Not everyone can afford a super powerful computer. Those things can be expensive. This is the problem facing the thousands of people building their first home music studios. The current methods of music production generally require a mighty CPU and a significant amount of fast RAM.
Many modern virtual synthesizer, effect, and sample library manufacturers tend to not pay much attention to musicians with outdated or cheap computers. Novice music producers and composers will often end up facing a situation where three or four tracks with virtual instruments in a DAW project consume all of their CPU and RAM resources.
It’s not necessary, however, to give up or take out a big loan to get yourself a super powered computer. There are proven ways to produce music while remaining economical - even on a weak PC.
A single well-chosen compressor can make all your drums sound powerful and clear, while also adding a cohesive "gluing" effect. This ensures that your percussion elements blend together seamlessly, rather than each sounding like it's in its own separate space.
This same principle applies to spatial processing. Instead of adding reverb to each drum individually, try applying it to the entire drum group. In fact, in a DAW project, you might only need two reverb plugins for the entire track—but we'll get into that further below.
Group dynamic processing of similar-sounding instruments is commonly used across many scenarios: for guitars, strings, brass, woodwinds, layered synthetic bass lines, background vocal tracks, and more.
So, best advice here: create multiple groups (buses) within your DAW project, each responsible for playing and processing similar instruments. This approach reduces the number of compression, saturation, and, to some extent, equalization and reverb plugins you’ll need, and, as a result, it’ll significantly lower the load on your CPU.
We’re pursuing two goals with this approach: not only significantly reducing the number of plugins used but also enhancing the spatial processing of the entire track.
There's no need to place a reverb plugin on every individual track. Instead, you can create two FX tracks: one with a plugin that provides early reflections (small rooms) and another with one that produces late reflections (large rooms, halls, cathedrals).
Depending on the needs of your arrangement, you can mix the signal from one or both reverb FX tracks through the send sections of each instrument. The same approach applies to delay effects—you can create two FX tracks for them as well and use them on the sends of multiple tracks within your DAW project.
Unfortunately, many modern virtual synthesizers are not well-optimized—they consume CPU resources like crazy. Luckily, a handful of popular plugins from the past have been updated to 64-bit formats and are now available for use. Since these synthesizers were originally designed for what are now considered low-powered computers, even on a modest and inexpensive PC today, you can run dozens of tracks with them in a single DAW project.
The globally renowned virtual synthesizer Sylenth1, developed by the brilliant Dutch programmer and musician Lennard Addink, gives you great performance while maintaining a minimal CPU load. This plugin is often hailed as the "number one synthesizer in EDM music." Originally launched in 2006 and last updated in 2015, it continues to hold a prominent place in the industry.
Fans still create new presets for Sylenth1, with their numbers now reaching the thousands. Despite its age, no one would dare to claim that this "outdated" synth is falling behind the times, as its potential remains far from exhausted. Experts continue to craft ultra-progressive sounds with it, while the plugin also excels in producing tracks in paradoxical styles such as retro-wave and retro-futurism.
Oh, and by the way, Sylenth1 is capable of features that many contemporary virtual synthesizers still lack, such as complete and pristine portamento for chords.Another example of a "vintage" virtual synthesizer available in a 64-bit format is FM8 from Native Instruments. This plugin has a vast array of presets across various genres. It is known for its ultra-low CPU load while still delivering a rich, impressive sound (if mastered correctly).
As far as free synthesizers go, Surge XT is another one worth noting. Created in 2005 by German programmer Claes Johanson, it was updated and supported until 2018 before being released as open-source software.
Despite its somewhat cumbersome interface, Surge XT stands out for its 12 synthesis algorithms and excellent optimization, making it very resource-efficient.
Modern sample libraries for Kontakt and other similar samplers often suffer from poor code optimization. For example, their internal processing effects (reverb, compression, etc.) can be extremely taxing on the CPU.
So, when using sample libraries, make sure to disable all internal processing effects. Instead, group similar-sounding instruments with a "dry" signal and apply reverb from your project’s FX tracks (as we described in point 1).
The same applies to internal processing using compressors, distortion, and saturation. It’s better to use your own solutions for these effects on group channels.
With modern virtual synthesizers, patches for pads, soundscapes, and atmospheres are typically the most CPU-intensive. On a low-performance computer, two or three such tracks can cause the project to stutter and lead to your system overloading.Fortunately, there's a somewhat forgotten and simple technique that can help circumvent this issue. Originating from the drum'n'bass scene of the 1990s, the method is as follows:
You start by loading a complex soundscape patch onto a track in your DAW. Record a SINGLE long note, such as "C" in the middle register of your MIDI keyboard (e.g., C3). The note should last approximately 4-8 bars, depending on the tempo of your song. Then, render this note and save it as an audio file with a clear name.
The next step is to create a track with a sampler or sample track (if your DAW supports it). Load this single note into the sampler and... play chords with it. To ensure each note matches the tempered scale, the sampler typically speeds up or slows down the playback of the sample for each key on the keyboard. This results in the sampled soundscape layering in a unique manner, with each version evolving over time in its own way.
You can then apply "external" processing to the pads, such as compression, reverb, and so on. This technique can also be used for individual sounds, not just pads, and is effective for sound design as well.
The world of music plugins is so diverse and visually appealing that stock plugins from various DAWs often pale in comparison to third-party options. Chasing after trendy plugins, however, can sometimes be self-defeating. You end up collecting software over doing things that help your actual music production.
You may not have considered this, but your DAW is essentially a sampler in itself. You can place drum samples on regular audio tracks and create rhythmic patterns from them. Many top pop musicians and even high-end film score composers (and movie trailer composers) use this technique.
Using samples on audio tracks in sync with the project’s tempo grid means you don’t need to load virtual samplers, thus freeing up CPU and RAM resources.
Utilizing the "freeze" function on tracks in your DAW can be a game-changer. When you freeze a track, your DAW renders the track with all its effects and processing into a temporary audio file. This effectively offloads the processing from your CPU, allowing you to continue working on other aspects of your project without the burden of real-time processing.
Freezing tracks helps to conserve CPU and RAM resources, which is especially useful when working with complex projects or using resource-intensive plugins. Once a track is frozen, you can still make adjustments to its settings, but you’ll need to unfreeze it first. This technique is invaluable for maintaining a smooth workflow and avoiding potential performance issues.
Many of the sample libraries for Kontakt that were created 10 or more years ago were of such high quality that they still remain quite usable today. This is particularly true for sampled instruments that are considered "timeless," such as strings, brass, pianos, electric pianos, organs, bass guitars, and so on.
Some of these older libraries are still available for purchase online at substantial discounts, while others can be legally acquired through secondary markets, like on online forums where musicians, composers, and music producers connect.
Today, music producers are accustomed to low latencies with audio interfaces. There was a time, though, when a latency of 512 samples was used even for recording live guitar and vocal performances (with subsequent time compensation in the project).
Such latency allows for the relatively comfortable playing of MIDI keyboard parts for most synthetic and sampled instruments, including drums (since we all use quantization later on). The delay between real sound and key presses is almost imperceptible and not really critical to the arranging/tracking process.
On the other hand, higher audio interface latency significantly reduces CPU load. If you prefer not to use it during recording, you can apply it during mixing, where it’s not going to cause any inconvenience.
Adopting these ten resource-saving techniques now can turn them into valuable music production habits over time. This approach helps alleviate the stress of dealing with a low-end computer and enables the creation of even large-scale musical projects, including orchestral and hybrid-orchestral works.
Plus, a cheaper approach can help instill some discipline in young, emerging producers when organizing projects within a DAW and it reinforces that well-known adage: Sometimes, less is more.
