Can't record more than a couple of tracks in GarageBand...

Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi.

I'm having trouble recording more than 3 or 4 guitar tracks in GB. When I try and do more I get a message saying my track couldn't be played back and to check the optimization pages in the help documents. I've followed those suggestions (locking tracks etc) but I still only manage to get only one more short recording.

Im using a MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz, 4GB RAM, 1333MHz)

I've seen people with less powerful machines with 40+ tracks, any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
C

chas_m

Guest
There are a number of possibilities, but we'll tackle the leading ones first:

1. How full is your hard drive?
2. Any other programs still running, taking up RAM?
3. What speed (RPM) is the hard drive in that MBP?
 
OP
S
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi, thanks for your reply. Here's the answers...

1. 576 GB (I'm assuming that's more than enough!?)
2. Nope, I made sure everything else was closed.
3. 5400 RPM

Does this suggest any possible issues?
 
C

chas_m

Guest
Are you saying that you have 576GB free on that hard drive, or that you have used 576GB of ... XXX?

5400 rpm could be a weak point. Are you trying to record 3 to 4 tracks simultaneously, or do you get the message when you are just *playing back* three to four tracks simultaneously?
 
OP
S
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
576 GB free, sorry should have made that clear.

I get the message when just trying to playback the song. I also get it when I'm trying to record but I only ever record one track at one.
 
C

chas_m

Guest
No problem.

With that much free space I am a bit baffled about why you're getting that message. I'm not going to tell you to run out and get a 7200rpm drive, though I'm sure that would "fix" the issue, because I don't know what the issue is.

Try this:

Boot up in Safe Mode (holding the shift key down at startup until you see "safe mode" at the login window) and try to work with GB as you normally would. Does the problem go away?

Alternatively, try creating a new (fresh) account and work with GB there. Same problem?
 
OP
S
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi.

I'll give that a try tonight and see if it does the trick.

Thanks for all your help, it's much appreciated.

Stuart.
 
OP
S
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Ok, so I tried safe mode with no luck.

The full message I get is "Part of the project was not played - This project has too many real instrument tracks to be played in real-time. To optimize performance, see the 'Optimizing GarageBand performance' page in GarageBand Help."

It's a brand new laptop so I'm feeling pretty frustrated with it!
 
C

chas_m

Guest
Did you follow any of the suggestions in the "optimizing Garageband performance" section? Any improvement?

At this point I'm inclined to say that a 7200rpm drive might be in your future.
 
OP
S
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Yeah, I've tried them all. I can sort of muddle through, muting and unmuting tracks, closing GB and then opening it again etc but it's not ideal.

I'll have a look at a new drive then. Would additional RAM help too?
 
Joined
Sep 8, 2012
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi.

I'm having trouble recording more than 3 or 4 guitar tracks in GB. When I try and do more I get a message saying my track couldn't be played back and to check the optimization pages in the help documents. I've followed those suggestions (locking tracks etc) but I still only manage to get only one more short recording.

Im using a MacBook Pro (2.4 GHz, 4GB RAM, 1333MHz)

I've seen people with less powerful machines with 40+ tracks, any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Did you ever find a solution to this situation? I have been using GB for a solid two years without any such error messages. However, the other night one appeared, and now I can't do anything with GB. Same error you were receiving.

Thanks
 
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Same problem here

I just started having this exact same problem. Can happen even with only 2 tracks at once, so it seems like it must be a GB bug and not a memory issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Points
1
GB error

Hi,

I just bought a brand new 27" iMac, 3.4 GHz Core i7, 2 TB HDD (7200 rpm), 8 GB RAM and am trying to do some recording in Garageband. I'm getting the same problem.

Part of the project was not played

This project has too many real instrument tracks to be played in real-time.
To optimize performance, see the 'Optimizing GarageBand performance' page in GarageBand Help.

I've check my system status and it says that I still have 4.4 GB of free RAM. I tried following Garageband's optimization recommendations (locking tracks, muting tracks) but I still get this error message. Does anybody out there have a solution??
 
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi,

I just bought a brand new 27" iMac, 3.4 GHz Core i7, 2 TB HDD (7200 rpm), 8 GB RAM and am trying to do some recording in Garageband. I'm getting the same problem.

Part of the project was not played

This project has too many real instrument tracks to be played in real-time.
To optimize performance, see the 'Optimizing GarageBand performance' page in GarageBand Help.

I've check my system status and it says that I still have 4.4 GB of free RAM. I tried following Garageband's optimization recommendations (locking tracks, muting tracks) but I still get this error message. Does anybody out there have a solution??

I struggled with this problem for a long time and searched everywhere for solutions. Only one (apparently obscure) method did the trick for me: "zapping my PRAM". Apparently over time weird stuff can get written to a specific part of your RAM used for quick access to things like system preferences, and when that happens things get wonky. Resetting my PRAM has, so far, kept the "Part of the project was not played" message from popping up even once.

Don't forget to back up important files first, just in case.

OS X Mavericks: Reset your computer

How, When, & Why to reset the PRAM & SMC on your Mac
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top