Logic Pro slow loading fixed by a £10 cable

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Audio Support provides independent, one-to-one technical help for Logic Pro users worldwide — solving crashes, latency, and workflow problems quickly and clearly.

Founded by Paul Andrews, a technician and educator with over 20 years’ experience in music technology, the service helps musicians and producers get their systems running smoothly so they can focus on making music.

This case study article is part of our Logic Pro Support series, sharing real client stories and practical fixes discovered through remote troubleshooting.

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Case Study

Troubleshooting Slow Load Times and SSD Speeds on Mac Studio

The Client’s Challenge

I recently received an enquiry from a film trailer composer who was facing a frustrating bottleneck in his production workflow. Despite investing in a top-tier setup—a Mac Studio M2 Ultra with 192GB of RAM—his system was performing significantly below expectations.

He described the issue clearly in his initial message to Audio Support: despite his high-spec machine and samples stored on external SSDs via a Blackmagic Multidock 10G, opening a session took nearly 25 minutes. Furthermore, Logic Pro would frequently hang (displaying the “spinning rainbow wheel”) when bouncing stems, often forcing a hard restart. For a professional working on tight deadlines, losing hours to loading screens and crashes is simply not sustainable.

Session Setup

The client booked a remote support session through my website. We connected via WhatsApp for voice communication and used AnyDesk for the remote desktop connection. This allowed me to see exactly what was happening on his screen and navigate his system settings while he explained the context of his workflow.

Diagnosis

Once I had access to the client’s Mac Studio, I needed to verify the data transfer rates. With a template reliant on heavy Kontakt libraries, the speed at which data moves from the external drive to the RAM is critical.

I opened Activity Monitor and watched the Disk tab while we attempted to load a Logic Pro project. The data confirmed the client’s suspicion: we were seeing transfer speeds of around 30 MB/s. For a modern SSD connected to an M2 Ultra, this is incredibly slow—barely scratching the surface of what the drive should be capable of.

To understand why the speed was throttled, I checked the hardware connection status. I navigated to the Apple Logo > System Settings > General > About > System Report.

Under the hardware list, I located the USB/Thunderbolt section to inspect the Blackmagic Multidock 10G. Although the device was recognised, the link speed was listed as 480 Mbps. This was the “smoking gun.” 480 Mbps is the maximum speed of the USB 2.0 protocol. Somewhere in the chain, the connection was being downgraded from the expected 10 Gbps to legacy USB 2.0 speeds.

The Fix

The diagnosis pointed to a physical connection issue rather than a software or configuration fault within macOS or Logic Pro.

It is a common misconception that all USB-C cables are created equal. While they may fit the port, many USB-C cables used for charging devices do not support high-speed data transfer. I suspected the client was using a cable or adapter that wasn’t rated for the bandwidth his sample libraries required, forcing the Mac to default to the slower USB 2.0 standard.

I advised the client to purchase a high-quality USB-C cable specifically rated for 10 Gbps (or higher) data transfer. We finished the session by reviewing his file management to ensure no other software conflicts were present, but I was confident the cable was the primary culprit.

Result

A week later, I received an email from the client. He had replaced the cable connecting the Blackmagic Multidock to the Mac Studio.

The difference was immediate. He described Logic Pro as running “20 times faster” than before. The 25-minute load times had vanished, and the system stability issues during bouncing were resolved. The Mac Studio was finally performing like the powerhouse machine he had paid for.

Reflection

This case is a perfect reminder of the “weakest link” principle in studio engineering. You can have the fastest computer on the market and the most expensive storage solutions, but if the physical cable connecting them is incorrect, the entire system will be throttled.
When troubleshooting, it is easy to assume the problem lies deep within the software or complex driver settings. However, checking the System Report for the negotiated link speed is often the quickest way to rule out—or confirm—simple hardware cabling issues.

Closing Thoughts

I help musicians and producers worldwide solve problems like this every day. If you’re struggling with slow load times in Logic Pro, I’ll help you find the real cause and get you back to creating.

Author Credit

Paul Andrews is a provider of expert music technology support

Case study by Paul Andrews, Founder of Audio Support.

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Audio Support is an independent service and is not affiliated with Apple or any other manufacturer.

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