Strategy to save CPU on Maschine +

Frank von Welt
Frank von Welt Member Posts: 7 Newcomer
edited October 2024 in Maschine

Hello friends,

I am preparing a live set and want to add a bunch of audio loops to pads that are assigned as audio (to do time stretch)

I prepared for instance 10 loops but I only need to play 5 at a time. (Part A, Part B)

Is there a way to create 2 scenes that only use 5 of the 10 (and only consumes CPU for stretching 5) ?

A simple mute obviously does not do the trick?


thanks a lot


Frank

Comments

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 812 Pro

    use ideas mode… and use midi change to switch between yr set ideas

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,627 mod
    edited May 2024

    Mute just stops audio from coming out, it does not stop the underlying CPU processing. Think of it like this: A horse is running, you see it and then you close your eyes… just because you do not see it does not mean the horse has stopped running.

    Stretch Mode is quite a CPU hog… I dont know how much is a "bunch" of audio loops but for me, around 16 Loops in Stretch Mode without any FX or anything else gets my M+ CPU to 55% - IF they are all activated, so in your scenario you only need five, so make a Pattern with only those 5 activated, another Pattern for the other 5, and so on… Like this:

    Personally, for Live situations I slice my audio and use the Sampler, it's 100x more CPU efficient, but my performance does not need BPM changes, each song has a set fixed tempo, if this is also the case for you then consider the Sampler, or you can use Loops in regular Re-Pitch Mode, if you needed use the Stretch 1st then resample it to another Pad in your final tempo.

    How does that help with CPU usage problems?

  • Frank von Welt
    Frank von Welt Member Posts: 7 Newcomer

    thank you @D-One

    I should have mentioned, I run the Maschine as midi clock slave to my ERM multiclock.. this seems to change the game.. since Maschine keeps recalculating the „speed“ again and again.

    As master /or stand alone there is no problem.

  • Frank von Welt
    Frank von Welt Member Posts: 7 Newcomer

    I also don't need time stretch during the performance for a tempo change, but the material may not be in the same BPM during playing as initially composed/rendered.

    Concerning chopping/slicing. yes I did the same approach on my MPC Live. the material left is not really suitable .. I already sliced all stuff that I could.

    repitch mode CAN be the solution, but in case I wanna play on top of a song I need a stable pitch of the loops.. some % off because I am running the material like 2-3 BPM different will detune the loops too much ..

    If there was something like the Ableton freeze function. so I could just "render" the loops while playing and then just play back static loops.. but I think Maschine is not able to do this, or is it?

    sorry for 2 comments.. for some reason I can't edit the posting I did before (this … menu does not work in my browsers?)

    Thank you

    Frank

  • Frank von Welt
    Frank von Welt Member Posts: 7 Newcomer

    I also don't need a dynamic change in BPM during the performance , but the material may not be in same speed. I am aware that slicing and sample playbay is way more CPU friendly.. I try to do this for all material possible but some loops just can't be sliced very easily.

    Repitch helps but when I play some notes to the loops the correct pitch is necessary.

    PS: sorry I don't know why I can't edit my other comment

  • 6xes
    6xes Member Posts: 812 Pro

    How does that help with CPU usage problems?

    it was a response to the last 2 questions…. as opposed to the main question

  • darkwaves
    darkwaves Member Posts: 455 Guru

    Use the time stretch function and then resample it to a new file at the correct tempo. Then use the standard repitch mode.

    I just went through and loaded 16 random loops on M+. I'm sitting at around 8% CPU when they're all on repitch mode (i.e. time/pitch stretching). It jumps up to ~50% if I change it to stretch and ~70% if I use formant.

    I've not even hit play. I literally turned on maschine and just loaded a bunch of random loops.

    Use one of those other modes to get a sample/loop into the tempo/pitch you want and then resample it.

  • D-One
    D-One Moderator Posts: 3,627 mod
    edited May 2024

    @Frank von Welt

    If there was something like the Ableton freeze function. so I could just "render" the loops while playing and then just play back static loops.. but I think Maschine is not able to do this, or is it?

    No, there's no freeze at the moment. This is why I suggested Re-sampling the content you need to be stretched, so it no longer requires stretch Mode, it's effectively the same as freezing but not as easy to revert back I guess.

    The problem with this is if you re-use content a lot, then you'd need lots of versions of the same thing which for me is not a problem since I dont load things mid-way thru a performance.

    I have a little trick for slicing that might help especially since you need very small BPM changes:

    I export the original material (or resample it stretched) about 5 BPM lower than what it should be, this way i have a small margin as i can still lower the BPM by 5 and it works perfectly without silence in between slices; or if I increase the BPM by 5 the Slices just play sooner and sort of cut off a tiny bit of the chops ends wich for a lot of material is not noticeable, or at least sounds acceptable for live performing, give it a try.

  • Frank von Welt
    Frank von Welt Member Posts: 7 Newcomer

    Thanks @D-One will try the „render slower“ trick.

  • Frank von Welt
    Frank von Welt Member Posts: 7 Newcomer

    Thank you @darkwaves . The thing is .. can this be done during running ? I mean I don’t know before how fast I‘m gonna be. This resampling of (for instance) 5 pads I need to do during transition between 2 songs .. looping end of song 1 . Load new project .. Resample all relevant loops .. changes settings and hit play again and finish the transition .. I understand the idea of your approach but I’m afraid it won’t be doable in a live situation every time I go to a new song

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