How to Fix Play/Playhead Issue with Logic Pro X 10.5

Are you one of those users who experience playhead issues with Logic Pro?

It is with no doubt that Apple devices, particularly Mac and MacBooks, are one of the first choices by many enthusiasts and professionals when it comes to doing multimedia production and editing. 

When it comes to multimedia applications, macOS has a ton to offer ranging from regular software up to professional-grade programs like Logic Pro X. 

Logic Pro X is a great software for music producers and editors to produce their crafts in an environment with lots of helpful tools to improve their music. However, there have been reports from users regarding various problems with Logic Pro’s playhead. 

Some experienced the playhead being stuck at the beginning of the track, which leaves the user stuck with not being able to play anything. There are also users who experience a slight jump on the playhead when they pause and play the track. 

In this guide, we are going to show you various solutions to address the playhead issue with Logic Pro X. 

Let’s get started. 

 

 

1. Restart Logic Pro. 

If the play or playhead slider on your app is stuck and you can’t seem to figure out how you can free it from its current position, what you can do is to restart Logic Pro. 

It is possible that Logic Pro encountered a temporary glitch with its playhead slider, which makes it impossible for you to play any track since the playhead is stuck. 

To restart Logic Pro, follow the steps below:

  1. First, click the Finder located on your dock to open a Finder window. 
  2. On the Finder’s sidebar, click on Applications
  3. After that, click on Utilities
  4. Now, open the Activity Monitor

playhead issue with Logic Pro X

 

  1. Lastly, click on Logic Pro X and hit the Force Quit button to stop the application from running on your computer. 

After that, open Logic Pro X once again and try to use it to see if the issue with the playhead slider being stuck is already fixed. 

 

 

2. Restart Your Mac/MacBook. 

If restarting the application did not work in fixing the problem with Logic Pro’s playhead, what you can try doing next is to restart your actual computer. A temporary bug or error might have occurred on your system which makes Logic Pro X to malfunction. 

To restart your Mac/MacBook, check out the guide below:

  1. On your computer, click on the Apple logo located at the upper-left corner of your screen. 
  2. After that, click on Restart.

playhead issue with Logic Pro X

 

  1. Lastly, wait for macOS to complete its restart. 

Once you are done, launch Logic Pro X again to check if Logic Pro’s playhead is still stuck from its current position. 

However, if you still experience the playhead issue with Logic Pro X, you can proceed to the next method below to try and fix the problem. 

 

 

3. Perform a Project Cleanup. 

If you are working on a long project on Logic Pro, there is a high chance that a lot of unused data on your MacBook from the previous settings and presets that you have applied. These data can cause conflict with the current tweaks that you have placed on your project.

In this case, you can perform a project cleanup to get rid of unwanted media files from your project.

  1. First, click on the File tab from the menu bar inside Logic Pro X
  2. After that, click on Project Management

 

  1. Lastly, click on Clean Up and select the cleanup options that you want to apply to your current project. 

 

    • Unused Files: files that are not used on the project would be removed from the  Project Audio Browser.
    • Backups: based on the title, this will delete any backups for all project alternatives and will be removed completely from the project.
    • Media Browser Files: Shared files from the Media Browser would be removed completely from the project.

Once the project cleanup is done, restart Logic Pro X and try to use it to see if the playhead issue is already fixed. 

 

 

4. Save the Project with a Different Name. 

For some unknown reason, some users were able to fix the issue with Logic Pro’s playhead by saving the project once again but with a different name. Now, this can be too simple to fix the issue, but there is no harm in trying anyway. 

To save the project with a different name, follow the steps below to guide you through the process:

  1. First, open the current project you are working on. 
  2. After that, click on the File tab located at the upper left corner of your screen. 
  3. Lastly, click on Save As and provide an alternative name for the project before saving it. 

Now, restart Logic Pro X and try to open the newly saved project to see if the playhead would still be stuck. 

 

 

5. Disable Play from Marquee Selection. 

With the recent update of Logic Pro X, there has been a bug with its playhead, and there are users who claim to have fixed the issue after disabling the ‘Play from Marquee Selection’ option on Logic Pro’s play button. 

If your playhead is stuck in a certain portion of the track you are working on, you can try disabling the marquee option by doing the steps below. 

  1. First, open Logic Pro X on your computer. 
  2. After that, click and hold on to the Play button using your cursor. 
  3. Lastly, click on ‘Play from Marquee Selection’ to disable the option. 

