Pianoteq8 CPU

General discussion about Gig Performer
1

Hello all, I’m still fairly new to gig performer and I don’t know if I might have missed something.

I’ve watched so many video’s with Brett Pontecorvo, whose videos and backstage & foundations videos are unbelievable with so much information I deeply urge any newbie or anyone here who hasn’t see them to go and check them out.

My question is, in those videos quite a few times I heard that Pianoteq is much better with the CPU then any other piano VST plugins. But yet when I try The Grandeur from Native Instruments, or any piano plugin for that matter the CPU is usually around 2-3%. But when I go to Pianoteq it jumps up to anywhere from 19-24% on the CPU. Am I missing something, is there anything I’m doing wrong or is there anything I can do to lower that because I really do like the PianoTeq.

I do also have the Pianoteq on the global Rackspace for my lower keyboard.

I’m not that computer savvy so I hope you can understand what I’m saying.

Thank you all again for all the help

2

Pianoteq’s settings will greatly impact CPU buffer use.

  1. the amount of polyphony will heavily impact CPU. Especially on windows. But pianoteq has clever ways to use less polyphony and get the same great experience, that’s how I can use its port on an iPad.

  2. Try enabling/disabling the reverb, compressor, or other efx in particular. The compressor can be heavy handed anyways.

  3. some of the modeling setting can impact CPU, though since it varies from the presets I never bothered to nail down which ones have the most.

Pianoteq also has a wonderful community online that’s quite responsive to questions.

3

Sampling will generally be less CPU intensive than physically modeling. Things that impact CPU cycles (apart from the plugin itself) include

  1. Higher than necessary sample rates
  2. Lower than necessary buffer sizes
  3. Sub-par audio drivers
  4. Computer not optimized sufficiently
  5. Computer doesn’t run fast enough (older ones, etc)

Tell us more about your system/configuration

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4

Hi thank you for the quick response.

I just got the new MAC Mini
Apple M4 Chip
64GB
1 TB

I have the Native Instrument SK88 to my desktop and I’m using the PreSonus 1824C Audio interface

The SK88 I just use for the Piano, Acoustic Guitar maybe a harp occasionally and I have that all on a global backspace just for the lower keyboard. My top keyboard which I just just picked up this week is the Novation Impulse 61

Gil

5

What sample rate and buffer size?

6

Then those plugins are running all the time unless you explicitly bypass them.

7

Thanks for getting back so quick

Internal sample rate 44100
Buffer 512 but it doest give a option to change buffer.

If I lower the internal sample rate to its lowest setting which is 11025 it drops the CPU to 7%. But does this setting effect the sound or quality?

8

I have the same scenario. I used to use the Native Instruments Grandeur and it used a small percentage of CPU. I now use PianoTeq8 and my CPU usage is around 25-35% depending on the polyphony. Likewise, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with sample rate 44100 and buffer 128.

Despite this higher CPU usage I don’t have any issues with the plugin.

This issue gets into which CPU is best and I’m struggling with what to purchase for my next laptop and workstation. Intel CPUs use multiple p-cores and e-cores. Furthermore, the base CPU speed on newer model Intel CPUs is increasingly very low. The speed will “ramp up” when needed but the base speed is lower than the when p-cores and e-cores did not exist.

Gig Performer uses a single core - please correct me if I’m wrong. But other DAWs such as Reaper distribute the load across multiple cores. Since Gig Performer uses a single core I’m wondering if I should abandon Intel and use an AMD processor instead.

9

I don’t understand - where are you doing this? Gig Performer Audio Options is where you set the buffer size — doing it in the standalone program (if that’s what you’re doing) will have ZERO effect

10

Oh really thank you I have to try that.
So will I be able to adjust the buffer size for Pianoteq in gig performer?

11

Thank you very much. My buffer size was set to 512, I lowered to 256 and immediately it went to 3%.

Just one question, will me lowering the buffer size affect anything?

Thank you again
Gil

12

Hmm, usually the CPU utilization will go UP when you lower the buffer size but ok.

The lower the buffer size, the more responsive is the “feel” but the cost is a little more CPU.

For live performance I generally work at 44.1k and buffer size of 128

13

Great! It works

Thank you so much for your help.

14

In pianoteq or in GP? Setting the sample rate in GP (audio options) to 11025 will be noticeable: in that case the highest frequency that can be produced is 5512 Hz. 44100 is about as low as you should go.

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15

I set my sample rate and buffer size in my audio interface and then set all hosts and virtual instruments and Windows to match that.

16

A while back I did a little test for myself of different settings in Pianoteq.
I put 2 identical instances of Pianoteq NY Grand side by side in GP.
The only difference between the two was one was running at
44100 khz, and the other was at 22050khz.
I could not discern any audible difference, even focusing on the very
high frequencies.
What was different between the two, was the CPU usage at 44100
was considerably higher! There is a more detailed CPU meter in
Pianoteq under the Performance tab.

17

That’s to be expected — audio processing happens twice as often per block

The top note of a piano is only around 4k Hz or thereabouts. But the overtones will be much higher

18

I got Pianoteq to reduce memory (RAM) usage with the tradeoff being higher CPU usage. Sample-based pianos use more memory so I thought I’d try a modeled piano.

19

Yep, that’s why I am using Pianoteq (when I am not using my internal PX350 pianos).

20

Except that the CPU is not that much higher and Pianoteq is implemented so well that as soon as audio stops coming from it, it reduces its CPU usage to almost nothing.

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