Tips for more stability

Installation & Configuration Windows
#1

Hi,
I started using Ardour recently.

However, while doing one recording it was crashing all the time. On another session all was OK.

I suspect that these was some glitches with plugins, but are there some tips how to make it more stable?

(I am using it on notebook with Window 7)

#2

For all oses:

  • No plugins on any tracks when recording a long session. Plugin bypass - mode does not help there needs to be no plugins
  • Edit / Preferences / Appearance / Editor / Show waveforms while recording = off
  • Periods = 3, Buffers = 1024

If you’re on Linux stay away from Calf - plugins, they will mess your session eventually. I use Ardour 5.12 on Linux and it almost never crashes (happens maybe 2 - 3 times a year).

1 Like
#3

@mhartzel 's advice is right on. With that said, my computer isn’t the highest spec-ed (old old i5, 8 gb rams) and I haven’t had a crash in a minute. I am on Linux, but I do know with Windows there’s quite a bit of tweaking in order to get something close to low-latency.

#4

OP doesn’t mention low latency. If you need to process sound live then the best solution is to buy hardware that does the job. Imho going for low latency on a computer is asking for trouble. A computer will never give you the reliability dedicated hardware does. Low latency on a computer may work for a while and when you are depending on it it does not. I play guitar so my live processor is a Line 6 guitar processor and never had trouble with it.

As a starting point for getting stable recording my recommendation is Periods = 3, Buffers = 1024. This should work even on a slower computer.

#5

periods = 3 is only for use with some USB interfaces, and should only be tried after periods = 2 has failed. These settings are also only for when using JACK - the ALSA backend (which we recommend for people who do not need JACK) gives you no option over the number of periods.

#6

Are you saying that ALSA decides on appropriate values based on incoming channel count, bitrate, samplerate etc vs sticking to a fixed value?

Would you be able to share why it is that some USB interfaces need 3 vs 2 periods?

#7

[ deleted inaccurate/incorrect information ]

Re; 3 periods: https://linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=10707

1 Like
#8

Hi. I am using PortAudio with MME (with buffered sound enabled).

Problem is not speed. Speed is OK, but it crashing sometimes. But I strongly suspect plugins.

#9

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