Frodo wrote:zuul-studios wrote:
Frodo -
I'm also a happy owner of Altiverb. I know that I don't use it to its fullest potential. I can see, though, how many instances of Altiverb can help create the "depth" of sound. I can also see how many instances of Altiverb can hugely tax the CPU! LOL! (Although the newer Altiverb 7 seems to be more CPU friendly than its predecessor.
)
Cheers. . .
Ted
It is possible to use aux busses for different sections of the orchestra based upon their virtual placement in the mix. Doing this will help eliminate squandering resources by not putting one instance of Altiverb on every instrument track. One method some use is to submix winds, strings, percussion, and brass, and then to use four instances Altiverb on those submixes-- but only using the pre-delays to control the early reflections. Another instance of Altiverb *could* go on the master (or another aux) for the entire orchestra, but using only the reverb tail.
It's also important to note that large projects will tax the CPU. If you're on an Intel, the CPU can handle it, although you will definitely be putting it to work. As long as the CPU doesn't go into meltdown, you should be okay.
There are other ways of streamlining your workflow to make the most of your resources.
1. You've got 32GB of RAM. Run your most demanding VIs in standalone mode to make use of that RAM. Otherwise, all of your VIs and plugins will clog DP's current memory limit of less-than 4GB.
Also, it seems as if your machine will boot the 64-bit kernel. If you're VIs are 64-bit, then running them outside of DP could offer additional benefits where memory access is concerned. Another VI host such as Vienna Ensemble Pro or Bidule can also help keep things tidy.
2. This may not be necessary with your machine, but if your project involves real instruments or vocals, bounce those audio tracks to a single stereo track and just work with that until you're ready to do your final mix. It's not likely that you'll be tracking real instruments AND orchestrating at the same time. Streamlining your project can help save resources. When you're ready to mix, raise your audio buffers and fly in your separate audio tracks back in.
3. Any machine will get to a point of diminishing returns if overloaded. Some virtual orchestrators doing particularly large projects still find it necessary to offload some of their instruments onto a second machine. That's not to say that this is a must, but if you're doing something of the scope of "The Lord of the Rings" or "Star Wars", your projects may indeed tax a single machine.
4. Short of adding another computer, consider an eSATA stack of hard drives of some sort. I've got other instruments on my internal drives, but my larger orchestral and grand piano libraries are all on eSATAII drives. Streaming is better than, say, firewire, and CPU hits are lower. What helps here is that different instrumental groups are on their own drives, so seek times and transfer rates are vastly improved if the most demanding VIs are not being streamed from a single drive.
Just a few starter ideas. Any of this can be repurposed or reapplied according to one's personal workflow preferences.
Scroll down to
"June/July 2007" for all the associated files.
EDIT-- it's just June/July, not June/July 2007. In fact, I'm having trouble with the mp3 link. Hmm. 
) I hope to finish this larger project by the 2012 Holidays to give as presents to family and friends. Anyway, at least there's some forward momentum underway with regards to finishing this project.