Now, try to drag the playhead anywhere on your track or try to play it as a whole to see if the issue is already fixed. 

 

 

6. Update macOS. 

If the issue still continues to occur after tweaking your system and application settings, what you can try doing next is to update your operating system. It is possible that the current version of macOS installed on your computer has an issue that causes applications such as Logic Pro X to malfunction. 

In this case, you can check for an update to get rid of any glitch or errors with your operating system. 

  1. On your Mac, click on the Apple logo at the top of your screen and select System Preferences
  2. Inside System Preferences, click on Software Update.

playhead issue with Logic Pro X

 

  1. Lastly, click on the Update Now button if available. 

playhead issue with Logic Pro X

 

Once the update is done, go back to Logic Pro and try to use it normally to see if the problem with the playhead is already resolved. 

However, if the playhead issue with Logic Pro X still continues to occur, you can proceed to the next method below to try and fix the problem. 

 

 

7. Update Logic Pro X. 

Based on what we found out, the playhead issue with Logic Pro surfaced after releasing their latest update. There seems to be an issue with the current version of the app, which causes the playhead to malfunction. 

Knowing Apple, they might be already aware of the problem and might roll out an update anytime. Be sure to check for an update from time to time so that you can fix the problem with the app once the update comes out. 

To check for an update on Logic Pro X, follow the step-by-step guide below: 

  1. First, open the App Store on your Mac/MacBook
  2. After that, click on the Updates tab located at the top portion of your screen. 
  3. Lastly, if an update is available for Logic Pro X, click the Update button to install it on your system. 

playhead issue with Logic Pro X

 

Give your computer a restart after the update and try to use Logic Pro X once again to see if the problem is already resolved. 

Alternatively, you can also disable automatic app updates on your system so that you can check feedback from other users first before installing the update on your computer. 

  1. On your Mac/MacBook, click on the Apple logo located at the top-left corner of your screen. 
  2. After that, click on System Preferences
  3. Inside System Preferences, click on the App Store
  4. Lastly, uncheck ‘Automatically Check for Updates’ to disable the feature. 

playhead issue with Logic Pro X

 

 

8. Reinstall Logic Pro X. 

Logic Pro X might have suffered from an error that corrupted some of its files that is crucial for it to work properly. Given this, the only possible solution for it is to reinstall the application on your computer. 

Check out the guide below on how to reinstall Logic Pro X on your Mac/MacBook. 

  1. First, open the Launchpad on your Mac/MacBook
  2. After that, search for ‘Logic Pro X’. 
  3. Next, click and hold on to Logic Pro’s icon until it starts to wiggle. 
  4. Lastly, click on the (X) button on the app’s icon and select Delete to remove the program from your computer. 

Once you have deleted Logic Pro X, go to the app store once again and download the latest version of Logic Pro to your system.

 

 

9. Use Alternative Tools. 

If the issue with Logic Pro’s playhead remains unresolved and you need to continue working on your projects, you can opt for alternative programs that function as close to Logic Pro. 

One program that can serve as an alternative for Logic Pro is Ableton. It is recommended by users who also experienced the same issue on Logic Pro and decided to shift to other options. 

Although the standard edition of the app costs a little over $200, it is still a viable option since you won’t have to deal with issues present on the current version of Logic Pro. 

 

 

How to Fix Logic Pro X Playhead Jumping. 

There is another problem with Logic Pro’s playhead where it jumps backward slightly if you pause/play your track. This problem can make it difficult for you to tweak the details of your project since the track won’t continue to play exactly where you hit the pause button.

To fix this issue, check out the steps below to guide you on the process.

  1. First, click on the Logic Pro X tab from the menu bar. 
  2. After that, click on Preferences, then Audio.
  3. Inside the Audio tab, click on General
  4. Lastly, under Plug-in Latency, change Compensation settings from ‘All’ to ‘Off’. 

After that, try to pause/play the track once again and you would see that the slight jump on the playhead is already gone. 

If you are having difficulty following the steps above, you can also check out the steps below to guide you further on the process. 

 

 

This ends our guide on how to fix the playhead issue with Logic Pro X. If you know other ways on how to address this specific issue on Logic Pro X, kindly share it in the comment section below, and we would give credit to your name once this article gets updated. 

 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

 

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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