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hey guys, working on a pretty intensive mixdown. already bounced my entire bassline (committed as F*ck) to reduce CPU. working on my highs and went to add a sidechain. long story short i've begun to notice that having lots of sidechain compressors in ableton eats your CPU. how to avoid this? i just had an idea while writing this to try something with my sends/returns. otherwise. lmk if you have run into this, or know how to work around.

thanks a ton dsfers.

-zul

ok so i made a KICK SC return, and a SNARE SC return. put a compressor with settings accordingly on each return. mind you i'm working in ableton (8.3something if that matters [doesnt]).

so i take my sub (midi track), and put the I/O to sends only, and send it to the KICK SC return, to be compressed via that compressor, linked to my kick. works like a charm

go to take my bass track, (audio at this point) send it to KICK SC, works. send it to SNARE SC, and i get a parallel output with horrible phasing/etc.

not working. gonna fiddle smore.

You could use autopan instead of sidechain if the sidechain is consistent

well yeah i mean it's dubstep so i'm trying to sidechain it to a snare every 3rd beat. i was trying to sidechain a mid-high, i made-do with a little EQing in the mid-high to make room for the snare. idk what it is. i tried a compressor on it and it just spikes my CPU every time the snare hits and the sidechain activates.

Buy a new computer - if yours can't handle a sidechain compressor it's basically a paperweight.

Use less effects. It'll save your cpu. Give more attack to bass.

VirtualMark wrote:Buy a new computer - if yours can't handle a sidechain compressor it's basically a paperweight.

not that i didn't appreciate your reply, because i did. and i agree. but because of the attitude with which i attributed to your voice as i read this to myself in my mind, thanks for being semi-douchely. and at that rate, wouldn't i sooner be better off doing a memory upgrade? i only have 1GB, and if i went and bought a new computer because of performance issues, instead of spending the $40 bucks for an upgrade, well that would make... me, sorta like a paper weight. eh?

either way. i have a lot of shit going on in this track. i've had minor performance issues before. the only difference between then and now, is that i am using fabfilter for all my compression/EQ. which is cool, doesn't cause me any problems (for the record i'm LOVING the fabfilter products )

however, i'm still using ableton's built in compressor for my sidechains. so i'm not quite sure what's going on. i wouldn't exactly call this computer a paperweight because it's a huge upgrade from what i came from, and i've never run into this issue before. i thought it might be a known issue, the CPU spikes in this instance ONLY when the snare hits. otherwise playback is fine.

other than that at this point, i've mixed around it, and am just continuing the discussion for the sake of contributing information to the forum.

Instead of using a plugin, why not manually automate the volume of the track your sidechaining - i.e. draw in automation and add a dip where there's a snare. This should use pretty much 0% during playback, and imo it sounds better in many cases because you can draw the volume dip so precisely.

Talált wrote:

VirtualMark wrote:Buy a new computer - if yours can't handle a sidechain compressor it's basically a paperweight.

not that i didn't appreciate your reply, because i did. and i agree. but because of the attitude with which i attributed to your voice as i read this to myself in my mind, thanks for being semi-douchely. and at that rate, wouldn't i sooner be better off doing a memory upgrade? i only have 1GB, and if i went and bought a new computer because of performance issues, instead of spending the $40 bucks for an upgrade, well that would make... me, sorta like a paper weight. eh?

either way. i have a lot of shit going on in this track. i've had minor performance issues before. the only difference between then and now, is that i am using fabfilter for all my compression/EQ. which is cool, doesn't cause me any problems (for the record i'm LOVING the fabfilter products )

however, i'm still using ableton's built in compressor for my sidechains. so i'm not quite sure what's going on. i wouldn't exactly call this computer a paperweight because it's a huge upgrade from what i came from, and i've never run into this issue before. i thought it might be a known issue, the CPU spikes in this instance ONLY when the snare hits. otherwise playback is fine.

other than that at this point, i've mixed around it, and am just continuing the discussion for the sake of contributing information to the forum.

Wasn't trying to be a "douche", i'd rather be honest with someone than fuck about. If a computer couldn't run Abletons compressor without choking then it would be unsuitable for modern production IMO.

Now that you've provided more information, it does indeed sound like a glitch. The Pro-C compressor can sidechain too, have you tried that? Also as others have suggested, you can manually automate the volume. It's strange that it's only doing it with one snare, have you checked all your warping settings and other plugins?

Also, 1Gb isn't a lot these days so it certainly wouldn't hurt to upgrade.

mthrfnk wrote:Instead of using a plugin, why not manually automate the volume of the track your sidechaining - i.e. draw in automation and add a dip where there's a snare. This should use pretty much 0% during playback, and imo it sounds better in many cases because you can draw the volume dip so precisely.

that's not too bad. and i can just do it over like 1 bar, and then copy and paste the envelope across the arrangement right? i guess if i wanted to take it to the NEXT level i could always like, automate EQ settings instead of the volume?

Talált wrote:

mthrfnk wrote:Instead of using a plugin, why not manually automate the volume of the track your sidechaining - i.e. draw in automation and add a dip where there's a snare. This should use pretty much 0% during playback, and imo it sounds better in many cases because you can draw the volume dip so precisely.

that's not too bad. and i can just do it over like 1 bar, and then copy and paste the envelope across the arrangement right? i guess if i wanted to take it to the NEXT level i could always like, automate EQ settings instead of the volume?

Yes, I do both. (I also sidechain drums to other drums that play at the same time and sidechain them to their own reverb when I cba )

VirtualMark wrote: Wasn't trying to be a "douche", i'd rather be honest with someone than fuck about. If a computer couldn't run Abletons compressor without choking then it would be unsuitable for modern production IMO.

