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How to optimise your DAW for better performance
Once you’ve got all of the power-hungry kinks
worked out of your system, you may still need to
optimise your projects in your DAW in order to
get the most from your CPU.
This sort of thing was more vital in the days of singlecore/single-processor machines, but such precautions and practices still apply. It never hurts
to be frugal. Of course, if you happen to be stuck
with an under-spec’ed relic, such precautions will
save you a lot of frustration.
It’s important to take advantage of everything
your system has to offer. Most DAWs support
multicore or multithreaded processing, but it’s
not always active by default, so be sure you have
it activated if your own machine sports multiple
cores or processors.
Also, you’ll want to shut down any other programs
that might be running. Is your browser open
and active? While you’re at it, consider disabling
any random or scheduled program updates that
might surreptitiously interrupt the free flow of
data between DAW and system resources.
Bit and sample rates
You can reduce potential problems from the very
start of your projects by recording material using bit depths and sample rates that your machine can handle. We’d suggest adjusting sample
rates before bit depths. 24-bit recordings offer increased dynamic range that can be crucial in the
home studio.
However, though your favourite virtual synthesizer might sound brilliant at a sample rate of 96 or
192kHz, it might be overkill, and it will almost certainly be too much for large projects. Reduce the
rates to 44kHz or, at most, 48kHz. These rates can
accurately handle frequencies well beyond what
we can hear. And while it’s true that this isn’t the
only reason to use higher rates, we’ve got to cut
corners somewhere - especially if you’re just at
the stage when you’re working on ideas and being
creative, rather than handing in your final master
to a record label.
As a very last resort, you can also reduce your recording bit depth to 16-bits. You’ll wind up with
less dynamic range, so you’ll have to watch your
levels a little more closely,
but it could help take the strain off your drives.
Consider from the start exactly what’s needed
for your project. It’s easy enough to use a DAW’s
default templates or your own saved setups, but
they may be chowing down on more resources
than necessary. For example, you needn’t use
the same default input configuration you’d use
to track a huge drum kit if you’re only recording a
voiceover. Every input and output you activate will
put a hit on your resources, so customise your
connections appropriately.
You can gain a lot of cycles back by managing buffer sizes. Obviously, you’ll want to use the smallest possible buffers when monitoring your inputs
during the recording process to avoid latency, but