I'm lost! How can I hear my music?

Question

Over the years Logic has increased in complexity faster than I can keep up. I have music files that I've been working on but I'm not able to hear the results. Something in the Environment, or a simple computer preference setting, or God only knows what. I can't dig through all the documentation; I get totally lost. Years ago I was using an external sampler, with good results, but I've never been able to get my arms around the EXS-24 or the other soft synths built into the iMac. I think what I really need is someone to come to my site and set me up. Anyone have any ideas?

Answer 1

Well put.
If you exported a track as Audio & QuickTime could play it, that means that Logic can definitely access the material correctly (otherwise it wouldn't be able to generate an Audio track).
If that is the case, then your problem must be monitoring.
IOW, everything is probably working perfectly correctly, except that somehow you have turned monitoring off (& so you can't hear playback).
I suggest you check out the monitor settings to see if you haven't disabled playback monitoring…
FROM THE MANUAL:
(N.B.: there is a problem with the text in both the paper & PDF versions of the manual. I have therefore pasted the text verbatim, but it doesn't make sense. I've left it 'as is' so that you can decide for yourself what is probably meant.)
Auto Input Monitoring
Input monitoring allows you to determine what signal is heard on record-enabled
tracks. If Auto Input Monitoring is switched on, you will only hear the input signal
during the actual recording—before and afterwards, you’ll hear the previously
recorded audio on the track, while the sequencer is running. This helps you judge drop-
in and drop-out points for punch recording. If Auto Input Monitoring is switched off,
you will always hear the input signal. Auto Input Monitoring, when switched on, also
allows you to hear the input source when Logic is stopped, making it easy to set levels.
No monitoring of any kind will occur if the Audio > Audio Hardware & Drivers > Software
Monitoring (see “Logic automatically recognizes any installed Core Audio hardware, and
will use the default settings—defined in Mac OS X’s Audio MIDI Setup utility
(Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup). It can, however, be advantageous to
optimize the settings for your individual hardware setup, particularly if you use several
sound cards or a multi I/O card. This can be done in Logic’s Core Audio pane.
Input monitoring always involves a little latency. In certain configurations, you may be
best served by not using Logic’s monitoring at all, to obtain the best possible monitor
timing. Route the signal that you wish to record directly to the headphones or
monitoring amplifier. You won’t unknowingly overdrive your A/D converters, as Logic’s
input level meters will continue to work, and you’ll see a warning dialog as soon as an
overload occurs. Latency is entirely dependent on the hardware, and driver settings.
Switching Auto Input Monitoring on/off
Click-holding the Record button (Transport window) opens the Record menu, where
you can toggle Auto Input monitoring. You can also use the Toggle Auto Input
Monitoring key command, or enable it from the Audio menu.
Possible Problems with Input Monitoring
Typical problems that can arise with record-enabled tracks:
• Singers cannot hear themselves while Logic is running. All they can hear is the old
recording. Switch off Auto Input Monitoring.
• The track cannot be heard, even though Logic is not actually recording. Switch on
Auto Input Monitoring.
Depending on the situation, both options can be useful. Normally, Auto Input
Monitoring is switched on, and is only switched off in special situations.