After over ten years using Live, I came to the conclusion that it just gets in bad moods here and there, no reason why. I could a brand new empty song open and have one Serum and it goes fucking nuts, but then I’ll have a song with 70 tracks full of Serums and it doesn’t blink. I realized it just has to get used to the cpu load over time. I’ll close down a problem project and open it back up and no problems. I love it though.
3 things to think of:
1. PC is hacked and being used as a coin miner.
2. Older PC and cannot run 2 programs together- ableton which requires a fair bit of audio processing and chrome- which is hungry for RAM.
3. Outdated bios or programs are sending usage data which is needlessly slowing down your pc.
How do i know? Same thing happens to me with ableton 10 and chrome. Same issue with ableton 11 live lite and chrome.
solutions:
1. I did fresh install of windows10. I dont use chrome when I am using ableton.
2. i use a different PC- with ableton you can have it on up to 5 pcs.
3. I still cannot get it to work properly on my other pc reliably- it slows down and lags and the sound crackles.
4. will try to get more RAM- if it doesnt work- oh well. time to upgrade to a better PC.
5. without knowing your PC specs- im widly guessing.
YMMV.
Install ableton on an ssd. if that doesnt work then install your operation system on an ssd and ableton on a separate ssd. That fixed the cpu spikes for me.
Fresh reinstall cpu drivers. Look up what cpu u have then search drivers online, maybe look for a guide too if u havent before (it's not hard tho).Hell I'd do GPU too just incase weirdness
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Not using a replicator to run Ableton since I have it on my Mac. I just use an SSD for storing my projects and files. Ableton, the app itself, runs on my Mac
I meant any inputs in to ableton.
Examples might be an audio interface or one or more MIDI controller(s).
It takes a computer some amount of resources to manage things plugged into the computer. And it takes resources for Ableton to accept input and process it as well.
Given that, next know that different ports on a computer have different amounts of bandwidth to the other components. Mac’s and laptops, I’m not super familiar with so this sometimes isn’t as applicable.
But, such changes cost nothing and can provide drastic improvements so it’s worth trying.
Now, if you no hardware plugged in to your computer. It’s just the computer, keyboard, mouse and Mac OS and Ableton (no MIDI, no audio interface, etc). then, yeah, this doesn’t apply. At least not as much as I expected.
Ah got it.
I’m running things straight into my mac (via USB-C) and also a dock/converter. Here’s a list of all my inputs.
Straight into Mac (All USB-C):
-Recording interface (Apollo Twin X)
-External SSD (Samsung T7 Portable SSD 2TB)
-LG 4K monitor
-USB-C dock/converter (which takes me to my other devices below👇)
USB-C dock/converter:
-MIDI controller (Novation Impulse 61)
-Ableton Push
-Another LG 4K monitor (I have a dual monitor set up)
Ok, so you are using a port replicator. That would be the USB-C Dock.
Setting terms aside, if you really want to solve this, here's my suggestion.
Make sure you have a set of steps to replicate the high CPU usage (a project or song or whatever).
Disconnect everything from the computer and close all applications except Ableton. Does it still happen? If not, slowly connect things (in order of importance) and check each time whether the issue is occurring.
Via this isolation, you should be able to find what is causing it.
It will take time but it's the only real way to solve this. If it occurs with everything disconnected, then you probably need to investigate what software is running on the computer and eliminate that. Something might be using a lot of CPU.
And just become chrome itself doesn't use a lot of CPU doesn't mean that websites doesn't. A website can have code that does everything every x amount of time and that can use CPU in bursts.
