Logic Pro 9 Moving Logic Loops and Samples to external

S

scottmach

Logician
Hello

I just got a brand new I7 Imac. I will be using the internal hd for booting/apps and an external fw800 drive for audio sessions.

I eventually want to move all logic 9 content (loops and samples) onto another external but i don't have one yet. So for now I will be installing logic and its content onto the internal drive. When I eventually buy another fw 800 external what is the best way to move all the logic content to it and then how do I redirect logic to look there. I am planning on using this drive as a sample library drive so eventually all my third party samples (omnisphere kontakt etc) will be moved there as well. Hoping there is a way to do this without causing any issues.

Thanks
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Personally, I'd suggest keeping them on the internal. They don't take much space (if you leave off the music bed tracks and sound FX) and will also take some of the strain off the fw sample drives you are going to use.

That's what I recommend to my tech clients and it seems to work just fine.
 
Upvote 0
Thanks George

So what you are suggesting is logic content (exs instruments jampacks) on the internal with the app and OS, but still use a dedicated sample drive for all third party samples like Omnishpere or Kontakt? Originally I wanted to put the logic samples and loops on the same drive as my other sample libraries essentially having one fw drive dedicated to just that. I thought this was recommended (1 drive os, 1 drive audio, 1 drive samples.) Space on my internal isnt the issue Im just trying to get the best performance.
 
Upvote 0
I agree. I have an iMac 27" i7 as well and I put logic 9 and reason 5 on the internal hard drive and I haven't had any issues. I added a 1TB fw800 external hd about a year later for the sole purpose of time machine back up only. I have at least 100 projects that I have started with no problems. The main thing is to have your files managed properly. Don't have the same type of files in multiple places. You shouldnt have any problems at all. I bought my iMac strictly for running logic, reason, and any music software. And of course web surfIng and YouTube .
 
Upvote 0
I think the basic premise is "if it aint broke, don't fix it".

However, I did move all my loops (but not factory EXS samples) to my separate sample drive, and have done so for a few years and versions of Logic and upgrading computer systems. As drives get bigger and faster, as well as faster (and more) RAM and CPUs, the old school reasons to do this become less applicable.

I also did this as my system is a bit more robust - I have 7 separate busses for hard drives (4 internal, 3 external w/added firewire card) so there is no competition for resources - something you can't set up on your iMac, as George pointed out.
 
Upvote 0
the reason I suggest this is simple: Logic's libraries don't take up too much room, and with 2 drives to stream data, you will be better off in the end. The Logic stuff use one path, and the sample libraries use another.

You could also try using multiple FW drives as well, since the FW bus is often not as busy as people think, and usually has headroom left.

Remember: the more paths for data to run through, and the better your data is spread out, the better your system performance becomes.

For example: I have a client who uses Vienna Symphonic Libraries samples, and we spread all the libraries over 6 drives when we built the system, because we discovered that the more drives we had, the larger amounts of samples we could stream at the same time, and that we could use smaller buffers before we got system overloads due to the buses being slammed by data.

Most people don't have to worry about this, and it is an extreme example, but in the end it is the best way I can verify that this way (multiple drives) works better.

How many Kontakt libraries are you planning on using?
 
Upvote 0
Thanks everyone for the replies

George:
As of now I am just using kontakt with the factory lib. The total list of sample based software I am using is EXS, Kontakt, Battery, Omnishpere, Stylus and Reason. I understand that ideally you would want to seperate these libraries out to as many drives as possible. In reality with what I have the best I can do is to seperate the sample libraries between 2 drives leaving a third fw drive just for recording audio and running sessions. It seems I have two options.

1) Keep the internal drive for just the OS/apps and put all samples (logic and third party) on one external

2)Split the sample libraries between the internal OS drive (exs) and a FW 800 drive (third party).

Pros for option 1 The internal is dedicated to the OS and will never have to look for or stream samples while trying to run apps and snow leopard

Cons for option 1-All libraries being on one disk could cause errors if Im streaming many samples at once

Pros for option 2- Sample libraires split between different drives should allow better streaming of samples

Cons option 2-No dedicated OS drive. Streaming samples from same drive that is running the OS could cause slow downs.

I realise that either one of these options will work for me. I guess it comes down to this. Will I get better performance having a dedicated OS drive, but meaning all sample streaming will come from 1 external. Or get better streaming of samples by splitting libraires between two drives but now I no longer have a dedicated OS drive as it will run the OS and stream some samples. Any thoughts? Thanks so much
 
Upvote 0
Split then like this: Logic and it's library on system drive, The rest on the second and Reason libs/song files on the 3d

I have used my system drive for all Logic Pro content for years, no problems and no slowdowns.

You can also use your samples drive as your Logic song back up drive (you won't run them from this drive, only back them up so nothing gets lost).

The Omnisphere, Stylus and Kontakt libs are going to be your most used libs (at least they are in most of the studios I have either worked in or build for clients).

So the 3 drive system would be the best option in my books. Do you have any idea of how much you are using which library now... do you have a fully produced song you can take a close look at and see how much data each one has?
 
Upvote 0
Back
Top