Troubleshooting CPU Overload in Logic Pro

My client JP booked me to visit his home studio recently to help resolve some of the CPU issues he was having when using third-party plug-ins in Logic Pro on his M1 Mac Studio.

At the start of the session, JP showed me his performance meter in Logic was maxing out on 4 of the 8 cores.

I suspected that the cause of the CPU overload might be the AU instruments and effects that were coded to run on Intel-CPU based Macs rather than the new Apple ARM-CPU Macs.

OSX’s activity monitor showed that the AUCompatibilityHostingService (Intel) was using far more CPU than Logic Pro or the AUHostingService (Apple) so this backed up my hypothesis.

I checked through the version numbers of each third-party plug-in installed on JP’s Mac and checked online to determine if there were updates available for each one. I then downloaded and installed each update individually in order to test each as a separate variable in the investigation. After each update, I opened one of JP’s current large Logic Projects to see the difference each update had on the CPU meter.

Working through the plug-ins I updated:

Dune 3 (Synapse Audio Software)
Kick 2 (Sonic Academy)
Omnisphere and Trillion (Spectrasonics)
Avenger (Vengeance Production Suite)

The most effective change I made was the update to VPS Avenger from 1.8.5 to 1.8.6 which significantly improved CPU performance.

Before

After

I wanted to update Logic Pro, but OSX’s App Store didn’t give me the option to update Logic without updating the Mac’s version of OSX from 10.13.0 to 10.13.7. (I didn’t want to update OSX to a higher version, as this might create new problems.) The highest version of Logic we could run on OSX 10.13.7 was 10.11.0.

After all the updates, I opened one of JP’s large Logic projects to make a video of the improvements:

A huge improvement! JP could now run his project without CPU spikes.

If you have problems with any aspect of Logic and would like expert support please get in touch.

Categories: Logic plugins problems, Logic Pro, On-Site Support, Spectrasonics

Recent Reviews

    
 
 
         
   Laura Forrest-Hay 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Paul reinstalled all my lost sample libraries, streamlined the storage on my computer so it works faster and fixed my corrupted disk. it took us a couple of sessions and he was friendly and patient throughout. He never made me feel stupid and never over-explained stuff I already knew - in fact he boosted my confidence. Would highly recommend. I've put him on speed dial!
  
 
        
   MrMattkitt 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Paul was brilliant, listened to the issues I had on Cubase and my home studio, worked methodically through potential problems and  sorted everything. Amazing service, down to earth and explained everything so I
could understand. I am a very happy song writer once again thanks to Paul! Will be using Paul again in the future and highly recommend. Thanks Paul.
  
 
        
   Ciarán Hanna 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Honestly, if you're in any way stuck in a creative block because of the gear you have, you've more questions than answers about what the best setup should be for your flow, or even if you have very nuanced problems in your DAW/with your gear, the service Paul provides is second to none. Besides being an extremely nice guy, he knows his stuff and takes the time to understand what you want to get out of each session and makes sure all is good to go! Can't recommend him enough!
  
 
        
   Trudie Brogan 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Really great service. Paul is so knowledgeable and I learned so much. Totally recommend.
  
 
        
   Cottin Ulysse 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Paul was fantastic, he solved my problem in less than 30mn, and he is a lovely guy. I really recommend him.
  
 
        
   Justin Bikram 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Paul provided as stellar service, worth every penny. I came to him with a genuine issue that was affecting my Logic Pro 11 album project regarding drums and midi maps and he solved my problem most efficiently.  He was patient, courteous, quick thinking and highly knowledgeable. I will certainly consider using the service again and thoroughly recommend Audio Support -
Thank you Paul - you are a star :)
  
 
        
   josh fulford 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Working in Reaper.
Super knowledgeable, friendly, speaks in easy to understand terms.
Paul is helping us DAW newbies get in the game. Paul got my lost plugin files working again as well as showed me how to find missing wave files for projects that were loading incorrectly. Keep this man on speed dial.
  
 
        
   Richard Grant 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Paul fixed in around half an hour some midi keyboard/controller problems I have been trying to solve but have had to live with for around two years! He is very knowledgeable and patient and the Any Desk link worked perfectly. I wish I had found his website sooner and wouldn't hesitate to call on his services again.
Rick Grant
  
 
        
   Paul B 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Paul was excellent in helping me diagnose and resolve a problem I had on Logic Pro 12 file issues
  
 
        
   William Schrul 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Paul really helped get my Cubase up and running again.  He really knows his stuff, and I'll definitely look him up again when I'm stuck.  Thanks!!!
  
 
  
 
  
 
   Google rating score: 5.0 of 5, based on 160 reviews

Let’s Get Your System Running Smoothly.

No automated tickets, no waiting queues — just one-to-one help from an experienced music technology specialist. I’ll connect to your system remotely, identify the issue, and guide you through the fix.

Request Consultation

Troubleshooting CPU Overload in Logic Pro

Root Cause / Concept

Outcome

Intervention Risk

Before

After

Recent Reviews

Let’s Get Your System Running Smoothly.

Related Case Studies

Why does my Mac get system overload errors with OBS and Logic?

I'm getting latency with my M-Audio Delta card in Cubase 8.5 on Windows 10. I've read that I need to change the buffer size in the ASIO control panel, but when I click to open it from Cubase nothing happens. How do I get to it?

Reaper missing audio files after moving my project folder?

I've produced a backing track and had a singer record vocals for it, but they don't sit right. I've added reverb and compression like I saw on YouTube and adjusted the volumes, but either the vocals overwhelm the track or the track overwhelms the vocals. How do I fix it?