Expected performance of logic pro mixing on 13" MacBook Pro?

I am considering the 13" MBP over the 15" because of cost. I could afford the 15" but it is a considerable price jump for me and I am afraid I am just being tempted by the classic "you must buy the fastest of fastest computers" bug. I would rather spend the money saved on an Apogee Duet and external monitor.
I would like to know what kind of performance level I can expect from the 13" base model MBP with 2.4ghz, 4GB RAM and 250GB hardrive.
I would not be recording more than 2 tracks at a time with it, but I would like to be able to take studio recordings of my band and import them into Logic, and have enough processing power to work with 16-20+tracks with effects without it being a complete slug or crashing.
will this base model meet my expectations?
I am coming off of a PowerPC G4 1.3Ghz 14" ibook with 1.3GB of RAM, running Garageband with up to 10 tracks and seeing pretty slow performance but still "getting er done" so to speak.
I am also slightly concerned about buying a 13" because of the 4 year old Core Duo processors, but again. Having the fastest for the sake of fastest is a trap i would like to avoid.
Thank you so much for any insight, guidance, advice and experience you have had with this scenario.

Clintage3 wrote:
It seems to have some weird issue with if you're using a virtual instrument MIDI track, if you have it selected while recording, it gives the disk too slow error.
That is not entirely correct. It really depends on a few other factors too (like what plugins are used/active in the project, AND of course the power needed by the particular instrument of which the track is selected). Sculpture will stress the CPU a lot more than let's say, the ES1. So it is not a given that having a Software Instrument Trackb selected during recording will result in an overload, but if you have overloads with an SI track selected, it'll probably go away when you select an audio- or aux track.
The only reason to have an SI track selected during recording is when you are capturing a complete performance (playing AND singing). when I do that I use a separate project with just one SI track and one audio track and no insert plugins. After capture, I'ld open the (main) project and import those two tracks from the "capture" project.
It is always better to underestimate the performance of your Mac when recording. Even better is to understand how to manage the CPU 'needs' of Logic Pro, like which plugins are "gasguzzlers" (Space Designer, Sculpture etc) and which are relatively light.

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How to Download external MIDI Library to improve performance in Logic Pro 7

MIDI files are on desktop. For test run, used Logic Pro 7 File>Import>Open file type MIDI files. Found song.mid in Applications file, downloaded to song#.Iso Arrange Score, no sound, though meters activated.
What is #.Iso Or is it #.1so?
Extensive trying to make it work and reading of manuals, and online manuals were of no help so I'm here for help.
Most Sincerely,
lakesidetrombone, a dinosaur
Mac Book Pro
Logic Pro 7.2.3
Finale 3.0 to 2007
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Yamaha SY77
Mackie CR1604-VLC

Hi,
Hit the Caps Lock key.
J.

Recording Microphone through Alesis Firewire Mixer to Logic Pro won't work

I am trying to record a simple vocal performance into Logic Pro 8 through an Alesis Firewire Mixer. The mixer is corresponding with my CPU and serves as the input/output. The mic comes loud and clear through the monitor speakers. I can't figure out the basics of getting this to record into logic, or how to edit the sample once I have it.
This should be the easiest thing to do and I don't see it layed out in detail anywhere in the manual.
Somebody Help!

Okay i have the input in Logic set to "input 1" and the microphone going into Input 1 on the Alesis but no microphone levels are appearing in Logic, though the microphone IS coming through the speakers. (the Alesis is corresponding with the computer, playing tunes and such)

Good hardware to run After Effects and Logic Pro?

