Multiple plugins take up to much computer power?

[DaMixG]

So I am runnig into a problem that when I run to many plugins my computer can't keep up. Here is what I am doing to get around it. Let me know if this is a good idea or not.

First off I am running PT 7.3 on a new Imac with two gigs of ram.

I have one stero track for Strike and I don't want to set that track in stone until the final mix because all the drum sounds for each individual drum are controled in Strike.

Where I run into trouble is when I have Strike running, and then do a bass track with Ampeg SVX and then a guitar track with Amplitube 2. As you can imagine all this really sucks up the computer power, especially when i start layering guitars.

So here is what I do. I run the guitar into an audio track with Amplitube inserted. Then I bus that track to an aux track and do the actual recording of the fully effected audio track on the aux track. This enable me to make the origanal audio track disabled so amplitube no longer uses any power, and it also allows me to save the dry guitar track in case I want to go back and re-amp it.

I do the same thing with the bass and each additional guitar track I create.

So basically every guitar or bass has an audio track and an aux track. When I record the audio track records the dry signal but has the plugin inserted, and then the audio track is sent on a bus to an aux track that records the full effected audio track.

Does this make sense or is there a better way to do this?

[Shawn Simpson]

That would work except that you'd have to use 2 audio tracks. Aux tracks can't record, so your scenario wouldn't work as you described it. But if you use 2 audio tracks routed as you described, one would have the effected sound and the other would have the direct input sound.

[DaMixG]

Makes total sense. Thank you!