Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

I recently upgraded my laptop because I was running into CPU usage issues while tracking with PT 10 and a 2011 MacBook Pro with a 2.0 GHz i7, but now the issue seems worse. Now I'm using a system with a 2015 MacBook Pro with a 2.8 GHz i7 running PT 12.8, but the CPU usage alert seems to happen more frequently.

I'm using a multiple Apollo setup with a furman 6 channel headphone distribution system. I just mute Apollo's monitoring app and set my PT buffer low and use sends to route outputs to the furman boxes. With my old setup, I could track using a 128 buffer size with 16 inputs being recorded and out of every 10 takes, I would get a CPU usage error message maybe one time. Now when I try that with my new setup, it seems to happen almost every time I attempt a take. I've had to just switch to using Apollo's monitoring software and build mixes for the artist myself, but that defeats the purpose of me upgrading in the first place.

Any ideas on why I might be having this issue? In theory, it seems that with the more powerful laptop, I should be able to do this without the computer breaking a sweat. And isn't PT 12 also better on resources than PT 10?

Re: Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

Do you have any plugins running in the session while you are tracking at 128? Any aux's in the sessions? I've also had way more errors with PT 11 and 12 when tracking at low buffers than I did in previous versions. That being said, I just tracked for 3 days with my 2014 MBP 2.8, and apogee element46 at 128 and only got 1 or 2 errors, and that was only after the track count started getting in to the 50-60 range with a handful of plugins running. I was only using 12 inputs, but 4 more shouldn't make much of a difference. I'm still running 12.8, as that's been the most stable version I've used since 10. Other people seem to have better luck with 12.4, although for me that wasn't the case.

Re: Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

This is happening with no plugins and no other tracks in the session than the ones I'm recording.

Re: Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

What *exact* error are you getting?

Do you have *any* UAD plugins instantiated in Pro Tools? while tracking? on hidden tracks? Anywhere, get rid of them all....

What exact Apollo units? Chained Thunderbolt?

You seem to make a point of saying you are not monitoring thought the Apollo console... is there a reason for that?

Re: Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

Recording to a separate, qualified hard drive? Do you have a Fusion Drive in the MBP?

Need (lots more) information.

Re: Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

There were never fusion drives in the MBP's but slow 5400rpm spinners in the beginning and then 7200rpms and now super insaaaaane fast flash drives :-)

Bought the brand new shiny MBP 16GB (would have got more if possble but there aren't any choices there) and 1TB flash and it is soo fast our studio MP's are like an Atari 1040ST compared to the MBP I got as a "good on ya" gift for myself after we have had extreme success this past year with many well placed songs for top10 artists and bands.

Re: Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

Checking back in on this thread.

I ended up just giving up on using my Furman headphone system. I dealt with making mixes in Apollo’s console app for a while, but I recently got tired of that and tried the Furmans again. I’ve since switched to Pro Tools 2018.3 and the CPU overload persists.

To add some more info, I’m tracking to a Glyph Studio drive via USB 3. I’m having the issue while tracking no more than 16 tracks. The only thing I have going on in the session are sends to hardware outputs feeding the cue boxes.

Re: Tracking with low buffer size with PT 12.8 and Apollo?
 

Maybe you did try routing your Apollo console to the Furman headphone system (and to your control room monitors).
I have no experience with the Apollo console software,
but I would think that you could accomplish anything in the Apollo console that you did in the Pro Tools, including Low Latency & PreFader Monitoring.