Hello Anyone Who Will Listen!
I am currently using a 15" MacBook Pro running on OS X 10.7.5 (Lion)
--Processor 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7
--750 GB HardDrive
--4 GB RAM (1333 MHz DDR3)
--AMD Radeon HD 6770M 1024 MB Graphics
--I also use a WD "My Passprt Studio" 1TB External Hardive. (I store all my Logic Pro, After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator projects on there instead of on the Main MacBook HD which only has 750GB of Memory)
I am a musician and an audio engineer of sorts. I have been producing music on my MacBook Pro using Logic Pro, amongst some other third party Plug-ins that are each just as big as Logic Pro. And for the past year I've been hittin it pretty aggressively as I produced my entire album with my MacBook Pro being the only computer involved in the process. As you probably know that is a hefty workload to put on a computer between recording tracks, mixing and mastering...I'm honestly surprised my MacBook Pro made it through the whole process with only 4GB of RAM. Although it did give me some "System Overload" messages along the way which got to be very annoying interrupting my workflow. And while I was using Logic Pro I could never have another application open at the same time. Even something like Safari could not be opened while I was using Logic Pro.
Now to top it all off I am using other Applications to market my music such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects. I'm using version CS6 for Photoshop and Illustrator and using the new Creative Cloud version for After Effects.
Now that I've explained what I use my computer for I can explain the actual problem haha...Inside Logic Pro there were two indicators, one labeled HD and the other labeled CPU, if one or the other reached its limit the system would overload cause lagging or just a shut down/freeze. And while working in Adobe After Effects the "RAM Preview" almost never plays back in realtime if I get more than a minute into a song that a am making a Kinetic Typography Video for.
So I need a new Computer or external HD or Increased RAM that will make these things no longer happen...I am open to any suggestions or ideas.

This Trashcan is an option, but carries the usual disadvantages of all Apple products:
Huge price
Mediocre specs
Only single CPU
Slow video cards
Only Thunderbolt 1 connection
Limited expansion capabilities.
A PC would offer much better price / performance, but Logic Pro is the limiting factor.

Yosemite 10.10.1 with Logic pro X 10.0.7

Hello guys. i just wanted to start a small conversation according to the performance of logic pro x on the latest macbook pro's (mid-2014)
i am on a 13macbook pro running yosemite 10.10.1 and logic pro x 10.0.7...
Everything works fine and smoothly but the there is just one thing that freaks me out. the level meters gets very laggy sometimes. for no reason.(mostly when i add new audio files but many times for no reason) . all i have to do is to make any activity in the logic's environment to "wake them up" (like opening the mixer or changing the selected channel)and then it may appear again.
i have tried everything from clean installing to various turnarounds i found on the web . but nothing.
i think that it might be a bug or method that logic use to spend less graphics. i don't know. i wondered if anyone else has that issue. its has nothing to do with cpu,heavy projects,etc. i have tested it in all the cases.
so what do you think? have experienced this issue before?

Logic Pro X + Yosemite (and even more so + Retina) is a recipe for less performance...... at this current time...
The graphical 'lagging' you notice is an example of this reduction in performance and has been well reported here and elsewhere.
It's not the only affect in this drop in performance however as overall Logic performs less well with Yosemite especially with Retina Macs...
A quick test using the Logic Benchmark test shows that particular combination of OS X and Logic Pro X indicates a reduction of at least 15% in general performance at this time... and in many cases it rises to about 30% ... with projects that ran without issue under 10.9.4 having sporadic 'Overload' issues under 10.10.1
Currently I don't recommend installing Yosemite on any system where the use of Logic is important..... but instead, to stick with 10.9.4/5 for the time being until such issues are resolved.
Cheers..
Nigel

Using main stage and Logic Pro at same time?

Hi all,
Is it possible to use Mainstage to play sounds and at the same time take the sounds and with a Firewire mixer record the out of mainstage into Logic Pro? I'd like to do this internally without using an additional soundcard.
I could use my FastTrack Pro to control the sounds in Mainstage and then use the Outputs of the FastTrack Pro to feed into the Firewire Mixer and then Record the performance in Logic Pro.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Earl Green

yep ... I do it like that all the time.
Soundflower is your friend for piping audio out of mainstage into an audio track in Logic.
http://cycling74.com/products/soundflower/
To capture midi, just create an empty software instrument in logic and leave it record enabled (i.e. uncheck "open library" when creating it, and then just never select a software instrument to go on the track). This will record all the midi messages you send to mainstage.
Granted, that only gets you so far. Playing that midi track in Logic isn't going to make any sound until you assign a software instrument to it, but it can be handy.
A lot of times I'll record jam sessions with my band this way. Usually I'm playing pretty simple patches. 90% of the time it's just the Steinway samples, or NI B42 for organ stuff. If we do something particularly brilliant, but I flubbed the keys, I'll go into logic and manually assign whatever patch I was using in mainstage to it, then edit the midi.
You could, in theory use something like the IAC device to route midi back OUT of Logic, into MainStage (and then capture the audio out of mainstage back into logic with soundflower). Essentially making MainStage into one big software instrument in Logic. I've never tried it, but others on this board have posted about doing this before, and I don't see why it wouldn't work.
I really wish Apple would just setup Mainstage to work this way out of the box. It'd be an incredibly powerful tool.

