Hi all,
After a recent and successful experience with running a live set from a USB2 flash drive I thought I would post the idea on this board for the reference of others.
This topic has been discussed in details at this thread:
http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=81880
And there is some more information here too:
http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=77624
But the bottom line is that a 20 megabyte transfer speed manages to run (16)x 16bit mono audio tracks simultaneously without a hitch; though at this stage I haven't tested more tracks than that.
This comparatively low-cost idea may provide a simple solution to those of you suffering with clicks/pops or other audio issues in a live scenario. It seems to avoid potential problems from vibration/shock (eg. from the sub-bass bouncing your HD in club venues) and heat/humidity (as from my limited testing this can drastically affect the consistency of HD performance). Additionally, it seems that most USB keys would have a faster access time than many commonly available HDs, and the transfer rate - while slower - is far more consistent across the entire drive.
Hopefully this info helps someone out there as much as it helped me.
Good luck!