Seeking greater understanding of voice number limitations

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I'm using Zebra2.5.4 64bit in Reaper4.261/x64 on a HP g7-1070us notebook with i3 and Windows7. Occasionally in Sibelius6. I know about the "few, medium, many" button. But that's about it.

I would like to know more about the factors which influence the maximum number of voices I can expect from each instance in the project. The immediate project will contain a lot of clusters and highly chromatic chords.

I'll start with this. I notice major dropouts when experimenting with quantized 12 note clusters of adjacent semitones when the notes in Reapers MIDI editor run right up to the next note. Shortening the notes a small space of a few ticks relieves the problem, at least to a large extent. Is a certain time required between note off and the next note? Is different behavior to be expected based on whether the notes come all at once or are spread out and overlapping? I hope to avoid a large amount of experimentation here. Because, of course, there is a large amount to be done elsewhere. :)

Does it matter whether the notes are repeated, as opposed to new notes in different positions?

Do things that linger past the note off such as reverb, delay, and the release part of the envelope play a role?

Do CPU intensive patches have greater limitations?

The manual mentions a certain "intelligence" that factors into the equation. Unfortunately, with computers, I am lacking in that department. So please, if you are so kind as to respond, keep the technical jargon to a minimum.

Any additional information would be very welcome.

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few, medium and many = 4, 8, 16 notes sounding at once.

The main factor is the envelop release time of your notes. Longer release times means some notes are still sounding even though the note is 'off'. If you have a preset set to many you can have 16 notes active at a given moment. More than that and some notes will be cut off to make room for the new notes.

I really wish Zebra could do 24 and 32 as well...

CPU is not a factor

effects such as reverb and delay do not matter

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Each instance is independent. Notes played in one instance will not affect the polyphony of another instance (unless you run into cpu issues but that is another matter entirely)

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Thanks pdxindy. That makes sense.

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