forced into minimalism

[Equilibrium]

I haven't got the most powerful computer (1.1GHz, 512 ram, M-Audio Audiophile) and I seem to get clicking in my pieces once I load about 8-10 VSTi's.

This means that I am forced into making minimalist pieces for the most part. It's a simple question I have really, now that I can mixdown the VSTi parts to audio with that reduce the load on my computer and stop the clicking? Kind of a form of bouncing down... Is audio less work that midi?

Thank you

[Branis]

Yes, if you turn your VSTIs into audio tracks you will reduce the load on your CPU.
Midi by itself is not a problem for modern CPUs (even old ATARI computers handled midi without any problem), but the VST instruments and effects which need a lot of CPU power to run.

[tlr]

I haven't got the most powerful computer (1.1GHz, 512 ram, M-Audio Audiophile) and I seem to get clicking in my pieces once I load about 8-10 VSTi's.

10 VSTi's sounds plenty. How many do you need?

This means that I am forced into making minimalist pieces for the most part. It's a simple question I have really, now that I can mixdown the VSTi parts to audio with that reduce the load on my computer and stop the clicking? Kind of a form of bouncing down... Is audio less work that midi?

Audio is probably a lot less work than VSTi's. Also, you have sufficient RAM, so I'd say you can run quite a few audio tracks.
If you run out of audio tracks, you can always bounce two or more of them together in to a single track and continue adding more...
This is ofcourse a bit tedious, but there's really no limit to what kind of music you can do with your system.
Note:
I think you have confused what MIDI is though. MIDI is not equal to VSTi's. You can use MIDI to control VSTi's, and you can use it to control hardware synths. If you use it for hardware synths MIDI will take almost no work at all!

/Daniel

[Sicklecell666]

Learning how to do more with less could be seen as a great skill.

[tlr]

Learning how to do more with less could be seen as a great skill.

I agree! I find it very creative to impose different limits of what I can use for a certain track.
It can be rather crippling trying to create a song, knowing that you are sitting infront of a computer full of all instruments and samples that you could name.

/Daniel

[Sascha Franck]

Learning how to do more with less could be seen as a great skill.

Hear hear...
Couldn't agree more.

I've done complete native mixes on my Celeron 466.

[declassified]

Learning how to do more with less could be seen as a great skill.

How true.
I'm currently thinking of how it would be to work with a sampler+MIDI sequencer only and I'm really starting to like it...

After all, there was already great music in the early nineties where they only had an Atari + sampler.

And there was even great music before the early nineties
So we should stop trying to get inspiration by gear!

[Equilibrium]

thanks, that's just what I wanted to know. I agree with you Sickle, but all the tunes I've done so far are minimilist so that has become my limitation as such.

I do realise the difference between midi and VSTi's that was just sloppy communication on my part. Anyway, thank you, I can thicken up the mix with some wierd noises now

[Steven West]

I find coming from hardware to software, there has to be a different mindset as well. With Hardware, I could layer and add with no problems. IE; start with a simple beat, add bass, strings, then make the beat more involved, add brass, change strings to guitars and so on. But with software, I find it's more forethought and piece work. IE; Make a thick powerful beat with a CPU heavy beat box or two - stream it down, use Crystal to do a bass or pad, stream it down, KT Granulator to mess up a Dirtbag lead line, stream that down. And alot of times after, I'm not happy with the static clips after. I loose inspiration and intent. However, I've learned to extract say the drum loops for a new song, and work something else around the Crystal clip, etc. So maybe just the Crystal clip and 3-4 samplers can make a BIG sounding new song? Or my big rythem ideas flesh out a really minimal acid song? It's really hard to predict now with software.

Whereas the limitations with hardware was connectivity and or tonality... Sure, one could have 5 tracks of strings doing numerous things easily - but they all sound like Yamaha or Korg strings, and date the song quickly I find.

[dystonia_ek]

Can't see how that many VST's equate to 'minimalist' exactly, but limitations are often the best sort of inspiration. Try making a track with just one, for example.

[xoxos]

for bushier specimens, pinch the growing tip off to promote branching hormones.

[androidlove]

for bushier specimens, pinch the growing tip off to promote branching hormones.

Dude, that thread's in HP.