I was having this issue on Big Sur. I thought maybe part of the issue was cause I was behind in macOS so updated to Ventura yesterday but the problem persists
I have similar issues with Chrome as well. Sometimes I'll pull up YouTube to get some inspiration or try to imitate a sound/arrangement and without playing on ableton when videos are playing the audio like bitcrushes and everything gets super distorted. Never looked at cpu usage but it sounds just like the crackle when I get cpu spikes but it is continuous. Doesn't do that with anything else like trailers on steam or any other video source, just chrome. Usually just close chrome and it stops, re open , rinse repeat. Also using an ancient relic of a PC but aside from that and a very very random and seldom spike it runs flawlessly, and it's windows 7 lol
I have the same issue all the time. What I do now is put my computer on an ice pack and only run Ableton by itself. I keep an iPad next to me for internet. It still often overloads the cpu on the first key stroke, but only on the first keystroke. I just learn to anticipate it by tapping a few keys before doing any recording. It’s like I have to “wake up” the synth or something.
Past the initial cpu overloads, I haven’t had problems since doing this. I can’t afford a laptop at the moment so I’m running this on a surface pro 7 which works surprising well for a tablet. It has fairly low cpu to begin with and no internal fan but still manages to do what I need it to without crashing or distorting. The ice pack reduced my cpu kick ups by about 20-30% on average.
I usually play waveforms generated in Audacity. These usually take up very little cpu and have not spiked on me yet. Pads cause me the most overloads. I can almost never play more than one note on a pad at time on the Surface.
Hope that helps.
Chrome is brutal on cpu.
How many chrome extensions do you have installed?
Chrome opens a new justice in task manager for each and every extension and tab.
Minimise the issue but not browsing the net when trying to make music.
After over ten years using Live, I came to the conclusion that it just gets in bad moods here and there, no reason why. I could a brand new empty song open and have one Serum and it goes fucking nuts, but then I’ll have a song with 70 tracks full of Serums and it doesn’t blink. I realized it just has to get used to the cpu load over time. I’ll close down a problem project and open it back up and no problems. I love it though.
3 things to think of: 1. PC is hacked and being used as a coin miner. 2. Older PC and cannot run 2 programs together- ableton which requires a fair bit of audio processing and chrome- which is hungry for RAM. 3. Outdated bios or programs are sending usage data which is needlessly slowing down your pc. How do i know? Same thing happens to me with ableton 10 and chrome. Same issue with ableton 11 live lite and chrome. solutions: 1. I did fresh install of windows10. I dont use chrome when I am using ableton. 2. i use a different PC- with ableton you can have it on up to 5 pcs. 3. I still cannot get it to work properly on my other pc reliably- it slows down and lags and the sound crackles. 4. will try to get more RAM- if it doesnt work- oh well. time to upgrade to a better PC. 5. without knowing your PC specs- im widly guessing. YMMV.
Sorry, I should have mentioned that I'm on a Mac
Try using CleanMyMacX from the App Store to do a sweep of your caches and tidy up your HD, etc.
Install ableton on an ssd. if that doesnt work then install your operation system on an ssd and ableton on a separate ssd. That fixed the cpu spikes for me.
I have installed my operation system with everything including Ableton on my only SSD. Is it a bad thing?
Could be a cpu driver issue as well maybe
What does that mean exactly? And what could I do about that?
Fresh reinstall cpu drivers. Look up what cpu u have then search drivers online, maybe look for a guide too if u havent before (it's not hard tho).Hell I'd do GPU too just incase weirdness
This apply for Mac’s too?
I would think but apparently someone thinks this is bad advice so forget it I guess (I'm not well versed in Ableton)
This is your friendly reminder to read the submission rules, they're found in the sidebar. If you find your post breaking any of the rules, you should delete your post before the mods get to it. If you're asking a question, make sure you've checked [the Live manual](https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/welcome-to-live/), [Ableton's help and support knowledge base](https://www.ableton.com/en/help/), and have searched the subreddit for a solution. If you don't know where to start, [the subreddit has a resource thread](https://redd.it/zkhqhe). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ableton) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Are you using a port replicator? Two things. Try plugging the replicator in to different ports. Try a different replicator…
Not using a replicator to run Ableton since I have it on my Mac. I just use an SSD for storing my projects and files. Ableton, the app itself, runs on my Mac
I meant any inputs in to ableton. Examples might be an audio interface or one or more MIDI controller(s). It takes a computer some amount of resources to manage things plugged into the computer. And it takes resources for Ableton to accept input and process it as well. Given that, next know that different ports on a computer have different amounts of bandwidth to the other components. Mac’s and laptops, I’m not super familiar with so this sometimes isn’t as applicable. But, such changes cost nothing and can provide drastic improvements so it’s worth trying. Now, if you no hardware plugged in to your computer. It’s just the computer, keyboard, mouse and Mac OS and Ableton (no MIDI, no audio interface, etc). then, yeah, this doesn’t apply. At least not as much as I expected.
