System Overload & Meltdown

Question

System Overload & Meltdown

I've been running MainStage 3.1.1 for about a year now. I have been having a couple of issues.

A little background before solutions get automatically formulated...

YES - I have optimized my system for live performance and shut off all non-essential processes (blue tooth, wifi, time machine, spotlight, etc...) and I have optimized the system settings (energy savers, screen savers, etc...) for live performance as well.

I use SMC Fan Control to increase fan speed during live performance to keep the processor as cool as possible.

My current system; 2012 MacBookPro, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSHD, i7 Quad Core (brand new, maiden voyage on a gig this past week - same issues as old system) And, I should mention that the new machine is running MainStage 3.2.1

Here's my issues...

1. Very frequently (pretty much on every gig - maybe once or up to 3 times) the system will momentarily freeze, and either hold whatever notes I'm playing for a few seconds (which I have to silence), or be silent/unresponsive for a few seconds and not respond, and then it comes back and all is fine, but obviously this is not optimal.

2. Not as frequently - maybe 6 times in the past year of over 150 dates - the entire system will completely melt down and is so locked that I have to do a hard reboot to get it back.

The rest of the story is, I was using a 2010 MacBookPro, 8GB RAM, 500 GB HD (optical, not SS), Duel Core until last week. I JUST got my new computer up and running and used it for the first time on a gig on Thursday, and 5 minutes into the show, it went for door number 2, and completely locked up and all I heard coming through the system was "tick, tick, tick, tick" (and it wasn't a metronome or click track, it was some "wrong" electronic kanked out sound...)

And - it also gave me a little bit of door number 1 (freeze up for a few seconds) a couple of times during the show.

As you can imagine, I was and am highly disappointed that the sizable investment in a machine that is twice the horsepower of what I was running is returning the same result...

As a professional musician my reputation has a lot to do with the reliability of my rig, obviously... So, I am really hoping that someone can help me with this issue.

Other rig info you might need to know. I'm using a Focusrite Saffire Pro40 as my interface, and I am also using a USB Hub (that I'm not impressed with, and am hoping someone can recommend a really good, reliable, compact, USB Hub).

This particular gig that I mentioned above is one where I use more gear than any other. I'm using a Roland XP-80 (M-AUDIO UNO USB into the USB Hub) as my main keyboard and also my "bail out" (when the system melted down and had to be rebooted, I have it set up so I was able to switch to the XP-80 and still have some working sounds so that I could limp through a couple tunes while the system rebooted). I also have a Roland AX Synth that is direct MIDI & Audio into the Focusrite, an FCB1010 Foot Controller (M-AUDIO UNO USB into the computer, an Akai APC 40 control surface (direct USB into the USB Hub), and both Acoustic and Electric guitars (used by another member of the band, and not simultaneously). So, six "devices" or "peripherals", at most 5 being used at any one time.

Also - the Focusrite is Firewire 800, and I'm using a Firewire to Thunderbolt adaptor for the new Mac. Any issues with this that anyone knows of?

OK - I've tried to be as detailed as i could here so that I can receive informed responses. I look forward to and am grateful for any help anyone can give me on this subject.

Peace

Jonny

Posted on Oct 10, 2015 10:44 AM

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Answer 1

Foxboy71

Level 4

2,378 points

Oct 12, 2015 4:14 AM in response to Jonny Stray Dog

Oh man,

i recently bought a brand new 15' MBPRO, 16GB, SSD, "the big one" with the nice i7

And then i fired up my rig, selected Alchemy for the first time, and BANG! CPU overload.

I mean: What the?

Seriously - if Apple can't manage to resolve the blatant bugs and issues that are in Mainstage for YEARS now, and if even the hottest newest hardware can't handle a SINGLE PLUGIN without creating a collapsing CPU spike...

Before, i had a 2011 MBPRO i7 with 8GB's, and it was neither worse nor better. This problem is definitely not a problem of the hardware (i guess even an old 2006 macbook could still perform as good). This is a SEVERE PROBLEM OF THE PROGRAM CODE of Mainstage.app and it's plugins.

And if Apple doesn't do something about it soon, it's gonna hit their reputation hard.

Now you probably don't need any more tipps since you are a pro too, but i did the following:

Fire up the CPU monitor in Mainstage and check which plugins create the most CPU spikes.

If you don't really, really need it: Delete each and every instance of Space Designer from your project and work with the plat verb instead

Decrease the number of voices in the plugins. You don't need more than 30 voices. Often, you only need 4-12.

Increase the buffer size to a suitable value that is still playable but gives your computer more time to even out the sudden spikes, so the CPU won't freak out.

When you set up your rig, switch through all the patches and test it all in the live situation to let your computer buffer all important thing into RAM. Mainstage makes the most problems when it has been just loaded.