No Sound Output from Logic Pro 9

I recorded a 4-track performance in Logic Pro 9, but when I play it back the displays show that the sound is there but no sound comes out of my computer. Other files that I have recorded in Logic Pro 9 play fine. Any Suggestions?
My Preferences Core Audio is set to Built-in Output, with an I/O Buffer Size of 256, 24-Bit Recording, Unversal Track Mode and Software Monitoring. Audio Settings specify Automatic Management of Channel Strip Objects, Automatic Naming of Channel Strip Objects and Playback Pre-roll, with a sample rate of 44.100 kHz. My Apple Sounds System Preferences are set for Built-In/Internal Speakers, the output volume is all the way up, and the mute is off. I cannot figure out what is keeping the sound from coming out. Again, any ideas would be appreciated...

Here are some things to try.
You said you have core audio set to built in outout , yet you have an Apogee ensemble. Can you hear audio coming from the computer output?
Can you play other audio files from this session?
In the lower right hand corner of Logic in the arrange window there is a volume control, did you turn that down without realizing it?
Can you hear audio from another Logic Session?
Can you hear Audio From Itunes?

Digital Performer or Logic?

We have an old version of Performer (OS9, Pre-Digital Performer). The old Mac died, we'll be getting a new one and need to buy either Digital Performer or Logic Pro/Express(one of them). Does anyone have any comments about the pros / cons comparing these programs? Thanks for helping us upgrade.

Which program you get, may depend on what you need your software to do. I use both programs and like them both for different applications
Audio Recording: Both record audio and do a fine job. Logic is just a bit less of a cpu hog, meaning you may be able to have a couple more tracks in Logic over DP
Virtual Instruments: Logic wins hands down. I don't care for DP's VI's at all and think they are unusable. If you plan on using VI's, Logic has all you might need. If you get DP you will have to spend a few thousand more to get the kind of instruments that come with Logic
Plug-in's: Both have them, Logic has many more and most are real good. DP has a few good ones. Logic has a tons of presets to give you a starting point. DP has a few.
Channel strip settings: Logic has a ton of them. DP has none, nor the ability to save channel strip settings.
Scoring to film. I have never tried it, but I have a couple of friends that write for TV shows and have won awards for their work, and they work in DP. But then there are a few who contribute to this forum and do the same in Logic.
Midi recording and editing: Both do it and have sophisticated midi editing abilities. I prefer DP over Logic for midi editing. For me it is much more intuitive and easier to work with. Even though I prefer Logic's GUI I can build a midi song in DP much faster.
Are you using outboard synths? DP all the way! Logics way of addressing outboard gear in outdated, non intuitive, stupid and a total pain in the butt. Logic won't even fully utilize features of the Mac's Audio Midi setup. DP uses .midnam (midi name) and .midev (midi device) files stored in the Mac's AMS which are also easy to edit, to call up bank and patch names on your synths. In logic you have to manually set it up in the environment (took me about a week) and then save it as a template. if you call up another template then you have to drag the environment from the synth template because logic's environment import function is broken
Midi files. DP all the way. if you plan on importing and exporting standard midi files get DP, Logic's import and export functions for SMF's are very buggy and unreliable. Also when I import SMF into logic I get many inconsistencies, with notes not playing back properly. Exporting midi is a real nightmare. missing notes and quantization problems. DP is rock solid. never a problem importing or exporting, unless of course you import something created in Logic.
Live Performance. DP, hands down. The ability to save set lists is big for me. Logic cannot do it. virtual racks of VI's that all songs in the list work off of, so there is no load time. You can set it to auto play though the list or just call up the next and wait for you to start it.
So what do you need?
If you are a song writer and looking for a great and economical way to get your songs recorded, I think Logic would be best way to go. As a creative tool you can't beat it. It comes with everything you need right out of the box. Plus let's not forget all those great apple loops to get those creative juices flowing. DP will end up costing a lot more to get what comes in Logic
If you strictly do midi production and live performance get DP
If you can afford it, get both
my .02
Don

