CPU safe zone?

mtmartin71

Experienced
I've been working on a new single patch method per each of my guitars with scenes to get to 4+ rigs...lo gain, mid gain, hi gain, lead 1 and lead 2. A fellow Fractal'er turned me on to this. Anyhow. I'm getting up around 92-93% cpu tops. Will I run into any cut-out or performance issues at that level? I'm using an Axe FX XL+.
 
I keep everything 90 or below.

You get some CPU "back" when you disconnect USB. So in a pinch you can push it; knowing live without USB, it's going to be okay.
 
Discovered that I had reverb on high quality. That gets me back down to 89. I was contemplating dropping the Rotary but now I can keep my current virtual pedal board.

But...a lot of things matter. I notice the gate starts eating up some resource. I think thought that I can max it out at 91% which should be fine.
 
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Other hidden CPU gremlins.........

'Cab' block.........'Room Level', 'Mic' sim (including 'Null'), 'Preamp', 'Motor Drive', and use 'Normal Res' if need be for live use?

'Amp' block.......'Output Compressor'

Also the various Effect algorithms available in most of the blocks have different CPU needs. Sometimes selecting a different algorithm can lower CPU but still achieve the intended sound?
 
Spring reverbs seem much less CPU needy than the other types. Probably using a tool to mix cabs outside of AxeFx would be a good idea if you aren't happy with a single cab sound.
 
Didn't there used to be a warning message that came on the display that said "Excessive CPU"? The only indication I get these days is an occasional unexpected glitch in the audio. Without a clear indication, I never know for sure if I'm over the limit or not.
 
I was at 94% today in a patch today and no issues(two amps, 3 delays, verb, two chorus, etc.; did notice that with AXE Edit connected it really slowed the scene changes. I've been a front panel green screen editor mostly since I got the magic black box.

I will say, I just got a MSFT Surface Pro 4 (I7 16 gb) and it kicks ass for AXE Edit ... couldn't use it live, but way cool to "touch" a parameter and change with your fingers. :D:cool:
For setting up tone and effects, crazy cool (perhaps I should just do a new thread). I don't know what would be needed to make it performance capable/no latency on Scene or Patch changes via MFC, but would be super cool.
 
Above 92% seems to be where the crackling starts so I try to stay at 90% or less (2% insurance).

KEY POINT: The maximum cpu level for a preset can be more than the cpu % value seen at initial preset load. From what I've experienced, CPU % for a preset can increase as you exercise it (turn on / off effects, use expression pedals to change modifier values, switch scenes ... ). So - to check the real CPU usage of a preset: load it and cycle through all the modifier, effect, and scene value combinations within the preset, then check CPU value at the front panel.
 
90% is my absolute ceiling these days because I am using 'Midi over USB' for scene changes and other CC messages from a computer when playing live.
 
Thanks guys for all those additional tips. I've got it down into the 80s again when I dropped the reverb block. These "rig" patches that I developed are strictly for live. I like to use a little slap for live ambience vs. actual reverb. I was never using it anyway. Now I have 2 delay blocks. One is set for mono tape at 120 and 250ms delay. The other is set for analog or vintage digital at 350ms and dual delay at 400/800ms. I just need to figure out how to best dive into X/Y on those.
 
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