Ableton Forum

Hey all, I've been experiencing a bug lately, and i can't seem to determine the cause. If I use the Predator VST, or the Sylenth VST, and make a few preset changes, the graphics in Ableton randomly freeze up. The sound and everything still works, but all the faders and any other animated graphics completely freeze up, and I have to relaunch Ableton just to get it to work again. Note: when I click "quit" the prompt menu appears to ask if I want to save my work, when this prompt window is open, the graphics start working again, but if I click cancel, it goes right back to being frozen.
Has anyone else experienced this bug? I have no idea if it's an issue with my VST's Predator or Sylenth but I can't seem to narrow down the cause of the error. I've tried using only ableton and the Predator or Sylenth, and it still occurs on both of my computers, desktop G5(tiger), and my new macbook.(leopard)

BTW, i have all of the updates from Ableton, Apple, and Rob Papen for the Predator.

Any other Predator or Sylenth users out there who are having the same problem?

Hi NativeOps,

I´ve not yet a solution to offer, we´re looking into the issue though.

Best,

Jörg

Hi NativeOps,

just talked to our plug-in experts: there are currently no known issues with the VST version of Predator, we couldn´t reproduce the problem.
However, some of Predator´s presets are ultra CPU-consuming. In Live, the audio engine is always prioritized when the CPU hits the roof, possibly leading to a graphical "freeze". I assume that the problem you experienced just occurs with certain (heavy) presets, switching back to less CPU-intensive ones should bring the GUI behavior back to normal, right?

Best,

Jörg

Actually no, I have to quit Ableton and relaunch. The program still works, but the graphics don't. However, when the prompt window appears and asks if I want to save my work, the graphics are working again, until I click cancel, and then it's frozen again.

I never use ableton without a VST, so I have no idea if it will reproduce itself with out one.

Hi,

the behavior sounds normal: when you choose "Quit" resources are released, so the the graphic start moving again.
Still, the problem should only occur with certain (heavy) presets, right?

Best,

Jörg

Pretty much. But sometimes it just happens during low CPU intensive presets, and almost always freezes during bank changes. In fact, quite often while using Predator, it takes down the whole DAW. I'm gonna try to contact Rob Papen/Concrete FX and see if this is a known bug. But any info would be great.

Does anyone else out there experience this problem?

I have a live set with several instances of Nexus and Vanguard Synths from ReFX. Whenever I choose the scene launch buttons the UI locks up. I observed similar issues when choosing Apple + Q (the ui frees up) but unfortunately the UI does not consistently free up. I need to relaunch live to restore normal UI behavior.

Selecting the scene launch once again locks up the UI.

Hi Brian,

not sure the issue is related. What does Live´s CPU load meter display when the UI freezes up? What does OS X Activity Monitor say regarding CPU- and memory usage?

Best,

Jörg