Performance issues with Logic Pro 9

Hi,
I'm experiencing quite big performance issues with Logic Pro 9:
bad midi timing and sync, user interface is kinda slowing and less reactive, ...
Mac Pro 2x2.26 Ghz Quad, 4Gb ram, early 2009, shipped with 10.5.6 now upgraded to 10.5.8
Should I upgrade to 10.6.2?
Thanx

Hi,
I'm using the same machine ...
I never get any performance issues
I bought my mac in March 2009 and I was ben ready to work in less that 3 days without issue...
so more details about your setup are required to answare!
4GB ram???
I suggest to check your ram!!!
Ram must be compatible with Xeon Nehalem Try specification!
if you add 1GB of ram from nor clear manufactor.. i suggest to disconnect the addition 1GB RAM
G

Logic Pro 7 Mix Bus -- Mixing in Logic Pro 7.0 -- Something is wrong

Ok, Maybe its just me, or my crappy audio interface, or both. anyways, heres my issue.
Heres the scenario,
I have approx 30 tracks, a handful of exs's, eq's on most channels, everything is fine, the track is sounding great and i cant complain. I have done many mixes with a modest amount of tracks 30-60 tracks and they sound great.....
however,
I am working on this one song that is pushing close to 100 tracks. the mac is holding up nicely, however.... there are parts in the song where i have many elements playing simultaneously. The recordings sound good when solo'd. nice level, minimal eq, very light compression if needed.
when i let all the tracks play together, my mix sounds like crap.....it sounds so smashed, colorless, lifeless, kinda dead sounding. as if it had no depth.
I have never had this problem before. I have mixed lots of music in logic pro 7.
I feel as if all the calculated numbers in the mix bus are not adding up correctly.
MY AUDIO INTERFACE...
Digi Mbox2
yes i know, IMHO its a POS
I am forced to have it because there are still some PT sessions that i need access to,
I want an Apogee Ensemble
anyways
has anyone ever had a mixbus issue?
am i gonna have to take this project to an PTHD room?
or perhaps a good analog mixroom?
there have been quite a few mixes that i have done on this system that went straight to the mastering lab and then published...
this track is kickin me in my a$$
Thanks
Nicktunez Inc
G5quad 10GBram 2x250GBHDD Mac OS X (10.4.8) mbox2, BigKnob, Gen1031a, NS10s

jord, hi, yes i used to use them heaps, but the arrangements and track count were smaller as well.
unfortunately, when you have to sub grp many more sections for an orchestra as well i noticed a degradation in sound from them to the summing buss.
i checked all the ADC settings and so on.
so i reverted to trk > stereo sum.
i use groups to control sub levels.
i sort of liken this to the similar use on an analog console.
when trkg, we'd use the monitor mixer and the main chnl strps would be used for mix down.
to me, it was quite noticable that the quality changed/dropped when the main chnl strps were used. one or two were ok, but 40 became too colored.
the monitor mixer was less complex with less circuitry. cleaner.
this is where i stopped using eq a lot, mid 70s, and now i focus on well recorded sounds first.
anyway, i sure this wouldn't worry most people.

Do you have to add effects to Logic Pro X loops when mixing a song?

Hi everyone,
I have a question that has been puzzling me and I cannot seem to find an answer for! I have searched high and low on the internet and still cannot find the answer and so I would be grateful to everyones help with this issue.
My question is that you hear so much about the fact that when you are recording and mixing a track that different instruments for example the Bass Drum and the Bass guitar occupy similar frequencies and we are told that this is why you have to add effects to these instruments when mixing but what I want to know is are they talking about just organic instruments like real drums and a real bass guitar that you manually play and record to Logic Pro X`s audio tracks? Or should you treat the Loops exactly the same? And should you also add effects to the Logic Pro X loops when you are mixing those specific tracks?
For example if I add a Drum Loop or Bass Loop to a project and then start mixing the song should I add any effects for example EQ, Compression to these Loops? And what would be the best effects to add to the Bass and the Drums when mixing to help them stand out in the mix?
Many thanks.

