Need more processing power!!

[Sporter]

I'm using Logic, and I love the sound of the included reverbs. Also, I love the convenience of having them as a plug in, and not dealing with outboard type effects.

Of course, processor overload quickly becomes a problem when you use two and three of these together, so I'm looking at options to get more performance from the processor.

I'm using a PIII 1gig right now. Which direction should I go in? Should I go for broke and get a dual processor MB, or will a 1.5 P4 get me more of what I need?

Thanks...any suggestions welcome!

[michaelhoddy]

Were I in your position, I'd spring for the Universal Audio UAD-1 PCI card. While reverb is not what it's primarily known for, although it does have the RealVerb plug-in written for it, it will get you some tremendous dynamics plug-ins (the UA LA-2 and 1176 emulations) and some good channel-strip EQ types of things. This will get these plug-ins off the CPU, freeing it up for doing reverbs and whatever. The UA/Kind of Loud RealVerb on the UAD-1 is fine. The UAD-1 is VST-compatible, by the way.

A 1.5 gig P-IV is not an order of magnitude faster than a 1-gig PIII, so while it will get you a little more processing power, the UAD-1 will get you much more, for the same or less money than a computer/processor upgrade.

[blacko3788]

if you want the same reverb on many instruments, then just send those instruments to a certain output or bus and then just put the reverb on that bus.....you can run many vocal tracks in the same bus and save on the processor

[AcousticPro]

This is an interesting question. I would also suspect that there is some way you could better allocate the DSP you currently have. If you are looking for additional processing for plug-ins then the UAD1 is a great addition to any system with minimal effect on the host processor. Otherwise it's time to start looking at ProTools. If you need tips then send me a private message with the type of sessions you are working on and the types of effects you are using and how and I'll look it over and make a suggestion for you individually.

[xxFT13xx]

youve got a 1gig CPU and youre having problems with using simple effects???

thats a RAM problem buddy...i suggest getting 512 or more.

-Sin
http://zwap.to/ft13

[AcousticPro]

I would tend to agree that it's a good idea to check your RAM and also do a control-alt-delete command to see what is running in the background that you may not know is running taking up processing power that you could be using otherwise. How much RAM do you have currently?

[Sporter]

I currently have 512 RAM. I use the auxillary busses available in Logic, not the inserts. I assign the reverbs to a bus, and route the signal thru them.

I work with 12-15 tracks, usually. Typically, I'll have drums spread out on 4 tracks, with bass, guitar, strings, etc on the rest. I'm usually dealing with 3 to 6 minute songs.

Ideally, I would like to have at least 3 discreet reverbs. If I try using three of the aux busses, I always get processor overload. Two works about 50% of the time, and one almost always works...but one just isn't enough to give each instrument it's own space.

The DSP-1 sounds great, although a little pricey. I did notice it's available for the PC now. However, I could do the 1.5/1.8 P4 for about half that price, and it might possibly give the bump I need to use the three effects.

Thanks for all the help.

[xxFT13xx]

another option too is to go to www.download.com and download a utility called MEMORY CLEANER...what it does is clean up memory that is currently being used by closed applications..and believe me...they hog all the RAM they can!!

-Sin
http://zwap.to/ft13

[TimOBrien]

Do it the old way!

Print your reverb 100% wet to a new file and bring it back in as another track(s). You can then turn off your reverb plug-ins and only have to mix in the reverb track. Tons easier on the CPU!