When I hear people talking about keeping Ableton running smooth, I constantly hear the buzzword, CPU.
First of all, what is CPU anyway?
Is it different than ram?
How does it affect my computer?
Ram is storage that your computer uses to hold files that need to be immediately used by a program. It’s sort of a short-term memory. Now, if a program closes and things to no longer need to be held in your RAM, your computer will remove them.
CPU is the part of your computer that is responsible for completing actions. They could be simple like knowing when you are using your mouse, or complex like transposing audio in Ableton. CPU also is the part of your computer responsible for moving things to and from your RAM.
Simply, RAM is storage, CPU is a task performer.
Here are some ways to help lighten the load on your computer.
Method 1
Move the samples for any of your sample based instruments to an external drive.
I once heard this explained as you should be using one drive for reading, and one for writing.
This allows Ableton and it’s various function to be performed from the system drive, and your samples to be played from another, and lightens the load on your computer immensely.
Method 2
Use separate channel strips.
Ableton can only use one core of processing power for each channel strip.
So for example, if you had 4 instruments in an instrument rack, they would all be processed by only 1 core of your processor. Which seems silly, especially in a world where most people have a good deal more than one core of processing power.
If you have four instruments on 4 channels. Each instrument would be processed by it’s own core ( assuming you have a 4 core processor)
So it’s best to split things up.
Method 3
Buffer Size And Sample Rate
If you are noticing that Ableton is having a hard time responding in a timely fashion adjust these parameters can be a good place to start.
Buffer Size
Increase your buffer size if you are getting any audio drop outs.
Buffer size refers to the amount of time that Ableton gives itself to process incoming information. It naturally adds a little bit of latency but ensures that when sound is finally created, it’s the sound that you want free from popping and cracking that sometimes can occur when your computer can’t quite get the sound out quickly enough.
Sample Rate
The sample rate deals with the quality of the audio. So lower sample rates technically are not as high quality as higher sample rates.
There is a ton of science behind why we use the sample rates we use, and if you really want to dig deep and understand sample rates, Check out the Nyquist–Shannon theorem.
So long as you are not mid-project.
And I repeat this.
So long as you are not mid-project.
Lowering your sample rate will lighten the load on your computer.
The standard sample rate for audio is 44.1 kHz. So if you are working at 48 kHz, dropping down to 44.1 is a good place to start
Alright, now off to the races with your highly efficient CPU friendly creations.
And on your way to the race, head over to my Facebook page to connect directly with me, as well as with a whole community of Ableton users.
Looking forward to seeing you there
Until next time, happy creating
-Brett