic is crashing 4 times in ten minutes sometimes. I have to be paranoid pressing Cmd+S all the time, every single step.

And the crazy record thing with the keyboard, I don't know what the hell is that about.

Any ideas? If anyone reading this is a software engineer, I'd be glad to post at least part of the crash logs. I tried to look up online copying and pasting parts of it, but it was going to be a rabbit hole, so I gave up.

[triplets]

37 minutes ago, GeneralDisarray said:

Is anybody else experiencing crashes all the time, or at least more often than what you would call normal?

Not at all. Your case is a typical exception which requires patience and diligence to see which 3rd party plugin or combinations, plus external controllers, contribute to your crashes.

Can you list your computer specs, logic version, macOS version and the hardware you have connected?

Edited October 18, 2022 by triplets

[GeneralDisarray]

55 minutes ago, triplets said:

Can you list your computer specs, logic version, macOS version and the hardware you have connected?

Sure. Mac Studio M1 Ultra, 64 GB, 4 TB internal SSD, macOS Monterey 12.6.

Hardware connected:

- Focusrite 2i2 audio interface

- Nektar LX88+ MIDI keyboard bought brand new about a month ago.

- Two Dell P2715Qt monitors 

- Apple Magic Keyboard (not the latest version, the one sold in early 2021)

- Apple Magic Mouse (bought along with the Mac Studio this year)

MIDI instruments

- Arturia Lab V

- Arturia CS-80 V4

- Distrho Cardinal Synth

- Eastwest Opus loading Hollywood Orchestra Opus Edition, Forbidden Planet, Ministry of Rock 1 and 2, and Hollywood Choirs

- Native Instruments Komplete 9, too long to list every single one here

- Spitfire Audio Solar Mercury, BBC Orchestra Starter Edition, Epic Choirs and several LABS instruments

Let me know if that's enough. I'm going to paste a few of the crash logs, just the section that shows the reason for the crash:

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes:       KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000015181f00
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000015181f00
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Reason:    Namespace SIGNAL, Code 11 Segmentation fault: 11
Terminating Process:   exc handler [1641]

VM Region Info: 0x15181f00 is not in any region.  Bytes before following region: 3991347456
      REGION TYPE                    START - END         [ VSIZE] PRT/MAX SHRMOD  REGION DETAIL
      UNUSED SPACE AT START
--->  
      __TEXT                      102ff4000-104b2c000    [ 27.2M] r-x/r-x SM=COW  ...S/Logic Pro X

 

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000001, 0x00000001887f58ac
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Reason:    Namespace SIGNAL, Code 5 Trace/BPT trap: 5
Terminating Process:   exc handler [1891]

Thread 0 Crashed::  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

 

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000001, 0x000000018db518ac
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Reason:    Namespace SIGNAL, Code 5 Trace/BPT trap: 5
Terminating Process:   exc handler [3512]

Thread 0 Crashed::  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

 

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000183ec58ac
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Reason:    Namespace SIGNAL, Code 5 Trace/BPT trap: 5
Terminating Process:   exc handler [1322]

Thread 0 Crashed::  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[David Nahmani]

5 hours ago, GeneralDisarray said:

Is anybody else experiencing crashes all the time, or at least more often than what you would call normal?

No. 

How did you set up your Mac? Did you use migration assistant or restore a Time Machine backup? 

It looks like some of your 3rd party plug-ins aren't compatible with your version of macOS or your Logic version. 

I recommend removing .component files from your AU folder one group of files at a time until you find the culprit. You will find the files in Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ - you may also have some in your user library, which you can access by holding down the Option key and choosing Go > Library from the top menu in the Finder. 

[JakobP]

As a troubleshooting measure, try go main menu Logic Pro > Control Surfaces > Bypass all Control Surfaces, and see if you get the crashes while in that mode...

[GeneralDisarray]

5 hours ago, David Nahmani said:

How did you set up your Mac? Did you use migration assistant or restore a Time Machine backup? 

Neither. I did sign to my iCloud account, which downloaded all the files in the account, but other than that, I did everything from scratch.

