Ableton Forum

Any advice or fixes are greatly appreciated! but i already submitted a ticket with ableton help. I mainly wanna confirm I'm not going crazy and that my macbook pro's health and specs should be able to run ableton way better

Since around march Ableton has been using a lot of cpu compared to how much it should normally be using, and even with optimization on my MBP and inside ableton its still regularly spiking, and has a latency when monitoring way higher than the listed amount inside the ableton settings. Some of this was kinda resolved later by updating Mac OS from monterrey to ventura, doing some disk cleanup, and freezing/flattening anywhere I can. But in the past few weeks since Live 11.3.3 rolled around with the new Push Update my project files again are frustratingly slow, have constant overruns, are visually laggy with terrible framerate dips . I tested a large project file with resource intensive plugins vs a small project file with only ableton stock and both have the same issues.

At this point I have to record vocals in a separate project file over a quick export of the instrumental. I didn't have to do that 6 months ago and its just frustrating having my workflow be so slow regardless of any effort I put into easing some of the load off ableton and my computer in general.

Side note: I'm aware my MBP is simply older and not factory new, but its just less than two years old and it's hardware is not the lowest tier options nor outdated compared to other consumer laptops. I'd expect this from a 5+ year old MBP, not mine. I don't think its an issue with my computer's health exclusively as my roommate who has an M1 2021 MBP has also noticed the same problems with Live 11.3.3, especially the framerate dips and lag.





my gear & how i run ableton for context

Macbook Pro 16 Inch 2019
- Mac OS Ventura 13.4
- 2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9
- AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB - Discrete GPU
- Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB - Integrated GPU
- 32 GB Memory 2667 MHz DDR4
- USB Hub (USB C adapter) automatically connects external 1080p monitor, audio interface and Launchkey 49 through one usb port - ssd and charger each are connected to their own port

Ableton Live 11.3.3 & Roland STUDIO-CAPTURE 16 x 10 Audio Interface

- 48kHz/24bit (96/32 for sessions solely recording audio)
- 512 sample delay, Default SR & Pitch Conversion is high quality
- "Reduced Latency When Monitoring" only enabled when monitoring analog ins for recording, Delay Compensation always enabled
- Input config - Inputs up to 9/10 enabled, both stereo and mono - Output config - only outputs 1/2
- Plugins, User Library & Temp Files are on my internal "Macintosh HD" Hard Drive
- Custom Sample Library & project files are on my external Seagate One Touch 1TB SSD
- I regularly consolidate chops/stretches, freeze & flatten where needed (resource hog plugins especially)
- I save instances of tracks I don't need that moment in a custom hidden folder to reduce clutter
- Mainly use ableton stock, I only use legit licenses of third party plugins (fab filter suite, serum, waves, etc.) They're very stable and haven't had any major issues,
- I'll sometimes use the second window when mixing but most of the time I have only one window open on my macbooks display and secondary software like splice or audio midi setup on the montior
- Before going deep into a project I'll close any background stuff I don't need to optimize cpu usage as much as possible

you have provided a lot of good detail here, great job on being thorough. I too need validation that I am not crazy. I've been using Ableton without issue (switching from FL studio, and i love it) until the most recent update. Nothing on my system changed (windows machine) except Ableton. My CPU can handle plugins/effects, my audio interface and bufffer are fine. Yet, I have high CPU usage and general lag (not experienced in any other software). It appears to be somewhat related to the ableton index (ie you see the places circle spinning). I switched over my samples library to a new SSD harddrive, and that might be helping? I'm not convinced yet. Do you happen to note the indexer running/places spinning when this happens to you? I see you also have an SSD for your sample library.

