Reaper wins hands down!
after mixing many projects in Reaper (created in Live) due to Live's inefficiency with cpu resources I decided to try finishing a project completely in Live again...huge fail!
I had to start the mix again in Reaper yesterday and have been sailing smooth with no cpu bog-downs and especially no crashes (I can't even get Live to close properly without crashing, 99% of the time). What's more is the outstanding routing flexibility and the infinite send/returns in Reaper that are lacking big time in Ableton
it's truly a love/hate situation so...
Question for those who mix in Live: how do you do it? lol
Device name ADK-Laptop
Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11800H @ 2.30GHz 2.30 GHz
Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.8 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Ableton vs Reaper @ mix down
Re: Ableton vs Reaper @ mix down
I'm only using Live native + M4L devices and it's rock stable. Loads of issue can arise when using 3rd party plugins... and most of them don't offer anything more than Live devices. I love that you don't have to open a window to access parameters, they're efficient as fuck, and I couldn't care less about pretty vintage looking UI (and btw I feel like mixing always gives better results when closing the eyes as much as possible).
Ableton Forum Moderator
Re: Ableton vs Reaper @ mix down
What audio interface do you use? In windows it really matters since most audio interfaces crumble under heavy load.
Live can't be as efficient as reaper by design, it has been explained that because of its Live performance paradigm the audio process are running all the time and can't shut down stuff like other DAWs. Many users do export the audio stems and mix in logic, reaper or protools when working in big projects, you also don't see it used much for orchestral stuff because of this.
Live can't be as efficient as reaper by design, it has been explained that because of its Live performance paradigm the audio process are running all the time and can't shut down stuff like other DAWs. Many users do export the audio stems and mix in logic, reaper or protools when working in big projects, you also don't see it used much for orchestral stuff because of this.
Re: Ableton vs Reaper @ mix down
For me the solution has been Audiogridder. If you are unfamiliar with it, it's a free application which basically is a lightweight VST plugin host. The general idea is the ability to run plugins realtime on other machines over network, distributing the CPU load.
But you can run Audiogridder server on the same computer as Live too, and it will help with the CPU issues. As it will allocate the CPU resources for plugins in a different way than Live (or other DAW) would do. So you will get much higher utilization of your CPU, at the same level where Live would already have run into a crackling mess..
There are quirks in it's use, it's not perfect.. but doesn't cost anything to try.
At least you can keep your Live workflow which we are used to..
But you can run Audiogridder server on the same computer as Live too, and it will help with the CPU issues. As it will allocate the CPU resources for plugins in a different way than Live (or other DAW) would do. So you will get much higher utilization of your CPU, at the same level where Live would already have run into a crackling mess..
There are quirks in it's use, it's not perfect.. but doesn't cost anything to try.
At least you can keep your Live workflow which we are used to..-
DunedinDragon
- Posts: 106
- Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2021 5:46 pm
Re: Ableton vs Reaper @ mix down
In the four years I've been working with Ableton I've never really had any issues with running low on processing or on memory. I don't run a super fast gaming machine either. It's just a standard Windows 10 system with 16gb of memory with an Intel i7 processor at 3.4ghz. It would probably be considered an upper end business machine, but nothing spectacular other than a TON of SSD, but that's because I use a lot of virtual instruments which can be rather large. In terms of processing my CPU rarely goes above 40%. Nothing fancy even with my audio interface which is a built in audio interface in my Helix floor unit which I use for physical instruments like my guitar, piano, bass, etc. I do use a LOT of virtual instrument plug ins using Kontakt or Komplete Kontrol.
My only analog inputs are my guitar and other live instruments through the Helix's USB audio interface, my MIDI keyboard direct USB, and a Blue mic with it's own internal audio interface with a USB connection to the computer. It all kind of suggest you may have a throughput issue on your audio interface.
The only other thing is my computer really doesn't do much other than my studio work and some basic internet access so there's nothing really competing for resources when I'm working in my DAW. Your system should be more than capable so the only option you have would be to dig into the Task Manager to get an idea of what appears to be maxing out (storage, memory or processing) and work from there.
My only analog inputs are my guitar and other live instruments through the Helix's USB audio interface, my MIDI keyboard direct USB, and a Blue mic with it's own internal audio interface with a USB connection to the computer. It all kind of suggest you may have a throughput issue on your audio interface.
The only other thing is my computer really doesn't do much other than my studio work and some basic internet access so there's nothing really competing for resources when I'm working in my DAW. Your system should be more than capable so the only option you have would be to dig into the Task Manager to get an idea of what appears to be maxing out (storage, memory or processing) and work from there.