5 hours ago, David Nahmani said:

I recommend removing .component files from your AU folder one group of files at a time until you find the culprit. You will find the files in Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ - you may also have some in your user library, which you can access by holding down the Option key and choosing Go > Library from the top menu in the Finder. 

I will try that and report back after I've had some time where I can evaluate if it's still crashing as much or not.

However, what's the difference between pressing Option or not when choosing Go > Library? Whether I press Option or not, the result is the same, it takes me to the user library. Is pressing option supposed to take me to the root library?

2 hours ago, JakobP said:

As a troubleshooting measure, try go main menu Logic Pro > Control Surfaces > Bypass all Control Surfaces, and see if you get the crashes while in that mode...

Thanks, I'll try that too and report back. 

[GeneralDisarray]

3 hours ago, JakobP said:

As a troubleshooting measure, try go main menu Logic Pro > Control Surfaces > Bypass all Control Surfaces, and see if you get the crashes while in that mode...

I tried this first because it was quicker, and it worked, but just the first time I do it and record right afterwards. Then the second time it doesn't. But I don't know why, because I don't have any control surfaces. I have a jog shuttle wheel, which is not connected, and it wasn't when I had all these problems. I tried it a few weeks ago, but found it faster to navigate using the keyboard and mouse.

However, the Impact LX88+ shows as a control surface, which it is because it has faders, knobs and pads. I would think the keyboard is to blame, but why would it work fine when not recording, and then go dumb when recording?

Other than that, I tried to rebuild defaults for the control surfaces and resetting all preferences. Didn't help. But I'll keep trying other stuff after work. If the measures David suggested don't work, I'm going to uninstall and reinstall Logic, and if that doesn't work, then I'll spend the weekend reinstalling macOS from scratch.

[triplets]

2 hours ago, GeneralDisarray said:

what's the difference between pressing Option or not when choosing Go > Library?

With Option is the hidden user library. If you don't press, you won't see it in the Finder menu.

The other is the system library.

1 hour ago, GeneralDisarray said:

If the measures David suggested don't work, I'm going to uninstall and reinstall Logic

Unless the Logic app is corrupted, highly unlikely, that won't change much.

[GeneralDisarray]

1 hour ago, triplets said:

With Option is the hidden user library. If you don't press, you won't see it in the Finder menu.

The other is the system library.

Both take me to the same location, which is /Users/[username]/Library.

[David Nahmani]

11 minutes ago, GeneralDisarray said:

Both take me to the same location, which is /Users/[username]/Library.

That is your user library. The other location, the system library - which is available to all users on your Mac, is Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/

[GeneralDisarray]

6 minutes ago, David Nahmani said:

That is your user library. The other location, the system library - which is available to all users on your Mac, is Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/

I know, I've been using Macs for twenty years. What I mean is, the Go>Library, only takes me to the user library, not to the system one, whether or not I press option while choosing it. For that one, I can only navigate using the Finder, or type the path, but I navigate to both regardless.

Maybe in past versions of macOS it used to be different?

[GeneralDisarray]

Well, I just verified that at least the recording problem is something with the Impact keyboard. I connected my old Acorn Masterkey 61 (also made by Nektar) and the notes I played worked fine during recording, no stalling of any kind.

So I'll send an email to Nektar and see if it's something that I did, or if it's defective.

[David Nahmani]

5 minutes ago, GeneralDisarray said:

What I mean is, the Go>Library, only takes me to the user library, not to the system one, whether or not I press option while choosing it.

Oh ok sorry for the miscommunication. Normally on the Mac, you won't see "Library" in the "Go" menu unless you press the Option key. That's why in order to go to the user library, I suggested your hold down the Option key and click the "Go" menu then navigate to Go > Library. 

[GeneralDisarray]

10 minutes ago, David Nahmani said:

Oh ok sorry for the miscommunication. Normally on the Mac, you won't see "Library" in the "Go" menu unless you press the Option key. That's why in order to go to the user library, I suggested your hold down the Option key and click the "Go" menu then navigate to Go > Library. 

