totally end my inspiration: cpu maxing out.

Poster · Post by **Poster** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 2:01 pm

Johnisfaster wrote:it's hard to bounce things to audio because audio is much less flexible than a plugin. sometimes you don't want to bounce it cause you aren't sure you want it to stay that way yet.

that's exactly how I used to think/work as well..

you know; leaving all options open, not making final decisions yet..

what I do;
duplicate that track,
freeze/flatten it,
and disable the original track for later use..

9 out of 10 times I end up not using that original MIDI track anymore..

I come from MIDI sequencing only and always thought that audio is not that flexible..
But actually it is, but you need to approach it in a different way..

That's why I use more and more hardware; you have to record it,
so you HAVE to make instant decisions..

Chris Paget · Post by **Chris Paget** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 2:06 pm

has anyone had any success with buying add-on memory from places like tigerdirect?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... p?CatId=10

tjwett · Post by **tjwett** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 2:35 pm

Poster wrote:...That's why I use more and more hardware; you have to record it,
so you HAVE to make instant decisions..

totally mang. as i said in another post, i've never actually finished a piece of personal music on the computer. but i had an MPC for a few months and i wrote about 10 complete tracks that i am really happy with, and they sound way more musical and soulful than anything i've done on the computer screen. the computer is obviously a very powerful tool, but those endless possibilities could easily amount to endless hours of knob twiddling and dicking around. once you start interacting too much with the software, the mouse, the screen, etc you begin to start making music with your eyes and not your ears, especially if you find yourself engrossed in shifting little chunks of MIDI around all day. lately i try to use the computer as a tape recorder and fx box and am trying real hard to get a set up going where i don't have to even look at the screen at all.

roach808 · Post by **roach808** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:12 pm

trust me i feel your pain on this one. B4 i saved up enough money to buy my new macbook pro, I was stuck with my old 12'' powerbook for afew years. That thing had a 875mh processor so yeah, when i got live 4 on it my comp wasn't a big fan. Altho, the plus side of it was i did figure out how to write/produce/mix alot more productivly. When ur machine is that slow u have 2 get ur sounds in the ballpark as much as possible without the use of plugins. i could record audio no problem on that thing, it just when i went 2 process with plugins the CPU would crap out. So just get you sound as close as u can to what ur going for, then render it out as a loop/audio region start a new session then mix away. I know its abit of beast when ur feeling creative but if u do it long enough eventually it doesnt phase u.

my 2 cents.....not like anybody gives a shit.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:50 pm

bro
what happened to the quad core?

i javen't maxed mine out yet!

Mesmer · Post by **Mesmer** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:06 pm

Hey Johnis,

maybe there's some people here willing to mix your stuff on their Luxury Comps. It's a stretched remedy, but maybe it can get you through this stale period.

just a thought.
-h

thelocalhost · Post by **thelocalhost** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:10 pm

powerbook g4 = slow as shit.

Get one of the new core 2 duo computers. It's a huge performance increase.

I got a macbookpro 2.16 with 2gig and it's working out pretty well (It still gets pummeled by a few instances of guitar rig 2 and reaktor, but that is expected;that's what freeze is for).

Rogue Scrunt · Post by **Rogue Scrunt** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 4:21 pm

you are in denial about the state of your computer.

Ag4 is just not enough

if you stick with g4, consider switching to logic, you will get way more than 10 tracks

good luck

LOFA · Post by **LOFA** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 5:05 pm

Waiting to get a new computer is hard, especially when you keep hitting a CPU wall. But, like the honorable Paris Hilton once said, "Don't serve the time, let the time serve you".

We live in a very ADD era, where lack of organization, patience and premeditation is encouraged. Even if you were bankrolled by a major label you would probably be facing some huge corporate obstacles that would disable you from following out on your creative urges.

I had the same problem before version 6 came out and I got dual processor support for my G5. Now my macintel is invincible (unless I am processing live video from Jitter.) The thing is it does not make things easier. Anything can sound good now and new discerning disciplines are necessary.

I would seriously take this time to acclaimate yourself with the live file system, and start freezing everything. Then I would actually only leave things in midi form, in a special version of the set that was intended for creative composition or live performance/jamming. If you make small sets out of the individual tracks then you can drag and drop them where needed.

Right now in max I am working with realtime, changing, data driven cc cues being sent into live. It is a lot of fun, and it really pushes my laptop, but the sets that work the best are still the ones that have been refined, rendered into audio, and comfortably loaded into ram. I would seriously try to consider your current limitations as a strength.

BTW, at least you have time to make music!:) I have no time for anything but job searching atm.

pabloaugustus · Post by **pabloaugustus** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:00 pm

Johnisfaster wrote:
it's hard to bounce things to audio because audio is much less flexible than a plugin. sometimes you don't want to bounce it cause you aren't sure you want it to stay that way yet.

When I'm working with midi clips once I get it to the point where it sounds ok, not perfect, but I want to move on, I'll duplicate & flatten (or record for ext. hardware) on a new audio track right next to the midi track, disable the midi track, then just come back to the midi track when I want to tweak. That way only the midi track you are working on is taking those precious CPU resources. It also gives me the advantage of having my external synth sounds as audio so I can play my set with just the laptop.

....just noticed my post duplicates a previous post....oh well...i guess i was all excited that i had something to say and didn't bother to read the whole thread.....

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:58 pm

Poster wrote:[what I do;
duplicate that track,
freeze/flatten it,
and disable the original track for later use..
.

that actually would be a fine option, thats what I was thinking I would do really, but for some reason in this set every time I go to freeze and flatten something I get live to POOF and disappear on me. I've been able to freeze and flatten about half the tracks I wanted to and the others I had to resample. and then there are still the ones I don't want to freeze and flatten at all yet but even if I wanted to I have my doubts it would work. POOF live is gone! so enjoyable and great for workflow.

jeskola · Post by **jeskola** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:02 pm

im always petrified of bouncing anything in in case i want to change it later. terrible habit really!

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:02 pm

sweetjesus wrote:bro
what happened to the quad core?

i javen't maxed mine out yet!

yeah I thought that was going to happen. I'm semi self employed right now and sometimes I go out of town and make alot of money and sometimes (like last weekend) I work 40 hours and end up being 200 bucks in the whole after it. then the fact that the bank is calling me and saying I have to make payments, that all adds up to me not getting a new computer yet.

by aug. 5th I'm supposed to have a huge chunk of change in my account though so maybe then...

oh yeah, and I decided not to build my own (I think it was you I was talking to about that) I just don't have the disposition of someone who would enjoy the driver trouble shootingi stage at all (I would probably scream alot during that stage)

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:06 pm

Rogue Scrunt wrote:you are in denial about the state of your computer.

Ag4 is just not enough

if you stick with g4, consider switching to logic, you will get way more than 10 tracks

good luck

I know it's "slow as shit" compared to the monster computers out there, but looking at it in a vacuum it's actually a very impressive machine.

Johnisfaster · Post by **Johnisfaster** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:15 pm

see you all keep telling me to start freezing and flattening but my problem with this current set is that I've really only got 2 midi tracks left. using impulse and operator.

all the rest is audio clips with volume automation (unlinked, which apparently causes alot of cpu strain from what I've observed)

there is alot of midi mapping, a small handful of eq's, a delay on a return track, and a couple of master plugins that again are cpu friendly.

freezing and flattening those last 2 midi tracks isn't gonna help much in this case.