Massive X stability

Jo.

Hi all !

As much as I love this synth, I'm now afraid to work with it because I noticed a lack of reliability and stability on my system.

I use MX mainly through Maschine software, but I also had problems in Live.

Bugs encountered (in maschine SW specifically):

- I'm working on something, then I want to select my group or sound with MX in it, Boom, whole software crashes. (ok I'm tired of cmd+S at every step, just in case..)

- Randomly, when I select MX, I have a big audio glitch, but the instance remains open, no crash, but no sound anymore :) I have to reboot maschine, sometimes that solves the problem (until next crash), sometimes the instance just doesn't produce any sound anymore, even after full computer reboot.. SO I have to delete the instance and reload a new one & my preset from my user menu or redo my patch if I forgot to save... great! This problem happens randomly as well on big greedy patches, as well on a basic sine with a simple filter...

These bugs do not seem reproducible and occur randomly, on very small projects (therefore low cpu use), as on larger ones with hard cpu work.

That's why I just avoid using MX these days.

I have a Mac Pro late 2013 (the bathroom bin) dedicated to my music production with 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5, 32Gb Ram, running pretty fine Mojave.

I know my computer is getting old now, but it's still very fast for a lot of things, and I rarely have a CPU stress spike when I'm working, I don't plan on replacing my Mac Pro right away, it's still working fine.

Is MX a problem with my current CPU or is it a problem that seems to affect several people ?

What is your experience with the stability of Massive X ?

Thanks !

Daniel JH @ NI

Hi Jo, do you have any crash logs you could attach here? That would really help point to possible causes. You can find them in the Console app.

DaeV

I have been experiencing the same here. I will load a project (Cakewalk by Bandlab i7 Intel) and all the patch tweeks and automation is gone. Even if I select a stock patch, make no changes, MX reverts to the basic sinewave patch.

DaeV

Latest update fixes this issue

valerianmengsk

You should have a CPU usage meter somewhere showing 100% or very close to when you are having those issues, I imagine.

Xeons are outdated processors, discontinued in 2012. That it runs fine for mundane tasks is irrelevant, modern music production software requires something with modern gaming specs, pretty much.

Jo.

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/1519#Comment_1519

Hi Daniel, thanks for your reply, I will attach a crash log when MX will crash again. But the problem is so irregular, I haven't had a problem for a few days, but I will keep you informed !

Jo.

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/2059#Comment_2059

My CPU usage meter did not show peaks when the problem occurred. I very rarely have CPU peaks by the way, even with MX with fat effects chain and other stuff going on. So, I don't understand.

Yes, Xeons are "outdated", maybe. But, a processor becomes useless from the moment it is discontinued? That is not the point. The computer still runs pretty fine even with my "modern music production software", I don't see what's irrelevant here, unless MX is unsuitable for Xeons ? I don't believe that, but that is what I asked ;

Not everyone wants to have the latest fancy computer or CPU, or change hardware every 2 years. I prefer for my part to keep a stable machine as much as it remains capable for my needs.

Anyone else who owns a Mac Pro/Xeons 2013 wants to share their experience with Massive X stability ?

valerianmengsk

"But, a processor becomes useless from the moment it is discontinued?"

No one said or implied that. You can do mundane tasks just fine on an old PIII Windows XP computer, too, or on a sh***y Amazon Fire 7 tablet.

"Not everyone wants to have the latest fancy computer or CPU, or change hardware every 2 years."

Me neither. And while tech evolves quickly, it is slow enough that upgrading every two years is unnecessary.

"I prefer for my part to keep a stable machine as much as it remains capable for my needs."

Mein bruder.

Jo.

@valerianmengsk Yeah we agree but my topic was Massive X and Xeons CPUs and how they work (or not) together, asking for other users to eventually share their experiences.

Have a good day