Hi all,

I recently upgraded to a Macbook pro 2018 with the following specs:

2.9Ghz Intel Core i9 processor
32GB RAM
256Gb SSD
Running on macOS Mojave 10.14.3

In Logic I have my system preferences set to:

buffer size: 256
buffer process range: large
Processing Threads: Automatic
Multithreading: Playback Tracks
Summing: High Precision
ReWire behaviour: off

Most of my project files and related content are stored externally (SD cards / external hard drives etc) and my projects feature about 30-40 tracks on average. I typically don't multitask when using logic and turn wifi off to avoid notifications but, weirdly, it seems to work smoother when I have something like Google Chrome Running in the background. I've attached a screen grab of what my CPU usage looks like right now writing this post and playing a project on Logic at the same time.

When I'm playing back mixes or recording you can see that my CPU/HD usage is pretty low but, out of nowhere, my system will give me the error message "Disk too slow or System Overload" and I notice the far left audio bar has spiked massively for seemingly no reason. Some days it hardly happens, its usually pretty manageable, but sometimes I cant go any longer than 10 seconds without crashing.

If anyone knows why this happens or has any ideas on what I can do to fix it that would be very much appreciated right now because today is a very very bad day...

 

Perhaps stupid question but have you tried with a higher buffer?

 

I set buffer size to the highest possible, then when recording midi, turn on low latency temporarily. Also try process buffer range medium.
I wish I could tell you there's a fix for this, but I've been thinking that very same thing everytime I buy a powerful new Mac with a faster processor, more cores, more RAM..... that this will never happen again. Nope. New Logic upgrades do nothing either.
I'm working on a track at the moment and before playback I scroll through to just before a new instrument occurs, play, let it do its panic thing, go back play again and it'll get through, move on to the next etc.... once it's loaded all those data spikes it'll play smoothly from start to finish. It's like trying to make it swallow a large meal in one mouthful. Small bites. No problems.

 

Only audio tracks?
Open the "CPU history" window instead of the "CPU usage"and reduce the View > update frequency to the fastest possible.

 

Ok - You're in luck. I see this a problem A LOT.

You can't really run a Logic (or any DAW) session off an SD card or USB stick. If you have more than a few tracks of audio, the read rate from these devices is often too slow to keep up. Copy your whole project (audio files included) onto a fast external HD or your internal one on the MAC, eject the SD card and reload the session. This will fix this "error" in 90% of cases. This isn't an issue with the software, rather a misunderstanding of how the DAW works. When buying an SD card you should prioritise speed over capacity. If an SD card says it is USB3, that means nothing in regard of it's read/write speeds. You'll find that fast SD cards can cost 10x as much as slower ones. I only use SD cards or USB stick as 'taxis' for my project. I copy them on from one machine and then copy them off to another machine.
Let me know how you get on.

 

My Mac is 3 years old, but I had it maxed-out when new, so it has plenty of power. I also do all my work on an external SSD which is Thunderbolt 2 capable, so I have everything running at optimum efficiency. Or close enough. Yet I still have the problem mentioned in the OP. One solution I've found is when I'm happy with a midi track I freeze it. If you have forty tracks just go through them until all your tracks are frozen (rendered as audio).... I then restart the mac to clear the caches and assorted repositories of unwanted digital nonsense and you'll find the track plays smoothly. If you're happy with the arrangement, export all tracks as audio, import them back into a template for audio only and start mixing. You won't see that "disk too slow" message again, I promise.

 

The sad fact is: You can't.

This happened to almost any kind of session I've ever had to work within logic since I can remember (from approximately logic 5 up to now).

The good thing is that it happened only once per session, usually the first time You've been playing it back.
After that, it was smooth sailing. Busting b@lls anyway. Really annoying persistent bug. (maybe even a feature ?)

 

That's the bottleneck right there. Copy the Files to internal SSD and you should be fine. Because the SATA Connection of internal drives faster than external drives connected via USB.

 

However I find that strange because some time ago I watched on YT a guy who had maybe 100 tracks in his project with tons of midi tracks on a Macbook Pro.

 

delete me

 

its present since like Logic 8 and Apple isnt settling it or adressing.

 

When saving a project you can choose to store the audio files within the project. Do you have this enabled?

 

my friend, try to upload the buffer to 1024 samples. When I start a new session in Logic, my buffer is 128 samples to record and compose ideas (MIDI) so I do not have latency in the process. When I add audio clips and I know that MIDI is going to be edited from the piano roll, I upload the buffer to 1024 to start editing, automating and mixing.

 

But try to freeze the tracks or export them in audio MIDI regions when you think you finished. You can also try to save the files next to the project. Logic what it does here is to pack all the audio clips within the project and having your internal SSD, can help you. Another thing is that if you must take into account a good external disk, that is not full, not so fragmented so that the performance will serve you.