Oh, gotcha, I think I see it anyway because I chose to show it in the preferences.

[GeneralDisarray]

OK, so the guy from Nektar told me the recording problem is a symptom of when Logic's controller preferences get corrupted, and told me which file to delete. So I did that and the recording problem was fixed.

I also deleted the other Logic file in the preferences, so I had to redo all of them, but I already had to do that when I chose to reset them all before. So I don't know if the crashes were related in some way to the corrupted controller preferences, or the regular preferences, I guess time will tell.

If they keep happening, then I will start moving plugins away from the folder they're at one by one.

[polanoid]

On 10/18/2022 at 6:04 AM, GeneralDisarray said:

Let me know if that's enough. I'm going to paste a few of the crash logs, just the section that shows the reason for the crash:

These excerpts of crash logs actually leave out all the important stuff. Next time, please zip the whole crash log and and attach it to your post.

[David Nahmani]

7 hours ago, GeneralDisarray said:

the recording problem is a symptom of when Logic's controller preferences get corrupted, and told me which file to delete. So I did that and the recording problem was fixed.

Great! Good to hear. Thank you for letting us know how you fixed it, much appreciated. 😄

[GeneralDisarray]

Sorry, I realized that I never posted which file it is, so in case somebody else comes across this problem, I'm going to post the steps the guy from Nektar gave me. More experience macOS users probably don't need to follow all these steps because they may have the user library visible, but just in case, here are all the steps:

 

Quote

 

The symptoms you have described usually occur when Logic's control surface settings get corrupted. If you have not already, clear out Logic's control surface configuration file. Please follow these steps:

1. Close any applications you have open
2. Open a Finder window
3. Open the 'Go' menu at the top of the screen
4. With the Go menu open, hold the Alt/Option key on your keyboard
5. Select 'Library' from the Go menu
6. In the Finder window, open the 'Preferences' folder
7. Find com.apple.logic.pro.cs and move it to the trash
8. Start Logic again

 

 

 

[David Nahmani]

Great, thanks a lot for adding those additional details General! 😄

[GeneralDisarray]

6 hours ago, David Nahmani said:

Great, thanks a lot for adding those additional details General! 😄

Well, I had no choice. Professor Chaos and Major Disappointment insisted it was crucial for the success of the mission.

[Stella LTB]

I have had the same issue. My Yamaha P25 Electric piano worked absolutely fine for the last year, but it started crashing my logic. I updated my Mac, uninstalled the old Midi driver, and downloaded and installed the driver again. 
I am so frustrated and I do not know what else to do!

[polanoid]

First of all, a crash log could be helpful, so, could you post one? Also, what exactly does "crashing my logic" mean? Does Logic crash as soon as you connect it? Additionally, I can't even find a "Yamaha P25" on the web - is the name correct?

[oscwilde]

Probably a P125 or P225 (or 525) electric piano.
They have USB to host ports.....that carry both MIDI/audio.
AFAIK, all of them have built-in songs/recording/auto-accompaniment facilities.
I believe different actions/better speakers/more sounds/auto-accompaniment options differentiate the models.

To use them with a DAW....
Audio Loop Back must be turned OFF or you'll get feedback/noise thru the DAW.
You can set whether audio sound input from the [USB TO HOST] terminal is returned to the computer/smart device or not along with the performance played on the instrument.
While holding down [METRONOME] and [RHYTHM] simultaneously, press the G5 key (Off) or
G#5 (On).

To set the MIDI transmit channel:
While simultaneously holding down the [METRONOME] and [RHYTHM] buttons, press one of
the C4–D#4 keys.

To set the MIDI receive channel:
While simultaneously holding down the [METRONOME] and [RHYTHM] buttons, press one of
the F4–A4 keys.

To set Local OFF:
While holding down [METRONOME] and [RHYTHM] simultaneously, press the C5 key. Pressing the key repeatedly toggles between Local On/Off.

The devices all send MIDI Clock and send/receive System real-time commands:
https://au.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/2/1209032/p125_p121_en_mr_a0.pdf