You are not crazy. I too have also experienced visual lag and high CPU spikes after updating from 11.2 to 11.3. I'm using Windows 10 on my DAW, So it's not just a Mac thing. There is a noticeable difference and it's frustrating that you get the generic response from Ableton - here are the things you can do to lower you CPU load. I didn't have a problem with my CPU load or the display lagging behind before updating to 11.3 The only reason I upgraded was because I was trialing the Ampeg Suite Plugin and it was really draining the CPU (adding about 20%). I posted on other forums and people using other software in their DAWs said they didn't have a problem. So that's why I decided to upgrade. All I did was add more problems. And since I already opened, saved, and backed up my project with 11.3.3, I can't go back to a previous version. uggg. Let's hope they take this seriously and figure out what the problem is. I also opened up a ticket with support. If you haven't upgraded to 11.3 yet, I would suggest you don't.

Yes, i also came to the forum to look for some help regarding this problem.
Noticed that ableton gets stuck, Spinning pinwheel is showing and it doesnt react to any inputs. Midi notes stay on, even after key is released, or they dont play, but are played seconds later all at once instead. Just updated two days ago, never head issues like this before.
Using a M2 macbook pro, fairly new, in good shape. (not much stuff installed, using mostly ableton plugins)

Ive also noticed a massive difference in speed with the latest update.

Its got nothing to do with the audio files for me as I only have been using fairly simple features and VST plugins (mostly NI). Everything is hideously slow from start up times to being able to first use Live.

I have now worked a little with the 11.3.3 on the weekend and found that this version tortures the CPU tremendously. As others have already described, the GUI is often not operable for several seconds. I also get glitches in audio playback, which I never had before. Unfortunately, 11.3.3 is not usable for me.

I'm back to 11.2.11, which runs fine for me.

My operating system is Windows 10.

pottering wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 16, 2023 8:24 pm

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/artic ... ion-11-3-2

Can anyone tell how long it takes to parse the .asd files? Does it have to be done individually for each project?

I didn't have the Create Analysis File enabled, so it seems to have been done every time, resulting in an unusable GUI. I will now enable that and see how it behaves.

Although here

viewtopic.php?t=247348

it seems that it is not necessarily due to the *.asd files. Now I am confused. I'd rather stay with the 11.2.11 after all.

If you don't reenable ASD creation it will keep happening, as it is the ASD files that save the waveform drawing and warping data for each file, without ASD files Live has to recreate waveform drawing data and auto-warping data every single time for every single file.

EDIT: IMO Ableton should straight remove that option from Preferences, or at least put some red letter warning on it, that Help article not even close to enough.

pottering wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 19, 2023 4:54 pm

If you don't reenable ASD creation it will keep happening, as it is the ASD files that save the waveform drawing and warping data for each file, without ASD files Live has to recreate waveform drawing data and auto-warping data every single time for every single file.

Ok, pottering. Thanks for the answer.

At the moment I went back to 11.2.11.

I would be interested to see how the CPU load behaves when this rewarping is completed in 11.3.3. Is there then still a serious difference to the previous versions?

And how long does the rewarping take? I had the feeling that even with smallest projects without *.wav files it was impossible to work, even after several minutes. By small projects I mean test projects, e.g. 4 tracks, 10 bars. My frustration level was so high that I finally downgraded.

I have ASD creation enabled and saw almost none of those problems people are posting about, and I have no idea how long it takes because I didn't even notice it.

Holy cow, I am about to buy a new computer over this. I was pretty sure it was just my iMac not handling my plugins on a couple of large projects, but yes, the screen drawing is weird and glitchy with these projects. Any difference going back to 11.2.11?

pottering wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 20, 2023 11:06 pm

I have ASD creation enabled and saw almost none of those problems people are posting about, and I have no idea how long it takes because I didn't even notice it.

See specs below, yeah, I'm not really experiencing any real issues here either. I don't like the startup lag (it's very different than 11.2.1) and that has been that way since......hmmmm, can I say? BTW, it's NOT autowarping, again, it happens with no audio too.

Julia123 wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 21, 2023 1:32 am

Holy cow, I am about to buy a new computer over this. I was pretty sure it was just my iMac not handling my plugins on a couple of large projects, but yes, the screen drawing is weird and glitchy with these projects. Any difference going back to 11.2.11?

I downgraded from 11.3.3 to 11.2.11. Now everything is fine . I can make music again.

But caution:

Sets saved with 11.3.x can no longer be opened with 11.2.x.