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Notes cut short in AUM
I've been trying to set up a live rig with AUM. I am mainly intending to use Pure Piano, V-Tines, Hammond B-3X and a synth (probably Synthmaster 2). My controller keyboard at present is a Yamaha P-115 (88 weighted keys digital piano). I am trying this on a couple of iPads - a 2018 iPad Pro 11" and an iPad Air 5th generation.
All is fine if I only use one instrument. But if I try to blend two - perhaps adding a string-like pad to the lower half of the piano - suddenly I get random piano notes cutting short - like I'm just tapping them without the sustain pedal on.
I thought this was because my 2018 iPad Pro was underpowered with only 4gb of RAM. But my M1 8gb iPad Air 5 has more engine power and it still happens there.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. I love the idea of having software-based instruments, but if the software environment is not up to the task, I'll have to go back to all hardware.
Thanks in advance,
Dan
Comments
This sounds to me like a polyphony limitation rather than processing power or RAM. Most piano apps give you the option to choose polyphony preferences (usually 128 or 256 will suffice). Usually its specifically called Polyphony but under the Pure Piano app maybe its called Buffer Size. Layering sounds eats up polyphony very quickly. Two layered stereo sounds can use 4 for every note played and if you are heavy on pedal use you will reach the limit easily.
I'll check into Pure Piano's polyphony. But the layering is not taking place within Pure Piano - it's in AUM (where the other layer is triggering Synthmaster).
Checking the DSP meter, it sometimes goes up to 50%. I would have thought the ipad air 5 M1's engine could handle that.
I checked Pure Piano (within AUM) and didn't see anything for Buffer size or polyphony. But I do see Buffer size in AUM. It's currently set to 256. I'm assuming I should drop that down - say, to 128?
Have you inadvertently created a midi loop in your AUM project? - the set ups you describe should 'be up to the task'
No midi loop that I can detect. It's pretty straight forward.
Please do a screen recording in which you show the setup and routing in AUM and demonstrate the issue.
I know how to take screen still prints, but I don't know what you mean by screen recording. Or is that the same thing?
No, you get to screen recording by dragging down the Control Center menu from the top right corner (a dot within a circle). If it's not there you might have to add it in Settings. You stop the recording the same way you started it. At least this is how mine works.
I think I may have figured it out. In my AUM session, I have multiple instances of the same instruments - 2 Pure Piano channels (each with different settings), 2 V-Tine channels (also with different settings) and a BS-16i channel. My plan was to just mute the output on the ones I wasn't using. But it seems that even though they are muted they are still using up resources. When I removed the second instance of Pure Piano and V-Tines the truncating stopped occurring.
I seem to recall in Audiobus you could mute the MIDI input to an instrument, but AUM doesn't appear to have that option.
I've recently read a thread about using Loopy Pro as an AUv3 host (I really have no use for looping) and how it might handle unused resources better. I'm wondering if that's the best way to go. Or just go back to Audiobus.
My goal had been to replicate the kind of multi-instrument-spread-across-the-midi-keyboard setup I have had with my Roland FA-07. For instance, When the band performed Margaritaville, I had a Wurlitzer on the bottom half of the keyboard (for the verses), a two-layer xylophone/flute section (for the intro/outro and choruses) and a harmonica at the top (for the break).
If I want that kind of flexibility in the ios environment, it requires putting together different Auv3 instruments with splits and layers in different channels. So I may need to either make use of a smarter host environment (such as what I heard about Loopy Pro) or not try to put so much into a single saved "preset" (or a "Studio Set" to use the Roland terminology) with the option of turning things on and off.
Well done for keeping at it!
From the setup you describe in AUM everything should be being handled just fine - if you want to ‘mute’ and remove an instruments cpu overhead just slide it to the left.
You mentioned you’d found the buffer settings in AUM. Try increasing this to 512.
I learned so much wrangling issues over the last few years that I’m convinced you should not have to dump AUM to solve this. AUM even let’s you set midi ranges per instrument to create layers from the same midi channel! AUM rocks 🤓
Thanks danimal. I didn't know about the sliding to the left to mute an instrument at the source. I tried that on my 2018 iPad Pro and still got a truncation here and there, but only very occasionally. That was with increasing the buffer to 512. What is the general rule for buffer size? Should I bump it to 1024?
I didn't hear any note cutting on the M1 after using your suggestions.
I pretty much run at 1024 unless I run into issues - some apps don't like it any higher and some setups cant take it lower - have a fiddle about.
You can press the DSP% in the top right in AUM and then select node statistics to see which apps are using what which is helpful too. Again have a look - between fiddling about and this forums help* I've solved every problem that was solvable
*Oh and actually reading manuals
Yeah, read the manual... [blushing, avoiding eye contact...]
