Cubase Maximum Audio Tracks

[dieselmx]

HELP!

I was wondering if anyone would know how many audio tracks i can record/play simultaniousley in Cubase LE before my CPU will lag or freeze. I have a 2.4 ghz processor and 1.25GB of ram. I use about 2 effects per track and the song is 4 minutes long. Or is there any easy way to test it other then recording those tracks to see.... I'm looking to get around 15-20 max, I have 6 for the drums so far and no lag yet.

Or if anyone knows if i duplicate the tracks up to 15 or 20 if that would be the same as how many i can record/play.

Thanks.

Tom

[String7th]

Cubase LE has a limit of 48 mono tracks.

[dieselmx]

I understand that ... It really doesnt answer my question though .. that doesnt mean that i can record 48 4 min. audio tracks and it will play ok does it?

Any ideas anyone?

[markb424]

There's no way to estimate a hard and fast number. There's simply too many variables at play. However, I think you could get 15 to 20 tracks, especially if you follow a couple tips.

Why do you need 2 effects per track? Depending on the type of effect, this may not be necessary. If you're using an individual reverb on every track, I'd suggest just setting up a single reverb fx channel and routing tracks through it. That will save you quite a bit of CPU power since reverb is a memory hog...not too mention it will clean up your mix.

Once you have a track sounding good, freeze it. You can always come back later.

I'd also suggest recording at a lower latency setting and then increasing it for mixing/editing. This works even better if you record everything dry first, and then add plugins once you've increased the latency buffer.

[dieselmx]

Great that helps alot.

What im doing is I have already recorded 6 drums and they are done... added a little eq to each one and a some drumagog. I will now put in 2 guitars, bass, vocals, and many other instruments separately...

another question... i have some tracks that are 4 mins but just one or 2 hits on the rack toms ... if i erase the tracks up til those parts will that save me some CPU or doesnt it matter?

What do you suggest for a latency buffer? I dont know how to make a eq channel either.. All i know is adding them in VST effect and the limit is 2. How do you add a channel for eq and apply it to a track?

Thanks.

Tom

[markb424]

To answer your first question, I believe this does free up CPU power, although Cubase 4 also has a detect silence function. You'll find that plugins require more power than audio tracks.

Eq doesn't tend to drain your cpu very much, and you really wouldn't want to eq inidividual drum parts through an fx channel because each part has such a different sound. I'd keep doing what you're doing with that. You should keep your cpu usage meter onscreen so you learn what pushes your comp. To add an fx channel for reverb, create a new track type: fx or group channel. I forget what it's called specifically.

[brandondrury]

By the way, the length of the song shouldn't have much of an effect on the CPU hit. It's the number of processes occuring at the same time that are the issue.