Jamiesroom wrote:
... when you are recording and mixing a track that different instruments for example the Bass Drum and the Bass guitar occupy similar frequencies and we are told that this is why you have to add effects to these instruments when mixing ...
Whoever told you that overly generalized rule, please stop listening to that person .
The way you post your question (and they are good questions) points out a big problem nowadays. There is so much cookie cutter solutions out there like if you have this, then use that, if you want to get this sound, press that button. The problem with that is that you you often have no idea why you are doing that in the first place.
Let me give you a simple example about gardening (sorry about that). If I grow tomatoes and look up on the internet how often to water them, I can find an answer "water the tomatoes once a week". I might do that and result is that the tomatoes will die. What I didn't take into account is that the advice was given from someone growing tomatoes in Russia, and I live in California where I might need to water them once a day. So, the answer you are looking for is not "how often to water the tomato", instead you have to learn how much water, depending on your climate, the tomato needs"
Your music is the tomato. So the question is not what button to press (how often to water), but what button needs to be pressed, depending on your specific recordings (your climate).
If your bass drum and and bass guitar are more further apart frequency wise, then there might be no need to EQ them, it depends
Nobody should or could tell you what to do, unless he or she sits next to you at the mix and "hears' what is going on and what needs to be done.
Don't get me wrong, I don't say that there is a lot of great advice and general guidelines out there. The problem is when you apply that blindly without knowing a little bit why that advice is give and how to apply that, or if it applies to your situation at all.
In addition: The skills and knowledge about the theory is as important as the skills and experience of listening and judging your recording/mix and decide what action to take.You have to learn what to listen to and what you hear. If you don't know how distortion sounds then you miss out on fixing that issue. If you don't know how a pumping compressor sounds, then you miss out on fixing that issue.
I think you get the idea
Hope that helps
Edgar Rothermich
http://DingDingMusic.com/Manuals/
'I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.'

Can we have the Logic 6 track mixer GUI in Logic Pro 7?

anyone have a clue about this? particularly in the track mixer, something I am (and I'm sure many people are) watching constantly, I find the latest Logic Pro 7 color scheme very dull and often hard to read. Other day I opened up one of my old Logic 6xx apps using an old song of that time, and the color of the track mixer, I found, was much brighter and legible. I'm probably chasing rainbows, but does anyone know any way that we can get this coloring back in Logic Pro 7? many thanks!
G4 PB 1.67GB 17" Mac OS X (10.4.9) 1.5 GB RAM
G4 PB 1.67GB 17" Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1 GB RAM

People have this problem all the time and every time it's that the app's hame has been changed or it has been moved from the Applications folder. Make sure it's "Logic Pro.app", no extra spaces or characters.

Would Love To See Logic Pro With Its Owe DSP Card's And Mixer Like Protools

I been using Logic seen Logic AV 3.0 when it was emagic, I must say I love what Apple has done for it! But one thing I like to see done with Logic is, it's owe hardware like protools, I know apple can do this!! Like DSP cards and a Pro mixer if you all put this together you will below Protools OUT the box....Protools App. CAN NOT run with Logic Pro....The only thing Protools got! Is hardware That's It So please Apple make a DSP system for Logic Pro One Day Soon
And to all the Protools user don't get mad it me, it's cool and all
but protools only has two windows to work with! lol

