Ableton Forum

I have been using Ableton for over a year now and for the most part have not had any issues. I have an Intel MacBook Pro 2.16 with 3 GB of RAM and Tiger OS. I am using a NI Audio 8 soundcard, Novation 61 SL, a Mackie Control Pro, and a wireless mouse.

Recently I am finding that Live will cut and clip out audio. I know VST's can use a bunch of the CPU and I am using a grip of VST's and effects, however, I didn't think this would be a problem since Live should have Multi-core processing and I have 3 GIG's of RAM. To give you an example, of a 27 track project, I have about half in MIDI. Is this too much MIDI/VST at once?

I am mainly using the following VST's:

Stlyus RMX
Nexus
Vanguard
Albinio 3
FM8
Kontakt
Massive

Effects:
Waves
Camel Space
Camel Phat
Live's effects

I am using it for producing Trance. I usually keep my kicks hi-hats, sweeps, etc in audio, but I like leaving my Synth's in Midi until I am done and ready to finish the track. I do this in case I want to tweak filters, change keys and arrangements, etc.

I have searched all over this forum and over the internet for a solution. I have seen other posts with simillar issues, but nobody with computer spec's like mine. Should my computer be able to handle this amount load? If so, any thoughts on what could be causing it or ways to fix it? I have played with the buffers and latency, etc and nothing has worked except freezing almost all the MIDI tracks.

bump

Let me simplify the question.. Is anyone using 15 VST's/effects at once with less RAM than me without any issues?

I thin processor speed is more important than RAM in terms of number of audio tracks & VSTs.

This looks like a prime example of reaching the upper limit of computing power.
What is your CPU % at when the audi odrops out? Does it stutter?

Try freezing tracks, bouncing as much of that MIDI to audio as you can and deleting the VSTs from the project (you can always do a "save as" and go back to your original MIDI-full project). That _should_ improve performance greatly, unless some other problem (like a bug) is causing your audio dropout.

But to me, I bet its CPU overload or you've taxed your HD's ability to read fast enough.

CPU % is at 50-80% and yes it stutters BAD.

I think you may have hit a solution that I did not know you can do. Are you saying there is a way to save the entire MIDI file, including the VST with selected preset for recall at a later time? If so, yet another thing I just learned. Or are you saying to save a copy of the entire project with all the MIDI information for later if needed? Can you explain??

You can do two things:

1. Freeze track. This is the simplest, handiest method. Tha'll bounces all the MIDI and fx to audio, which is much lighter on the CPU load. If you change your mind, you just hit unfreeze and its back to MIDI data.

I think some VSTs aren't so good at relinquishing CPU resources when disabled... but that's just my inkling, I've never tested it.

2. Save your file. Bounce/render everything and hit "save as" and save a second version. I call mine "song MIDI" and "song audio".

You can't automatically switch between a bounced audio track versus a MIDI/plugin/vst track like you can with "freezing"... but this method I find reduces CPU load the most. There's no question how much CPU an inactive VST is using when you totally remove it from a project. PLus, freexing crfeates a 32-bit file, while bouncing/rendering can create 16 or 24 bit bit files, which are a bit less of a load on the CPU and HD.

Anyhow, you can reimport MIDI tracks if you need to... but its a bit more convoluted than just hitting "unfreeze" and having everything instantly revert to MIDI.

Thanks, I'll go ahead and freeze the tracks. Sounds like the most convient given the situation. I appreciate the feedback and help. Thanks again.