Guitar Rig 6 only works when a few components are loaded

Denjack

Hi, I am new to using amp simulation software. I play guitar and find this approach to playing thru amp simulation software very interesting. So I hope to learn a lot by using this approach and have fun doing it.

My issue is- when I select a preset that has many components, the power light on the screen flickers and the sound is intermittent when I play the guitar. When only a few components are used then it works fine (amp, cab, maybe 2 effects). I am wondering if my computer is the issue?

My computer: Toshiba satellite S55-c, windows 10 64 bit, Intel Core i7-5500U cpu 2.4 GHz, Intel HD Graphics 5500 driver, RAM 12 GB, Hard Drive 1000GB (812 GB free).

I read about the Graphics Drivers needs to support GL2.1 or higher or Direct X 9 or 11. I know intel has discontinued the driver. So, I am not sure if this is the issue?

Thanks for any help

Gandi

It is, as you already suspect, on your laptop or the sound card. You are welcome to give an example of a preset that works and one that causes the problems.

I don't think the current hard drive is a problem, especially since you don't make any recordings.

There are many ways to get more music processing power out of a laptop. If you use it, it is optimized, but can only be used to a limited extent for other things.

So before I intervene heavily in the system, I would first carefully increase the number of buffers on the sound card.

Nico_NI

It would be interesting to run it within a DAW and check the CPU load. Your computer's soundcard might be the struggling point here.

WA Florek

Honestly, when it comes to virtual/digital anything audio, Bigger/Faster is always better.

It also depends on the Bigger Picture; do you plan on expanding, adding more virtual studio software, a pro DAW, and overdubbing live tracks....etc. Some of the IR cabinet and effect combinations with GTR Rig 6 can be pretty resource intense especially as you start adding other vst's (compression, EQ'ng etc.)

I spent countless hours designing, researching and forward/rethinking when I decided to build my home audio production studio, at the same time; I can (vaguely) remember "back 'n the day" running a crappy ACER laptop with LinuxStudio64 when we were formulating ideas for Guitar to MIDI to VSTi's and making the best of what we had.

So, I have no idea of the depth of your knowledge concerning how all this "Digi2Analogue2Digi" streaming 1's and 0's becomes the next Grammy Winner. Having a clear plan on what you want to accomplish, even if it's just jamming along with mp.3 backing tracks, makes it a lot easier to decide which hardware will help you get there. Of course the other big factor is Cost; like I would tell my customers when I was building racing motors back in the 70's...."Speed cost Money; How fast do you want to go!?"

Gandi

I still have no idea which setup will bring your laptop to its knees. But the answer only makes sense if you might want to optimize your current laptop.

Otherwise, CPU clock counts.

If a second, "correct" graphics card is installed, you should be able to switch off the CPU's integrated one in the BIOS.

Gandi

https://gigperformer.com/docs/ultimate-guide-to-optimize-windows-for-stage/The%20Ultimate%20Guide%20to%20Optimize%20your%20Windows%20PC%20for%20the%20Stage.pdf

For me, this is the best "bible" for optimizing a laptop. Some changes, especially in the bios, will not be possible with many laptops.

WA Florek

I'm no expert, at least with Native Instruments...but maybe I can help lean you in the right direction.

IF your running a particular DAW...List It!

Off the Bbmin9 I see that your Laptop rig runs it's internal drive at 5400 RPMs which is probably your biggest bottleneck and a FSB 1600 MHz. Since you have several USB 3.1 ports, you could try a recommended and common performance enhancing setup by;>>> connecting a SSD external hard drive to one of the USB 3 ports. (I use several SAMSUNG T7 Touch Portable SSD 1TB'ers)

This will be where you will (re)locate all your NI Libraries thru Native Access and any other large Instrument files. Keeping WIN/OS and program files on the slower, internal drive.

Native Instruments Installation Guides are a must read. Good Luck!

Denjack

No, running as a stand alone. Thank you for your suggestion.

Gandi

It is, as you already suspect, on your laptop or the sound card. You are welcome to give an example of a preset that works and one that causes the problems.

I don't think the current hard drive is a problem, especially since you don't make any recordings.

There are many ways to get more music processing power out of a laptop. If you use it, it is optimized, but can only be used to a limited extent for other things.

So before I intervene heavily in the system, I would first carefully increase the number of buffers on the sound card.

Nico_NI

It would be interesting to run it within a DAW and check the CPU load. Your computer's soundcard might be the struggling point here.

Denjack

Thanks for all the above answers to help with my issue. I did try to increase the buffer on the Focusrite 2i2 from 256 to 512 and it didn't help. So, in order to run Guitar Rig 6 efficiently, it seems I need to replace my laptop with a laptop that has a faster processor.

My current processor is Intel Core i7-5500U CPU 2.4 GHz. So, can any of you suggest what computer/processor I would need to purchase to run Guitar Rig 6 efficiently?

Thanks again for all the advice, much appreciated.

WA Florek

Honestly, when it comes to virtual/digital anything audio, Bigger/Faster is always better.

It also depends on the Bigger Picture; do you plan on expanding, adding more virtual studio software, a pro DAW, and overdubbing live tracks....etc. Some of the IR cabinet and effect combinations with GTR Rig 6 can be pretty resource intense especially as you start adding other vst's (compression, EQ'ng etc.)

I spent countless hours designing, researching and forward/rethinking when I decided to build my home audio production studio, at the same time; I can (vaguely) remember "back 'n the day" running a ***** ACER laptop with LinuxStudio64 when we were formulating ideas for Guitar to MIDI to VSTi's and making the best of what we had.

So, I have no idea of the depth of your knowledge concerning how all this "Digi2Analogue2Digi" streaming 1's and 0's becomes the next Grammy Winner. Having a clear plan on what you want to accomplish, even if it's just jamming along with mp.3 backing tracks, makes it a lot easier to decide which hardware will help you get there. Of course the other big factor is Cost; like I would tell my customers when I was building racing motors back in the 70's...."Speed cost Money; How fast do you want to go!?"

Gandi

I still have no idea which setup will bring your laptop to its knees. But the answer only makes sense if you might want to optimize your current laptop.

Otherwise, CPU clock counts.

If a second, "correct" graphics card is installed, you should be able to switch off the CPU's integrated one in the BIOS.

Denjack

Thanks guys. I quess all I want to do with Rig 6 is play my guitar and have fun with all the effects. Playing along with a backing track and maybe being able to record it at some point. Thats basically it. As far as optimizing my current laptop. Well, I have no clue how to do that. I wish I did. I could only follow some written instruction, if its just a matter of a few clicks here and there. Or maybe its something that a computer shop could do. Then, I would compare that cost with buying a new laptop. ??

Thanks

Gandi

https://gigperformer.com/docs/ultimate-guide-to-optimize-windows-for-stage/The%20Ultimate%20Guide%20to%20Optimize%20your%20Windows%20PC%20for%20the%20Stage.pdf

For me, this is the best "bible" for optimizing a laptop. Some changes, especially in the bios, will not be possible with many laptops.

Denjack

Thank you Gandi for the guide.

Very much appreciated.

Denjack

After optimizing the laptop with the guide sent by Gandi my computer runs faster and Rig 6 works so much better. I'm happy!