Skip to content

Logic Pro playhead stuck at beginning of song

  • by
Logic Pro's control Surface setup window

Remote support

Connected with a new client in England who was having a problem with playback in Logic Pro. Logic loaded correctly but when the client pressed the Play button on the transport bar the playhead of Logic got stuck at the beginning of the song and wouldn’t move through the track. The client contacted me via my email enquiry form and we booked a remote support session for early evening of the same day.

After I had connected with the client on Anydesk and he showed me the problem occuring I had a look at his Logic MIDI environment. I could see there was a large amount of MIDI and Sysex data running through Logic which shouldn’t be there.

Logic Preferences – Controller Setup

I looked at his Logic – Preferences – Controller Setup and found there were two controller devices recognised by Logic. The client told me these were for older control surfaces he was no longer using. I spotted that one of the controllers was routed in and out of the OSX IAC driver. This was the cause of the problem. 

By running controller data in and out of Logic on the same virtual MIDI port a feedback loop was created and Logic’s transport control was being told to start the song repeatedly. By removing the unused controller devices the transport problem was resolved. I also disabled the IAC driver in OSX Audio/MIDI Setup as it wasn’t needed.

My  client was kind enough to write me a nice review after the session.


About the Author

PAUL ANDREWS

I’m the owner and lead technician for Audio Support, a small company based in London, UK that connects remotely with clients worldwide to help them with their music technology issues. I’ve run Audio Support since 2005 and in that time I’ve seen and solved thousands of recording studio problems. 

Outside of Audio Support, I run music workshops at a local school, play bass in a 90s tribute function band and perform modular synth jams with friends on Twitch.


Get support for similar problems:

More Logic Pro problems solved