Logic Pro X 10.4.2 normalize automatically

Might be time to delete Logic's preferences, are you using a control surface as well?

First try this: Go up to the Logic Pro X menu in the upper left, select preferences, scroll down to "Reset all preferences except key commands". Execute that command, quit Logic, reboot the computer and try recording. You will need to reset Logic's prefs to any settings you had previously changed, Audio interface I/O buffer size...etc.

Okay so I've dug into this further and figured out what causes this to happen. It would be good if some other users can test similarly to see if this is happening for everyone across the board.

The issue has to do with the new smart tempo feature, and namely that smart tempo now works with multitrack recordings in 10.4.2. I have never found a need to use that feature set. Therefore, here are how my smart tempo preferences look. My understanding is that these settings should basically turn the feature "off".

After I noticed this normalization issue, I also took notice that there are a bunch of files piling up in my audio files folder called "Smart Tempo Multitrack Set x.aif" .

What seems to be happening is that any time you record two or more tracks into logic, it creates one of these files which I can only assume serves as an analysis file for the smart tempo feature.

Dragging and dropping this into logic next to 2 recorded files shows that this file is a summed / normalized version of the tracks just recorded.

Again, assumptions. But seeing as the recorded files don't change from their recorded level, the status bar that myself and other users are reporting showing normalizing isn't in fact normalizing the recorded tracks, but instead normalizing this analysis track. Further proof of this can be shown by inspecting your undo cue just after a multitrack recording.

And for those who don't believe that this is happening:

Mind you, this only seems to occur when the process of generating this analysis file is a resource heavy one. For some users like myself who record long multitrack audio at high sample rates, this is literally every time and it considerably slows down performance, is disruptive for workflow, and essentially doubles the size of my projects.

Suggestion for Apple, provide a way to FULLY turn this feature off. If the user has no intent to use the feature, then please remove the resource-heavy background processes and files piling up in the background.

Again, would appreciate if other users can test and see if the same thing is happening.

There is no such thing as automatic normalization upon recording in Logic. Could you describe what's happening (e.g. which area of Logic's window you're working in) in more detail and post a screenshot / screen recording, please?

Well, this hotshot is willing to bet that there is indeed is NOT such a thing or setting - however, this could be some sort of bug, or it could be that the Normalize key command is somehow assigned to some other message or command. Because what I don't get, is how can the Normalize window pop up and then "automatically" be applied?

If I summon that window, I still have to hit enter or click "Apply" to get the command to be actually executed. And this hotshot has worked with Logic Pro 8, 9 and X, and this is the very first time I have ever heard this complaint. So if any of you coolshots could actually make a screen recording of this phenomenon, that might help, and it might also help to show what your key command and assignments look like. Just hit alt-K, type "normalize" in the search field and make a screenshot of the results, like so:

Because though this hotshot knows (until proven wrong - but I doubt it) that there indeed is no automatic normalization after recording-setting, this hotshot also doesn't doubt that it is actually happening to some coolshots, and the challenge is to discover how this can happen.

But, very first question: does the window as shown in my first screenshot actually pop up? Or is it different? And if it does, does it automatically get Applied? Without any person pressing enter or clicking? And if it does, do you have any sort of macro program or script running? Or perhaps a Control Surface? Does it still happen when you disconnect anything MIDI? And anything Bluetooth or Wifi?

Because what does happen after recording is that the waveform changes a bit when recording is stopped, but that is because the temporary roughly drawn waveform gets replaced by a more accurate one - but that doesn't actually change the level of the recording.

Can any of you please make a screen shot or shots or a screen recording, and/or can describe a bit more precisely what EXACTLY is happening? because Logic "scanning" a file after recording to me sounds like Flex is enabled in some form.

Confirmed here, thanks Audiogamble! I do large event location recording and this 'feature' (i.e. bug) actually crashed a recent concert recording. 100 points to my HDD recorder backup.

Unfortunately, those same settings on my machine still trigger the generation of these "Smart Tempo" files after recording, which inexplicably is described as "normalizing" by the dialogue box.

APPLE / MODS / BETA TESTERS : Please recognize and fix this issue!

I should clarify. The posted settings were the settings that SHOULD, but does not disable the feature. This is a bug and apple has been informed.

Happening to me too! And I'm getting insane CPU spikes now when I have tracks monitored and certain effects on. For me, it's having analyze on in the EQ, and the vintage EQ plugin too. Haven't tried others yet but it's getting really weird, this never happened before and I wonder what I might have changed to make all this happen?

I love how in these apple discussions there's always some hotshot willing to state as a matter of fact that something like "There is no such thing as automatic normalisation upon recording", when that's exactly what's happening!

Add me too to the list. It's driving me insane. Have searched through documentation and settings high and low. This is definitely in 10.4.2 update.

I'll try to take a screenshot or something later when I'm home from work. But I've been using Logic since 9, and I know I don't have any normalize setting on in any form. And this isn't bouncing down either, I've changed nothing in my preferences and have never seen "normalizing" and a progress bar in one of the post-recording actions...ever. Until it just happened to me yesterday. FWIW I was testing out 8 tracks and only having signal up/into 2 of them. The other 6 were recording but didn't have anything coming in the inputs (the mics were plugged in but I didn't turn the phantom power on or gain up because there wasn't anyone behind the drum set). Once I stopped recording a 'normalizing' window and progress bar shows up and disappears just as fast. Also FWIW it didn't seem to actually normalize anything, no input that I tracked showed any louder waveform than what I had dialed into my preamps. It's just a weird thing that Logic may be doing, and the "normalizing" window and progress bar happens so fast I'm not sure it can be caught but hopefully someone can catch it and prove to the naysayers! ha

Edit: I should have added I didn't have flex time or any flex anything going on either. I opened a new project, set up 8 channels, tied each channel to a pre in my Presonus Firestudio Project, got a good signal on the vocal mic and guitar mic I did have and was playing, armed all 8 tracks and hit record. My real issue is that after the new update I'm getting huge CPU spikes when my system is at rest and I'm trying to iron that out before I have an actual recording session with 8-16 tracks at once!

I am not saying nay, except to there being a setting for this to en- or disable. The way you describe it sounds very much like some sort of bug, and that is always possible. Especially since this has only been reported as happening in 10.4.2. **8t I'll try recording track with no signal, see if that triggers it. The problem with these kind of bugs is finding the exact configuration that makes it happen.

😁 Edit: missed your edit, but I still leave this up, for others to check.

Yeah this is the first time in a long time that I can remember intentionally just recording tracks even if there's nothing on them. It didn't seem to normalize the silent tracks or anything (what would normalized silence sound like anyway?! ha). Maybe the silence or lack of any signal in those tracks had something to do with it. Wonder what the original poster's setup was to make that window appear.

I second Pancenters' praise for your investigations, and I will try to replicate your results. I am still very apprehensive towards anything that is named "smart-anything" (yes, that includes my portable minitablet-mobile telephone thingie). Please, machines, let the people do the thinking (and cadence and rythm and swing) - machines are still just machines: too rigid and dumb and soulless and not flexible and not listening to reason or emotion. And as an oldskool "band" kind of musician, I like to do the counting. Even a metronome is sometimes already too rigid for my tastes. Ne me quitte pas.