Trouble with Ableton 7 on Vista 64 bit system

[dave247]

Hey guys I am running Live 7.0.3 on a quad core system with Vista 64-bit OS. I do not have a sound card, I am using on-board sound. I dont know if that really makes much of a difference.

Basically I just started messing with Live and I recorded a 20 second clean guitar track and then applied some delay and a Filter, and at that point I notice Live getting choppy. I dont think this is right.

So I am wondering if maybe this problem is because I am using Vista 64-bit OS, or maybe it is because I dont have a sound card. I am willing to go back to Windows XP if it means I can run Live like normal.

[McQ714]

first off, update Live 7 to the current version, if you can!?! and the problem you are having is most likely because you are using onboard sound as opposed to an audio interface. or it could be caused by a less than capable CPU. what kind of processor do you have in your computer? is this a laptop or desktop?

[H20nly]

Soundcard time.

You know you like it. Now its time to get what you need. You don't have to go broke you just have to get something a little more "dedicated"

[dave247]

lol yeah I kinda hope I just need a sound card. My processor is a Pentium Quad core Nehalem. 4 Cores man!!!!! It was a $300 CPU so I SHOULDNT have an issue with it being too slow. My motherboard is an EVGA X58 which also cost $300 so i have good equipment and was hoping I wouldnt have to buy a soundcard.

Any suggestions for a good cheap one that does the job with nothing extra?

[McQ714]

then a sound card is definitely the problem. and don't forget to download and install the latest version of Live 7. unless of course you can't... pirate!

[H20nly]

a good cheap one that does the job with nothing extra

Thats not the spirit. I mean you don't want to blow all your cash but you need to find something that works for you. You're talking about the soundcard from what sounds like a gamer's mentality rather than from a musician's. If you want me to say Soundblaster or something I'm not gonna.

I have an Alesis Multi-Mix 8 but I record live instruments with it. I found that the pre-amps on it suck so I bought a new pre-amp. Where I'm going with this is that there are a lot of variations and a lot of it will depend on you and what you want to do. Will your music have vocals? Will they be samples or recorded live? Will you use any instruments guitar/bass/keys or are you going straight electronic?

This is only the surface.

Upgrade to Live 7.0.15 and post some of your goals musically and maybe someone here can help you narrow down some of your options.

[dave247]

I intend to record real guitar and bass, but I am not a singer, so none of that I suppose. I also like to use Reason 4 a lot for synth and drums (it is my primary music making software), but I also want to use a lot of the VST plug-ins with Live so I can use Reason in there as well as Guitar Rig (I have hardware), Massive, Absynth, and some others stuff like that.

Basically my system can run all this without flinching, but I agree with you guys that I need a sound card. I just ran out of $ when I was building my new system, and my midi keyboard just got broken, so I'm trying to make due with what I have. I do have a few Soundblaster cards as well as a Live! Drive with card, but it does not work in Vista 64 -- Which is the main reason I haven't gotten a new sound card. I dont want to get a Vista 64 compatible card if my software will also have problems.

Also, I have been thinking about getting something like an m-box or other usb device that will allow me to record sound into my computer, which I assume would allow me to bypass a sound card... But would I still need a sound card if I am doing stuff with Massive and Reason within Live? I never have latency issues with Reason at all.

In fact, the choppiness went away a little, and it just seems a little laggy. I think my pc was overheating as it likes to freeze up from time to time.

Anyway, I hope someone can give me some good sound card suggestions as well. Looking to spend less than $100 if possible...

[dave247]

then a sound card is definitely the problem. and don't forget to download and install the latest version of Live 7. unless of course you can't... pirate!

Hey jackass, I got Live with a keyboard I bought. And if I was a pirate, I could just download the latest version.

[McQ714]

then a sound card is definitely the problem. and don't forget to download and install the latest version of Live 7. unless of course you can't... pirate!

Hey jackass, I got Live with a keyboard I bought. And if I was a pirate, I could just download the latest version.

Register your Lite version and download the latest version. if you were a pirate, you couldn't download the latest version because you would have to register your software to download the latest updates and you wouldn't be able to register a pirated copy.

[dave247]

so I am waiting for a good sound card suggestion please....

[Hermanus]

1. 7.0.3 hmm no comment.

2. Bundled with a keyboard you've bought ? Ok then it's a LITE version and You can upgrade it to 7.0.15lite and maybe even 7.0.16lite.

3. The versions of ableton that comes with hardware such as external soundcards or midi controler keyboards, are live lite 4, 6.

Live 7 is only bundled for akai apc40 as far as I know

All these points leads us to that pirate thingy

So upgrade>> test and then if it still not working, contact the tech support or even the customer care

I started on ableton lite several months ago, even If I was a lite user, I mailed support several times for tech or simply questions about upgrading.

They can really help you when you're a legit user!

[Minimal Justice System]

This issue has nothing to do with soundcards as these are mostly an output device and have no processing power.

Unfortunately your Quad core processor means jack shit when running Live as it's not designed to seperate processes as some multi core applications do and I'm afraid Vista also is not designed to run over 4 processors so they will both be using only one ofthe 4 cores, I would suggest dedicating one of the 4 cores to running ableton and nothing else if you're having issues as it's more than likely this is what is causing your problems (Although you have 4 cores each will probably run at a lower speed than a normal single core processor so multiple applications on 1 of the cores will give you pretty poor performance).

Also I would suggest you update to the most recent version of Live as there will be fixes included to help it run smoother, these can be found on the Ableton main site.