Why is my 'Live Recordings' folder sooo big? (mac)

[EskiomTwins]

Just been trying to free up some space on my laptop and realised the folder in the following path is 24GB!

User/Music/Abelton/Live Recordings

Do I need this folder and what is it used for? When I go into it it has re-named, old and new tracks I use in my DJ Set project.

I consolidate my projects using 'collect and save' then store them on an external hard drive.

The only project I run from the laptop hard drive is my DJ set project. This contains about 500 tracks and I use it to DJ out. But again this has it's own consolidated folder on the desktop with all it's tracks in....but this is only about 11GB.

Can I just delete the folder 'Live Recordings' ?

Thanks

[roothewhirl]

If I were you I would keep it. I think it might just be the audio of any sets you have recorded in the arrange view. I don't think it's program sensitive info (though I may be wrong).

Usually I make it a point to save anything I have recorded in Live. You never know when it can come in handy, no matter how ridiculous it is! Good luck!

-Ryan

[longjohns]

in this folder are things which you recorded while working on sets that you didn't save.

you should see lots of sub-folders in there, named Temp-1, Temp-2, etc

this is related to the dialog you get when you close live without saving

"delete samples, yes/no" or etc

[EskiomTwins]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't see an sub folders within the 'Live Recordings' folder.

Just strangely named versions of tracks and clips I have used within Live.

I don't need any recordings which I have made without saving, am I ok to just delete the foler completely? Does it contain any further info which is vital to 'saved' projects such as warping, postion of clips etc etc?

Cheers

[EskiomTwins]

Also forgot to mention, it's not the 'Live Recodings' folder itself, it's the 'Decoding Cache' folder within the 'Live Recordings' folder that I'm talking about.....

[longjohns]

decoding cache: any .mp3 file you drag into live is converted to .wav and put in the cache.

no need to delete this, per se. you can control the size of the cache in the preferences. if a file is not decoded in the cache, it will require more cpu when you drag it in, while it decodes. it is a balance between cpu and disk space, and your usage style... how many tracks you keep in mp3 format, etc

[longjohns]

honestly upon investigating a little bit, i'm confused.

there is a separate location defined in preferences for the "decoding cache" (as opposed to the temporary recording folder)

and if I change the location of the temp recording folder, it does not seem to create a new "decoding cache" folder in there. even when dragging an .mp3 file into the set

???

[ikeaboy]

honestly upon investigating a little bit, i'm confused.

there is a separate location defined in preferences for the "decoding cache" (as opposed to the temporary recording folder)

and if I change the location of the temp recording folder, it does not seem to create a new "decoding cache" folder in there. even when dragging an .mp3 file into the set

???

Anyone know the deal here? I'm also looking to free up space on my main HD.

[Angstrom]

the decoding cache is temporary scratch space, as soon as you load up an MP3 it will create the raw wave version for use in the app in this scratch location.

If you are a DJ, you will likely want a nice big decoding cache, and leave it alone.
If you are a musician, you wont need the decoding cache quite so much and you could lower the size of it in Live's preferences.

deleting the files yourself without lowering the allocated size of it wont really accomplish much. a temporary shrinking of disk usage until the next time you load a "DJ set" full of MP3s, when it will fill again.

[ikeaboy]

the decoding cache is temporary scratch space, as soon as you load up an MP3 it will create the raw wave version for use in the app in this scratch location.

If you are a DJ, you will likely want a nice big decoding cache, and leave it alone.
If you are a musician, you wont need the decoding cache quite so much and you could lower the size of it in Live's preferences.

deleting the files yourself without lowering the allocated size of it wont really accomplish much. a temporary shrinking of disk usage until the next time you load a "DJ set" full of MP3s, when it will fill again.

Thanks for the info