BrainModular

Hello.

I have another question I can't state in enough detail, but here it is:

I am designing live performance set-ups. I am wondering if anyone who has used Usine more than me can give me an estimate on how much I can get away with live given that I've got a 3.0 Ghz Core Duo intel processor.

You see, I'm designing the VST and patch chains for songs as they are mentally being developed (a much quicker process than making several hundred workspaces just to see where they go) and I'm wondering 2 things, really.

How many VSTs, with automation, I can get away with using live, and how much will having VSTs and modules sitting unused in the background effect the processor?

I realize there's no precise answer to that but I'm guessing someone will know whether I can get away with using 15 or 35 or 100 in any given part of a song, and whether having ones turned off in the bacground (so I can switch fx/instruments for various people at various parts of songs) will effect that, if at all?

For instance, say I've got a dub song.

There'd be an electric bass player and a guitar player and vocals being processed, plus 2 or 3 virtual instruments being played via midi instruments at any given time.

Now I'm wondering whether I can plan for, say, 3 fx per live instrument (9 total) plus 3 instruments each with 3 VSTfx (so 12 more) for a total of 21 VSTs, about half of which would have several parameters automated at once.

The answer to this query isn't critical, but if I could plan ahead for roughly how much, on average, I could get away with at once it'd help me conceptualize things in advance a great deal.

There is no precise answer because it depends on your vst's, your sound card driver and your latency and of course your patches.

For live a 256 samples latency is a good compromise.

An Altiverb VST cost 15% on my computer and it's nor a mater of Usine but the vst itself
If you really need 20 vst's you'll probably need to find the best cpu/quality.
For example, for live I use FreeVerbToo reverb which cost 1% and make a good job. So I can use around 40 FreeverbToo or 3 Altiverb....

Personally, I'm never really limited by the cpu, because I disable tracks if I don't need them. It's finally unusual to use 30 FX at the same time?
Also I put only one master reverb as an insert patch on the the main out, etc...


The next version will be 25% faster and will include very a light compressor, limiter, etc.

Well, having started out on a PIII 1 Ghz I know all too well how to reduce the usage of the CPU

I just don't have my virtual instrument players wailing on midi controllers when I'm composing so it's hard to guage how much processor power I'll need - I can only press so many midi controllers at once.

I posted this long ago just on the off chance that someone might have an idea but in the interim I've made things in FL just to test out and have better grasp of how much I can get away with. Using 30 VSTs would by no means be a lot by my standards