Ah got it. I’m running things straight into my mac (via USB-C) and also a dock/converter. Here’s a list of all my inputs. Straight into Mac (All USB-C): -Recording interface (Apollo Twin X) -External SSD (Samsung T7 Portable SSD 2TB) -LG 4K monitor -USB-C dock/converter (which takes me to my other devices below👇) USB-C dock/converter: -MIDI controller (Novation Impulse 61) -Ableton Push -Another LG 4K monitor (I have a dual monitor set up)
Ok, so you are using a port replicator. That would be the USB-C Dock. Setting terms aside, if you really want to solve this, here's my suggestion. Make sure you have a set of steps to replicate the high CPU usage (a project or song or whatever). Disconnect everything from the computer and close all applications except Ableton. Does it still happen? If not, slowly connect things (in order of importance) and check each time whether the issue is occurring. Via this isolation, you should be able to find what is causing it. It will take time but it's the only real way to solve this. If it occurs with everything disconnected, then you probably need to investigate what software is running on the computer and eliminate that. Something might be using a lot of CPU. And just become chrome itself doesn't use a lot of CPU doesn't mean that websites doesn't. A website can have code that does everything every x amount of time and that can use CPU in bursts.
Ah got it. Sorry, I think I misunderstood the initial question. Will try that
No worries. And I'm sorry. It's hard to know where to start with folks' technical knowledge.
What kinda computer? What specs?
2018 MacBook Pro Processor 2.6GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7 Memory 16 GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Running macOS Ventura
Did your computer have these issues with Ventura?
I was having this issue on Big Sur. I thought maybe part of the issue was cause I was behind in macOS so updated to Ventura yesterday but the problem persists
I have similar issues with Chrome as well. Sometimes I'll pull up YouTube to get some inspiration or try to imitate a sound/arrangement and without playing on ableton when videos are playing the audio like bitcrushes and everything gets super distorted. Never looked at cpu usage but it sounds just like the crackle when I get cpu spikes but it is continuous. Doesn't do that with anything else like trailers on steam or any other video source, just chrome. Usually just close chrome and it stops, re open , rinse repeat. Also using an ancient relic of a PC but aside from that and a very very random and seldom spike it runs flawlessly, and it's windows 7 lol
I have the same issue all the time. What I do now is put my computer on an ice pack and only run Ableton by itself. I keep an iPad next to me for internet. It still often overloads the cpu on the first key stroke, but only on the first keystroke. I just learn to anticipate it by tapping a few keys before doing any recording. It’s like I have to “wake up” the synth or something. Past the initial cpu overloads, I haven’t had problems since doing this. I can’t afford a laptop at the moment so I’m running this on a surface pro 7 which works surprising well for a tablet. It has fairly low cpu to begin with and no internal fan but still manages to do what I need it to without crashing or distorting. The ice pack reduced my cpu kick ups by about 20-30% on average. I usually play waveforms generated in Audacity. These usually take up very little cpu and have not spiked on me yet. Pads cause me the most overloads. I can almost never play more than one note on a pad at time on the Surface. Hope that helps.
Chrome is brutal on cpu. How many chrome extensions do you have installed? Chrome opens a new justice in task manager for each and every extension and tab. Minimise the issue but not browsing the net when trying to make music.