Now that you've provided more information, it does indeed sound like a glitch. The Pro-C compressor can sidechain too, have you tried that? Also as others have suggested, you can manually automate the volume. It's strange that it's only doing it with one snare, have you checked all your warping settings and other plugins?

Also, 1Gb isn't a lot these days so it certainly wouldn't hurt to upgrade.

it's okay! that's why i mentioned that i probably read it like a douche you're right and i agree.

it's definitely strange that's for sure. i guess i should read a manual or something, i couldn't figure out how to sidechain with Pro-C, that was my Plan A actually. i would most prefer to do that.
and i definitely did a thorough check of the plugins to see what was happening; i had it down to the point where i was putting one compressor sidechain on a track, and it'd glitch. and i'd delete it, and it'd work. and i cycled this a few times to be sure. every time i put on the sidechain, it'd glitch when the snare hit.

as far as 1GB of memory i honestly wasn't even aware until now. i've never had memory issues, then again. i've managed to make music on some pretty low rigs. so i guess i was always taught by myself to compensate for not having extraneous loads of cash by; doing everything right, not using any more CPU or memory than i need to, or bouncing things to audio (losing a lot along the way during the learning process [save multiple instances of your work guys!!] but either way, like i said, i just checked and ya, 1GB. i'm sure i can get a 4GB upgrade for roughly $50 for this computer.

thanks for all the input guys!

ur issue aint really an issue, you can use an utility plugin to lower the volume wherever u want and then bounce the track. If your snare is consistant itll take you 2min to copy it all oever and freeze it. you can also send all your tracks you want to sidechain to the same group or same track and only have one track with compressors.

I never tried but you could also possibly record the track with the sidechain on it, dunno if that works.

another possibility is using a vst with a sidechain that allows you to record or flatten as opposed to the abletons sidechain which doesnt

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but you can also create a new audio track and route the output of the track with the side chain into the new audio track and record the sidechained audio.

a way around your CPU being pushed to it's limits, just group the track you want to put the compressor on. Put your fx chain on the group/buss you just made and it will dramtically reduce your CPU. This is what I have been doing for a few months now and I noticed the CPU never goes over 20-30% no matter how many vsts I have running.

Might want to freeze the tracks that have been grouped, then flatten if you wish. I just wish we were able to freeze the group track. That'd be sick.

Swelly wrote:a way around your CPU being pushed to it's limits, just group the track you want to put the compressor on. Put your fx chain on the group/buss you just made and it will dramtically reduce your CPU. This is what I have been doing for a few months now and I noticed the CPU never goes over 20-30% no matter how many vsts I have running.

Might want to freeze the tracks that have been grouped, then flatten if you wish. I just wish we were able to freeze the group track. That'd be sick.

favorite reply, i actually do this but this is a great piece of advice. i was overstepping my computers bounds for sure and eating CPU in alot of other ways beforehand. either way this is a decent topic in general. CPU/ram conservation. not everyone has the brand new hardware and i think alot of people take what they have for granted including myself.

Talált wrote:

VirtualMark wrote: Wasn't trying to be a "douche", i'd rather be honest with someone than fuck about. If a computer couldn't run Abletons compressor without choking then it would be unsuitable for modern production IMO.

Now that you've provided more information, it does indeed sound like a glitch. The Pro-C compressor can sidechain too, have you tried that? Also as others have suggested, you can manually automate the volume. It's strange that it's only doing it with one snare, have you checked all your warping settings and other plugins?

Also, 1Gb isn't a lot these days so it certainly wouldn't hurt to upgrade.

it's okay! that's why i mentioned that i probably read it like a douche you're right and i agree.

it's definitely strange that's for sure. i guess i should read a manual or something, i couldn't figure out how to sidechain with Pro-C, that was my Plan A actually. i would most prefer to do that.
and i definitely did a thorough check of the plugins to see what was happening; i had it down to the point where i was putting one compressor sidechain on a track, and it'd glitch. and i'd delete it, and it'd work. and i cycled this a few times to be sure. every time i put on the sidechain, it'd glitch when the snare hit.

as far as 1GB of memory i honestly wasn't even aware until now. i've never had memory issues, then again. i've managed to make music on some pretty low rigs. so i guess i was always taught by myself to compensate for not having extraneous loads of cash by; doing everything right, not using any more CPU or memory than i need to, or bouncing things to audio (losing a lot along the way during the learning process [save multiple instances of your work guys!!] but either way, like i said, i just checked and ya, 1GB. i'm sure i can get a 4GB upgrade for roughly $50 for this computer.

thanks for all the input guys!

If you'd like to side chain with pro C create a seperate trigger track and send it to the track with the pro -C on it. It should have an option for it to send to pro-C side chain input in the second drop down menu.

Swelly wrote:a way around your CPU being pushed to it's limits, just group the track you want to put the compressor on. Put your fx chain on the group/buss you just made and it will dramtically reduce your CPU. This is what I have been doing for a few months now and I noticed the CPU never goes over 20-30% no matter how many vsts I have running.

Might want to freeze the tracks that have been grouped, then flatten if you wish. I just wish we were able to freeze the group track. That'd be sick.

It's a good idea, I used to do it, but what if you want different effects/sidechaining on each synth

I wish you could freeze sidechain compressors in ableton... I really, really, REALLY do and i have no idea why they haven't installed such functionality yet.

RmoniK wrote:I wish you could freeze sidechain compressors in ableton... I really, really, REALLY do and i have no idea why they haven't installed such functionality yet.

You can just record the side chained signal to a new audio track and save the original with the track turned off Incase you need to go back and adjust it.