Editing DI's on a low performance computer

[abaga129]

This is something that bugs me more than anything. Every time I go to edit guitars and vocals my workflow comes to a crawl and its unbelievably frustrating to click and have to wait 4 seconds for it to react.
Im a cubase user but does anyone know any programs that are light on CPU usage that work well for time editing audio?
This would be a life saver because I don't know how much longer I can take spending 7 hours to edit 4 guitar DIs.

 

[Uros]

Why don't you print every couple of measures or so (depends how much your pc can handle)? Don't edit with a bunch of crossfaded files, bounce often.

 

[LBTM]

disable all plugins and mute not needed tracks when editing.

 

[abaga129]

Why don't you print every couple of measures or so (depends how much your pc can handle)? Don't edit with a bunch of crossfaded files, bounce often.

What do you mean by print?

I have trouble even with 4 tracks running. No plugins whatsoever going. and the extra 3 tracks muted. Its only when I get into the audio warp/various audio that I have serious problems.

 

[Uros]

Consolidating. Crossfades put a strain on cpu. And you do have auto-crossfades most probably turned on, if you're using slip editing. So select tracks in question every once in a while and consolidate them, to free up some system resources.

 

[LBTM]

i really wonder how they could run 20 tracks of audio 15 years back in a daw.

 

[Igor Samurovic]

Try reaper, it's cheap and fast when it comes to this. There's an option that automatically turns VSTs on all tracks that are muted. If you solo one track, it sends all VSTs (except those on that track) into 'sleep' mode.

i really wonder how they could run 20 tracks of audio 15 years back in a daw.

Sometimes I think about how we take everything for granted nowadays, too.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Print all necessary tracks and then turn off all the plugins, except the ones on the track you're editing. Then print the DIs like everyone else has said.

That being said... if your computer can't handle 4 tracks... maybe it's time to upgrade. You can get a quad core PC for like $250 now from TigerDirect, as long as you don't mind putting it together (Which is WAY more simple than people think it is... I mean... Everything will only fit in certain places). I mean, my Dell desktop from when Windows XP originally came out can run more tracks than that. Your PC must be archaic

 

[SethTheGreat]

Tell us what you're working on. It will be much easier to help. Laptop or Desktop? If it's a pre-configured (Dell, HP, etc...) then tell us what the model # is. If it's custom-built or has been upgraded at some point, how much RAM? What type/speed processor? It sounds to me like you may just need to perform some computer maintenance.

One of my machines is a crappy, old, out of date HP laptop and I can run VSTs, EZdrummer, Trigger, numerous audio tracks, etc...

Also, are you using an external audio card (USB/Firewire interface), or onboard audio?

 

[abaga129]

I'm using an Asus k52f laptop with an Intel dual core processor(don't know specifics but its worse than an i3) 6gb ram. I have all graphics related stuff turned off. I'm using a line 6 ux2 but I rarely have it on while editing. Everything else in cubase works fairly well but when I open up the audio editor my computer practically has a heart attack.
I'm using cubase 5 btw.

 

[abaga129]

Print all necessary tracks and then turn off all the plugins, except the ones on the track you're editing. Then print the DIs like everyone else has said.

That being said... if your computer can't handle 4 tracks... maybe it's time to upgrade. You can get a quad core PC for like $250 now from TigerDirect, as long as you don't mind putting it together (Which is WAY more simple than people think it is... I mean... Everything will only fit in certain places). I mean, my Dell desktop from when Windows XP originally came out can run more tracks than that. Your PC must be archaic

I can run 30-40 tracks and dozens of plugins like I said it only freaks out in the audio editor

 

[SethTheGreat]

I have all graphics related stuff turned off.

What do you mean by this? Like OS animations etc...? (just wanting to be sure I don't misunderstand you).


Your PC should be able to handle opening the "sample editor." (That is the view you're talking about right?

I really think there is something strange going on with your setup.

Which windows version are you on?

Windows up to date? Graphics driver up to date? UX2 driver up to date?Cubase 5 up to date? (check steinberg.net for updates)

If all that is up to date and you're still having the issue, I'm willing to do an exhaustive google search (I'm usually pretty good at googling) for you. Let me know.

 

[SethTheGreat]

Also, does it do the same thing with the ux2 as the active audio device (under device setup)?

When not using the ux2, have you tried using the asio4all driver? (When I'm on my HP laptop, I'm not using an external audio device and I get better performance using an asio4all driver with the buffer all the way up)

 

[colonel kurtz]

yea dude, your issue is definitely related to something being configured or installed improperly, and has nothing to do with the actual system

i started recording/mixing on a dell w/ a 3ghz single-core pentium 4, and was able to run about 20ish track with an average of probably 3 plugins on each, and while i would max out my shit sometime while mixing, i never ran into problems doing edits. that should, in fact, be about the easiest task for your CPU to handle in your DAW...

 

[abaga129]

Could it be that the audio files are on a different partition than the OS?
I remember having a problem with ableton not being able to play audio. The disk overload light would light up every few seconds which caused audio dropouts. I feel like the two might be related.

I believe my hard drive is 5200 rpm

Also, does it do the same thing with the ux2 as the active audio device (under device setup)?

When not using the ux2, have you tried using the asio4all driver? (When I'm on my HP laptop, I'm not using an external audio device and I get better performance using an asio4all driver with the buffer all the way up)

I've tried every setting as far as drivers. Asio4all works the best for me as well.

 

[abaga129]

I think I might have found a solution http://www.gearslutz.com/board/music-computers/481884-cubase-5-tuning-vocals-using-vari-audio-slows-down-system.html
I'll let everyone know if it works in a bit.

 

[Igor Samurovic]

Oh, one more thing, have you set the sample rate to the same value everywhere?

 

[abaga129]

Oh, one more thing, have you set the sample rate to the same value everywhere?

I think so. Where are all the places to check?

 

[Igor Samurovic]

Well, I never used cubase, but there is a place where you set sample rate in reaper and on my interface and they must all be the same, else the program keeps running really slow (resampling the sound all the time) or simply crashes (no explanation). You should find a way to check what's cubase's sample rate set to, and try to find an option on your interface, because this could cause computer to slow down (maybe it has to silently resample everything on the go!). Make sure you match everything to 24/32 bits as well, I use 44100/24 everywhere so that nothing crashes or slows down.

 

[abaga129]

No success. :/ I searched all over the internet and found several threads about a the same or similar problem but with no solution.

Although im kind of glad I made this thread because i had never considered reaper before... Some people suggested it earlier so Im trying it out.
I love it.. for the price, you just cant beat it. Will definitely be buying a license for it soon, and will be forever rid of Cubase. Thanks for trying to help me out though everyone!