Sometimes, unplugging and reconnecting my Audio Interface solved the problems (let Mainstage switch to integrated Audio in-between and then plug the interface back into your firewire and let mainstage switch back).

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Answer 2

Oct 12, 2015 8:47 AM in response to Foxboy71

Thanks Foxboy71. I will try all of these recommendations. Too bad about Space Designer tho since it's my fav...

I will also write to apple and put my two cents in. I'm sure they have been bombarded, but I'll continue the bombardment in hopes that they will fix their code.

Peace

Jonny

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Answer 3

Foxboy71

Level 4

2,378 points

Oct 12, 2015 9:36 AM in response to Jonny Stray Dog

Hello Jonny,

If you need the Space Designer for one or two patches only, then simply put it into the channelstrip and not into a set level bus. By doing so, you can prevent it from running in the background most of the time when you have other patches selected (except for switching seconds or audio trails - you could select "immediate silence for previous patch" if it helps).

I also found that disabling the global feedback protection gives you some more % CPU power.

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Answer 4

Oct 12, 2015 11:30 AM in response to Jonny Stray Dog

I've had this one happen several times,

"1. Very frequently (pretty much on every gig - maybe once or up to 3 times) the system will momentarily freeze, and either hold whatever notes I'm playing for a few seconds (which I have to silence), or be silent/unresponsive for a few seconds and not respond, and then it comes back and all is fine, but obviously this is not optimal."

My system specs are pretty similar to Jonny's, except I've got a 2014 MacBook Pro and a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20.

What I've noticed is that the momentary freeze seems to happen most often several minutes after I have restarted the computer. If I have just put the computer to sleep and wake it up before the gig/rehearsal I rarely see the issue. I've also had a couple of occasions where my external audio in channels go hay-wire while soft synths still work fine. I had to exit/restart Mainstage to get external inputs working again. I didn't have to reboot the computer.

I'm new to this Mac environment. Can someone point me to a list of some tried-and-true tweaks to optimize MacBook Pro (Yosemite) for live performance? I have disabled Wifi, Bluetooth and screensaver, but I wasn't aware of some of the other tweaks that Jonny mentioned.

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Answer 5

Oct 12, 2015 12:26 PM in response to DrSchmenge

http://dj.rane.com/support/knowledge-base/how-to-optimizae-your-mac-for-live-per formance/

Try this. It's what I've been using for optimization. Seems like you are not the only one who has noticed that problems occur almost exclusively shortly after reboot or starting the program. Like it needs to "warm up" or something...

Unfortunately, because I'm a bit of a freak about power spikes, I never hook up my interface without my computer shut down completely. Therefore, I am always starting from a fresh reboot of system and program before every gig.

So, not sure how to remedy this issue. Again, this seems like, with all I've read, that there are some glitches in the program itself that need to be addressed by Apple. Hopefully for them, they do it soon. Because someone WILL build a better mouse trap, and if it's worth rebuilding all of my files in another program just to get the reliability, I and I'm sure every other live performer who's reputation depends on their gear working will do just that...

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Answer 6

Foxboy71

Level 4

2,378 points

Oct 12, 2015 2:44 PM in response to Jonny Stray Dog

Yeah that pretty much sums it up - even though the how-to is from an older OS X version.

But we still need a software update. The program is too unreliable.

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Answer 7

Oct 12, 2015 5:30 PM in response to Foxboy71

Has anyone looked into Ableton LIVE as a substitute for MainStage? It seems like that's a very reliable program, however, I've played around with it and can't see how it would relate when it comes to being able to go from one patch/setup to another instantly, and/or how one would trigger layered sounds and have "live" access to them (i.e. - here's a sound - I don't want to loop it, or play it back, I want to actually play a part live using this sound, or this group of sounds). And what about splitting and layering? Seems like it's meant more for loop playback than anything (which is great for DJ's but not great for keyboard players who want to actually play...)

Anyway, I'm already thinking that it's time to start searching for the better mouse trap if Apple can't get their **** together on this issue for what is going on about 6 or 7 years....

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Answer 8

Oct 12, 2015 8:57 PM in response to Jonny Stray Dog

"Has anyone looked into Ableton LIVE as a substitute for MainStage?"

Exactly the question I was going to ask. You sound like a kindred spirit.

If Ableton is as solid as its purported to be, I was thinking of driving it with Lemur on an iPad to call up patches by touching an easily readable set list with some number of patch buttons per song. I had tried something similar with Forte running as a host on a Windows laptop, but had trouble keeping the iPad connected... even with a wire (iConnect Midi).

I really thought MainStage was going to be a long-term solution, but 😟

I remember the first talking vending machine I tried to use back in the 80's ... It told me "You need to put in more money."

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