When A native system is as reliable as PT then I would say yes. But for me dedicated hardware is the way to go. I also use DP5.12 as a front end for PT. i is nice to see DP5 doing the command immediatly without the native processing checking a million things before executing.
Eventually Native may replace DSP cards, But DSP manufacturer can also create DSP card that will be immensly more powerfull. So you dont have to loose realibility and sound quality as well as the spinning wheels. Predicting the future is always a loosing proposition
As for the UAD plug ins I heard the DSP card are not that powerfull. Actually someone was saying in Electronic Musician that UAD should go native because the DSP cards are more of a nuissance since Native can handle a lot more than thoses cards.
Eric
We'll have to see how stable LP8 is before we can pass judgement on it. LP7 has been pretty crash-resistant to me, but I do have to concede that it hasn't been as crash-proof as my PTLE 002R system, which has crashed twice in 2 1/2 years.
However, you seem to contradict yourself above when you say that DSP manufacturers can make extremely powerful DSP cards, but then you say the UAD isn't very powerful. Who's to say that UA aren't going to release a new UAD2 card with 5x the DSP for about the same cost? Granted, Digidesign's DSP engineers can do the same thing - but do you really think they'll be in the same price range as TC and UAD? There will be a big difference in the entry cost: TC/UAD - $1000 or so; PT HD - $12k - for bare bones entry level; $15-20K for a 196k PT HD3 system without a controller.
If Apple is smart, they will fix the bugs in LP7 and upgrade the audio editing to match ProTools. That's all they really need to do to make a LP8 a killer app. Match LP8 up with Apogee's Symphony and you'll get latency in the same range as with PT HD - for only about $4-7K depending on how much i/o you need.
The track record for Digi hardware is that they seem to get about 3 years out of their DSP cards before upgrading to a new generation. I think the Accel cards are only half-way through that life cycle, which means no new Digi DSP for another year and a half. If not this year, then next year Digi will be looking at ways to keep their market share against LP8; that's my prediction.

Hey guys ! I use logic pro ... not logic proX ... and i want to record my drums with 4 mics. I got a mixer with also 4 inputs ( Behringer Xenyx QX 1202USB ) But in my Logic i can't take the third input !?!? i can only choose 1 and 2 .... Please Help :)

hey guys ! I use logic pro ... not logic proX ... and i want to record my drums with 4 mics. I got a mixer with also 4 inputs ( Behringer Xenyx QX 1202USB ) But in my Logic i can't take the third input !?!? i can only choose 1 and 2 .... Please Help

Friedrich sp wrote:
Can you send me a mixer wich can do that, please ?
Who do you think I am? Santa Claus?
What you need is not a mixer, but an audio interface with at least 4 mic inputs. There is a lot of choice there, but you should indicate a budget. You can go from, say, € 300 to € thousands, if you want.
Roland UA 1010
Focusrite Scarlett 18i8
However, there are other options (like multi-out mixer plus multi in interface, or standalone mic preamps plus interface with 4 inputs, etc). I have little experience using these however so I really cannot say much about which one(s) to get. The two mentioned above both have four mic preamps, but they are by no means the only way to do it.
The cheapest solution I can think of is to get a second 1204USB, plug it in, and in OS X create an Aggregate device (=the two are being merged into 'one virtual' interface with two discrete stereo (= four discrete mono) inputs. Disadvantage: you keep the same (limited) soundquality of the 16 bits convertors. Getting any of the interfaces mentioned earlier will also mean you'll make the significant step up from 16 to 24 bits sound.

Evolution MK449C Mod Wheel problem with Logic Pro/VSL Performance Tool

I'm using the latest version of Logic Pro on a new Intel Mac Pro. My controller keyboard is the Evolution MK449C, connected via a USB cable.
When using a Logic Audio Instrument assigned to the ESX Sampler Plug-in (running various samples, mostly from the Vienna Symphonic Library,) Logic's Transport Window doesn't register any modulation information generated from my keyboard.
As the VSL Performance Tool relies heavily on the Mod Wheel info to effect the sounds, I'm at a bit of a loss to spot the solution. When I assign a different conroller to the Mod Wheel, i.e. volume, pan, pitch bend, etc., I can see the info in the Transport Window with no problem, so I know the wheel itself is working okay.
Has either Logic or the ESX got some kind of controller filter, - maybe I've accidently turned something on that cuts out any incoming modulation. Can anyone help?
Thanks
Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

It's good to know someone else is having a similar problem (if one can call that good!)
I've been poking around and I've also noticed this: If I create a cello part in Garageband, articulation works everytime I open it. If I take that Garageband song and open it in Logic, articulation still works everytime I open it. The Logic file in this instance is saved as a "Logic Song." I don't know how to tell, but I'm assuming the Logic song is drawing it's sound files from the Garageband song (I don't know how to check that).
However, if I save the newly created Logic song as a project - with all sound files being copied to folders within a master project folder - articulation does not work when I reopen the file.
Strange. And frustrating.
MacPro 2.66 2GB RAM & Powerbook 400mhz "Pismo" Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Expected performance of logic pro mixing on 13" MacBook Pro?

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