MuLab Mac performance...

[DHR53]

While testing MuLab latest, on my Mac, with my template... which contains 8 tracks. 6 Mu plugs (MuDrum) and 2 VSTs. I'm hitting like 65% cpu usage. Seems really high for only 8 tracks. Also, maybe I never looked at this, but where do you set the sample rate? Audio overload is in audio but there is nothing to set limit, say 256-1024? Hmmm... never noticed that before, but it does seem to be using a lot of cpu compared with say Logic which is super efficient of course. Pardon my ignorance but I've been focusing on usability rather than technical issues...

[fluffy_little_something]

You can change the sampling rate under Mulab -> Audio Setup. There are some options when you right-click the record audio button, but no sampling rate.

I use Mulab on a Windows computer and also hit 70% occasionally with just 6 tracks, without any audio recordings. I suppose it has to do with the lack of support for processors with multiple cores. But afaik that is in the making

Somehow the whole session seems to stay in the CPU even if one is not replaying or recording. The CPU meter never really goes back, it always stays somewhere around the middle. Even when I start Mulab and just load a previous session without replaying it, the CPU meter goes up to about half.

Still, I like Mulab a lot, it sounds great out of the box, without much fiddling with countless parameters. Yesterday I sent someone a few patterns I did in Mulab and he was kind of shocked it already sounded so good without effects, automation, etc.
Given it is such a small enterprise - compared to giant Apple's Logic Pro - Mulab is already excellent

[DHR53]

Hmmm... I also like MuLab. And would like to use it down the road for all my music making purposes. But I come from Logic which arguably is the most efficient DAW. On the Mac platform anyway... so I sort of have to measure any usability, to some extent, through that experience. Although MuLab continues to play, I have noticed some crackling and occasional drop-outs when adding on sequences in the arrange. As I use mostly VIs and very little audio that's a concern. I'm used to using 18 tracks of VIs with less than 50% cpu showing with Logic. Thats with a C2 duo Macbook with 4 gigs of ram. I'm not trying to duplicate that kind of performance with MuLab, but I do need to do something within that realm to consider using MuLab only. I really am interested in simplifying as I never used half the features in Logic anyway, but performance is another matter entirely... Just checking to see what other people are experiencing!

[RalphRoisterDoister]

I really don't see that much difference between Mulab and Logic Pro 9 in terms of CPU usage (and I'm using 64 Bit Logic). Logic seems to adjust a little better at times (big surges then a reduction), but Mulab is pretty consistent in it's monitoring of usage. The only time I have peaked out in Mulab was when I was running an entire percussion section in Kontakt. Still, you can always mix down a track to recover some CPU resources. As far as sound and workflow are concerned, I have yet to find a better option than Mulab. Having said that, I am dreaming of the day when the 64 bit Mac multi-core version is released. I would gladly pay double for it.

[fluffy_little_something]

Although MuLab continues to play, I have noticed some crackling and occasional drop-outs when adding on sequences in the arrange.

I hear such crackling as well sometimes, but it is not there on the exported .wav file. Seems to be merely a temporary thing because of hardware limits, the crackling is not even always at the same locations in the song, sometimes there is none and then again there is a lot, all on the very same session file.

Last night I had some very unusual high-pitched continuous hissing noise, maybe because of that strong sun storm I thought maybe my sound card was broken, but today the noise is gone.

[DHR53]

Interesting... I still have Logic 8 as I never upgraded, while reviewing my options. So that makes me wonder whether Logic 9 does not run as well as 8 did anyway? 7 and 8 were hands down the most efficient of any DAWs on all Macs I've used. The reason I switched from Cubase and even Reason was the performance benefits of Logic. And of course the best plugins bundled with a DAW. But Cubase has come a long way and Logic is languishing... Hence my continued interest in alternatives. I've been using Mu "something" since Musys and the latest version is by far the best. A DAW with what I need and nothing I don't... Which is what I'm focusing on these days.

Still experimenting with it and my workflow...