xmiinc

Q: Is there any realtime performance penalty for off-loaded loops?

This may seem like a dumb question (7 yrs since last sequence, new to Logic and soft instrumentation) but I just wanna make sure I understand Apple's implementation of loops correctly: is there any realtime performance penalty for off-loaded loops?  Loops (Apple or otherwise) don't stream or anything like that, correct?  So its ok to put the 30+gig folder of Logic loops on say, a network drive?  I'm OK with waiting a bit longer for load-times as long as I'm clear there isn't a real-time, Logic environment penalty when playing/recording projects.  Thanks, cheers, Tom

Intel-Macmini w/500G Seagate 7200rpm hd, 8Tb LG N4B1 NAS, Mac OS X (10.6.3), iSight, DIR-655 Nrouter, hacked/Crystal'd Apple TV, dual 20" App

Posted on Apr 16, 2011 6:42 PM

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Q: Is there any realtime performance penalty for off-loaded loops?

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  • by BenB,

    BenB BenB Apr 17, 2011 8:41 AM in response to xmiinc
    Level 6 (9,901 points)
    Audio
    Apr 17, 2011 8:41 AM in response to xmiinc

    Your network may not be fast enough, you "may" experience problems.  Why not keep them local?

  • by xmiinc,

    xmiinc xmiinc Apr 17, 2011 9:34 AM in response to xmiinc
    Level 1 (70 points)
    Apr 17, 2011 9:34 AM in response to xmiinc

    Thanks for the reply, Ben!  You say 'not fast enough', but the loops are basically a 'load once' item once they are chosen and become part of a project, or instrument, right?  Therefore the speed (or lack thereof) of the network is only apparent during the loading of the project, correct?  What other kinds of 'problems' that you reference do you think I might run into? 

     

    Of course, if something is being streamed in real-time then that's another story and the reason why I posted the question in the first place--to be doubly sure I understand how loops are used in the Logic environment (I'm old SVP power-user, so my 'user-paradigm' of sequencing is a bit old...I'm otherwise a MIDI-head just getting into plugins and soft instruments and such). 

     

    The only thing in my previous experience analogous to Apple loops was using Samplecell cards to load samples triggered in the sequencer.  I'm assuming Apple loops are used similarly but I have this nagging suspicion that I may not have the whole story?  Apple loops seem more flexible than the old 'load-n-trigger' paradigm.  If there is a scenario where Apple loops are repeatedly accessed in real-time by a project containing them, then that's what I want to know about...what kind of performance overhead am I looking at? 

     

    The reason I'm interested in off-loading them is simply to maximize project space on my fast internal drive (see my user-details) but at the same time my processing power is (obviously) limited on a Mac-mini so I want to get a good sense of where the overhead can reside and where the tradeoffs can be made.  External hd's aren't really an option because my one FW port is being used for an Ensemble, and while I *could* daisy-chain a drive on that bus, I would prefer not to add to the bus-traffic in that way.  Hence, the desire to keep my project space as big as possible.

     

    Parenthetically, I'd be interested to know how well additional Mac-minis could be integrated as Logic nodes, as that would be a way to mitigate processing overhead on my (measly) 2-core system...but I love the small Macmini footprint and silence of operation!  Are folks out there actively (and successfully) doing that?

  • by BenB,Helpful

    BenB BenB Apr 17, 2011 9:43 AM in response to xmiinc
    Level 6 (9,901 points)
    Audio
    Apr 17, 2011 9:43 AM in response to xmiinc

    OK, some things stream, some don't, it's not that black and white.  How much RAM and CPU power you have makes a difference.  Are loops a load once operation?  No, Logic is going to read media files from the drives.  Virtual instruments and effects are loaded into RAM.

     

    Mac Mini's are not considered ideal for media creation, due to RAM limits, CPU limits, graphic card limits.  But, if you're doing small projects, and you have enough bandwidth on your LAN, it "may" work just fine.

  • by xmiinc,

    xmiinc xmiinc Apr 17, 2011 9:53 AM in response to BenB
    Level 1 (70 points)
    Apr 17, 2011 9:53 AM in response to BenB

    Thanks, that's the kind of info I'm looking for!  I know my mini isn't 'ideal', but then what really is, right? Anyway, thanks for giving me the heads up on loops!