Logic As A Soft-Synth Host
Myself and some colleagues work for a very high-profile composer/client. We recently did some tests to see what kind of performance we could get out of Logic when used as a soft-synth host.
Our setup consists of 3 macs:
1. A Dual Processor G5 (OSX 10.4.9) running Pro Tools HD3 Accel 7.4 with 6 x 192 Interfaces.
(This is our main recording system)
2. A Quad-Core Mac Pro (OSX 10.5.6) running Digital Performer 5 addressing 5 x MTP/AV MIDI Interfaces,
and also addressing the soft-synth rig over network MIDI
(This is our main sequencing system - mainly MIDI only so that it is ultra-fast & not bogged down by soft-synths)
3. An 8-Core Mac Pro (OSX 10.5.6) running Logic 8.0.2 with a MOTU 828 feeding lightpipe audio back to Pro Tools.
(This is our main soft-synth host)
We set up 16 tracks for MIDI instruments, and in the Environment addressed each track directly for MIDI
When addressed externally (MIDI coming from the DP5 Rig) we noticed that no matter what combination of instruments we have loaded on the 16 tracks, the CPU Performance window shows that only the last core is being used for instrument processing power. (see screenshot "1. Logic Seq External MIDI.jpg")
http://s693.photobucket.com/albums/vv295/Tweakhead/?action=view¤t=1LogicSe qExternalMIDI.jpg
If we play MIDI from the actual instrument tracks internally, then Logic distrbutes the load across all the cores (just as you would hope). (see screenshot "2. Logic Seq Internal MIDI.jpg")
http://s693.photobucket.com/albums/vv295/Tweakhead/?action=view¤t=2LogicSe qInternalMIDI.jpg
This essentially means that Logic is absolutely useless as a soft-synth host, and buying an 8-core is a complete waste of money if it is to be used in this manner.
My question to all other soft-synth host users is whether all potential hosts act the same? ie Cubase, Pro Tools?
I cannot think of any logical reason why Logic should function this way. Is it simply an oversight by the Apple programmers? Do you think they have never tested this?
Our setup consists of 3 macs:
1. A Dual Processor G5 (OSX 10.4.9) running Pro Tools HD3 Accel 7.4 with 6 x 192 Interfaces.
(This is our main recording system)
2. A Quad-Core Mac Pro (OSX 10.5.6) running Digital Performer 5 addressing 5 x MTP/AV MIDI Interfaces,
and also addressing the soft-synth rig over network MIDI
(This is our main sequencing system - mainly MIDI only so that it is ultra-fast & not bogged down by soft-synths)
3. An 8-Core Mac Pro (OSX 10.5.6) running Logic 8.0.2 with a MOTU 828 feeding lightpipe audio back to Pro Tools.
(This is our main soft-synth host)
We set up 16 tracks for MIDI instruments, and in the Environment addressed each track directly for MIDI
When addressed externally (MIDI coming from the DP5 Rig) we noticed that no matter what combination of instruments we have loaded on the 16 tracks, the CPU Performance window shows that only the last core is being used for instrument processing power. (see screenshot "1. Logic Seq External MIDI.jpg")
http://s693.photobucket.com/albums/vv295/Tweakhead/?action=view¤t=1LogicSe qExternalMIDI.jpg
If we play MIDI from the actual instrument tracks internally, then Logic distrbutes the load across all the cores (just as you would hope). (see screenshot "2. Logic Seq Internal MIDI.jpg")
http://s693.photobucket.com/albums/vv295/Tweakhead/?action=view¤t=2LogicSe qInternalMIDI.jpg
This essentially means that Logic is absolutely useless as a soft-synth host, and buying an 8-core is a complete waste of money if it is to be used in this manner.
My question to all other soft-synth host users is whether all potential hosts act the same? ie Cubase, Pro Tools?
I cannot think of any logical reason why Logic should function this way. Is it simply an oversight by the Apple programmers? Do you think they have never tested this?
Mac Pro 3GHz 8-Core, Mac OS X (10.5.6), Soft Synth Rig