@euraquilo - higher buffer settings reduce CPU load but add latency. The latency at 1024 buffers is twice that of 512, which is twice as much as 256. For playing live you may find higher buffer settings messing with your timing. Sensitivity to latency varies from person to person.
Changing to Audiobus won't help with this issue. Audiobus doesn't reduce CPU load when midi is muted to plugins.
Loopy Pro may possibly free up more resources for idled plugins than AUM. I know it does a fantastic job for me on my old, old iPad Air 2. It's free to try for one week, so maybe you can test it to compare.
Another possible way to reduce load is to use different sessions for each song, each loaded with only the resources you need. Could be a problem for reliability or load times though.
It surprises that the buffer size would impact the number of voices available. Typically, the issues that arise due to insufficient CPU resources is crackling. So, I wonder if there is something else going one. Since OP hasn't shown us the AUM setup, I think it might be premature to rule out something about how the configuration is set up.
Swiping left to disable a node (or using MIDI Control to bypass it) in AUM seems to free resources similarly to how Loopy Pro does. Muting a channel in AUM does not trigger the resource-freeing.
wim,
Thanks for the feedback. I have played with some noticeable degree of latency in the past and gotten along ok. It might be worth it for me.
Yeah, the load time for different sets in AUM was a concern for me. On my Roland FA-07 choosing a new Studio Set is instantaneous.
I'm currently trying two different tracks:
1) Doing more experimenting with AUM (using yours and danimal's suggestions, and (gulp) reading the manual)
2) Watching Loopy Pro tutorials in youtube with the idea that I'm preparing to do the 7 day trial (hitting the ground running, so to speak).
Would it help if I posted screen shots of the AUM environment?
Here's the settings:
Here's the Session (with disabled inputs):
And here's the routing:
@euraquilo : you mentioned earlier about blending ranges. Is there any midi filtering involved in your setup?
what is the minimal setup in which the issue happens? a screen recording would help. are purepiano notes the only ones being cur off?
The only midi filtering is that I limit the BS-16i sound to the lower end of the keyboard.
As far as I know, it's only Pure Piano notes being cut off. But the other patch - a slow low string section patch - may be being cut off. Its just hard to tell due to the nature of the sounds involved.
Can you give me an idea what you would find helpful with a screen recording? I'm just not sure what you'd need to see for analysis purposes.
You could use different midi channels to play the different instrument. You can also layer instruments on some of the midi channels. To do this use the midi channel selector in the aum channel input settings. You can select multiple channels, like channel 1 Piano, channel 9 Piano and Organ.
I made a Mozaic script that can do the channel switching it is called channelSwitcher.
Alfred,
I could certainly do different channels but right now the keyboard I'm using only transmits on one channel.
Maybe the larger question behind all this is this: Is the iPad sound module capable of being a primary sound source for the rigors of live keyboard performance (particularly a cover band that needs multiple setups for the various songs that current audiences expect)?
Perhaps that should be a forum topic all its own.
Does the problem occur playing from AUM's keyboard or only your external keyboard?
The sort of demonstration that would be helpful would be a screen recording of the minimal AUM project that creates the problem and a performance that shows the problem -- preferably as minimalist as needed to hear the issue.
Will it happen if you have nothing but two instances of Pure Piano loaded?
The reason I ask is that perhaps the issue is particular to Pure Piano.
@euraquilo on another note is the Yamaha P115 truly class compliant - how are you connecting this to your ipad - by usb to camera connection kit adapter or Bluetooth dongle or both(!)?
If you pop a midi monitor on its output what array of midi info is it outputting? I’m casting around here but these are all issues I’d be exploring. I’ve had reliable hardware overwhelm iOS software and trusted auv3 apps bork reliable hardware.
Yes, I am playing more dense music so the screen keyboard would not be useful for what I'm doing.
I'll give it a try. Never screen recorded before.
I can try it with the Ravenscroft 275 to see if it shows up there. I think I also have the Numa Piano app, too. Will let you know.
Screen recordings are easy to make:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207935#:~:text=Go to Settings > Control Center,iPhone, or on your iPad.&text=, then wait for the three,Center to record your screen.
You will then want to upload to YouTube or the like and post a link.
I tried recording this evening after work, but found it difficult to replicate what I experienced before. Will try again tomorrow.
The mozaic plugin I mentioned is placed between the keyboard and the synth plugins. Switching the channels is done within mozaic.
Since the iPad Pro I'm using is usb-c I've been using a small powered hub. Into that hub is a cable that connects the audio interface and another connecting straight to the P115.
Using Midi Wrench on the iPad the only thing I see besides note and sustain pedal messages is active sensing.
Wow, I looked it up and it looks like a very cool midi utility.