Hackintosh running Logic Pro 9.1.8 issues

[nav2110]

Hey, I have been running my hackintosh mountain lion, on gigabyte z77x ud5h motherboard, i7 3770. I built it to use it as a music production macpro. I have been having some serious issues with Logic Pro though. When I'm recording audio tracks, at random moments, theres some minute delay, followed by heavy signal distortion and interference for a few seconds. It then stabilizes and functions normally for a few minutes before it happens again. Sometimes, while playing back recorded stuff, there is some serious crackle that happens. This interference is very annoying and I would like to solve this issue. I'm running an Apogee Duet 1, firewire 400 off the motherboard, and recording onto a Seagate 1tb 7200 rpm hard drive. I would like to know if there are any BIOS mods, specific to this issue, that can help clear this issue. Please help, I would like to work peacefully Cheers!

 

[Alphacopter]

I have been having this exact same problem and it's been incredibly frustrating to figure out. Here is an audio sample of the problem:

View attachment Logic Pro Problem.mp3

The source of the problem seems to be the I/O Buffer Size in Preferences>Audio>Devices>Core Audio; changing this value fixes the problem, but unfortunately it's only for a short while (2-5 minutes at best). I'd guess that it might have something to do with the Core Audio drivers, but my knowledge is fairly limited.

Anyone have a better explanation or theory?

 

[beelzebozo]

Hey, I have been running my hackintosh mountain lion, on gigabyte z77x ud5h motherboard, i7 3770. I built it to use it as a music production macpro. I have been having some serious issues with Logic Pro though. When I'm recording audio tracks, at random moments, theres some minute delay, followed by heavy signal distortion and interference for a few seconds. It then stabilizes and functions normally for a few minutes before it happens again. Sometimes, while playing back recorded stuff, there is some serious crackle that happens. This interference is very annoying and I would like to solve this issue. I'm running an Apogee Duet 1, firewire 400 off the motherboard, and recording onto a Seagate 1tb 7200 rpm hard drive. I would like to know if there are any BIOS mods, specific to this issue, that can help clear this issue. Please help, I would like to work peacefully Cheers!

Is your OS X installed on a SSD or that Seagate? I've only seen Logic Pro work well when it is installed to an SSD and not a mechanical drive.

Also, make sure you're using the USB 2.0 ports and not the USB 3.0 ports.

I moved this topic to Post-Installation > Audio since you put it in the wrong sub-forum.

 

[Alphacopter]

Update for you guys on the problem:

beelzebozo

I have a 256GB OCZ Vertex 4 SSD, and I'm having exactly the same problem, so I don't think it's related to the drive type. I also run my Presonus AudioBox USB interface into a USB 2.0.

nav2110

I've run some tests on the problem and here's what I've found:

1) The problem occurs with every DAW I have installed, which includes Logic Pro 9, Studio One 2, and Garageband.
2) The problem occurs on my Hackintosh and my late 2009 MacBook Pro, each with completely different specs.


I'd say we might have better success on a Logic Pro help forum (or a DAW help forum in general), as the problem does not seem to be Hackintosh-related.

 

[nav2110]

I run the same setup on my Macbook pro early 2009 model, 15inch, which is running Snow Leopard, and I have no problems. Could this be a Mountain Lion issue? Audio hiccups happen even while playing music off iTunes, or watching movies/ video, but they are very minimal.

 

[Alphacopter]

I just figured out that the problem was my audio interface. Here's the test I ran:

I plugged my instrument directly into the microphone jack on my computer, bypassing the audio interface (using a 1/8"-1/8" cable with a 1/4" adapter). Then I switched my input in Logic to "Built-In Input" (Preferences>Audio>Devices>Core Audio>Input Device). Sure enough, the audio distortion stopped.

Even though your setup runs fine on your MacBook Pro, this might be worth a shot to eliminate another possibility of what could be causing your problem.

 

[jwkolberg]

You might want to buy a firewire card with a TI chipset. Your onboard firewire chipset is VIA which is notorious for having issues with audio interfaces. See this similar thread: http://www.tonymacx86.com/desktop-compatibility/70665-ga-z77x-ud5h-1394-via-chipset.html

 

[Ramap]

I've been using logic for 12 years and this sounds to me like a latency issue. Sometimes when you add new audio devices (plug in a webcam or something else with a core audio driver for the OS to choose from) it confuses the core audio drivers and creates a weird, scratchy sound exactly like this. It can also happen if your computer goes to sleep for an extended period... when it wakes the core audio driver doesn't come up properly and has scratch and time delay, requiring a reboot. What is your latency in logic set to? try 128 or 256 and see if it helps. Also 'very slightly' overclocking can help (sounds crazy, but it was a perfect fix for the fax machine background noise I had on my Duet 1).

a lot of audio guys are staying away from mountain lion still... in the audio world its not recommended to stay current with upgrades if your older setup is working fine, 'if its not broke don't fix it'.

I also had a PCI firewire card when I used the Duet 1 (as jwkolberg mentioned earlier) and I would definitely recommend getting one to try, they are very inexpensive.

 

[vinibarretos]

Hello, I have the same problem that you, the sound that you have posted is like a my sound. I don't know what I do, i'm have a GA-Z77X-UD5H, Logic Pro X, and I connect the guitar without a audio interface, i'm use a adapter normal, in ~3 minutes the sounds stay bad. I'm install de Apple HDA and ALC898 using multibeast. When i'm listen some musics in itunes or youtube this problem is don't happen, this so happen in garageband or logic, please help me, i want so much create a song for test my hackintosh, lol.
Sorry me for my english, i'm from brazil and i'm don't practice this language so much.
Thank You, and I wait a answer.

 

[DimeVagg]

Install Clover, and try this
I have no more issues like these.