Soundsources in Trilian can be extremely large (many GBs) and can contain over 10,000 samples. So it’s to be expected that Patches in Trilian will use more system memory than the average Patch in most other plug-ins.
For this reason, we have included a number of memory management features that you can enable in Trilian to help manage memory resources.
Generally speaking, using Trilian under regular circumstances doesn’t use a lot of CPU power. For those circumstances where CPU and memory conservation are necessary, the following detailed tips and techniques will be especially useful.
64-bit Instruments & Hosts
If you are using a 64-bit host (such as Logic 9.1 and above), it can access all available system memory without the usual 3Gb limit. This means that you are less likely to run out of memory when loading very large instruments, or a large number of instances. If you find yourself running low on memory, you should add as much physical RAM as possible to get the most from your 64-bit software.
All Spectrasonics instruments are 64-bit, on both Mac and PC.
Sample File Server (Mac only)
For Macs running 32-bit host software, the Sample File Server allows you to load large sounds into physical RAM, bypassing the usual 32-bit System Memory limit. It is recommended to have a minimum of 6Gb of RAM installed when using the Sample File Server.
NOTE: Sample File Server is not available or necessary in 64-bit systems.
Windows users should use 64-bit host software.
Sample Thinning
Sample Thinning is a very important concept in Trilian, and allows Soundsources, Patches, and Multis to load with fewer samples when selected, so that less system memory is used.
Trilian provides Thinning options from the System Page, the Edit Page (Soundsource Zoom Edit View), and from the Patch & Multi Browsers (Lite Version Options Zoom).
There are four types of Sample Thinning available; Round Robin, Legato, Velocities, and Pitch Thinning.
Using Thinning can make a huge difference in overall system memory demand, and these can be used in combination to balance between the best sound possible, and the conservation of resources.
Host Buffer Size
Performance and CPU load with all virtual instrument plug-ins are sensitive to the host’s audio buffer size—particularly with an instrument as powerful as Trilian. If you experience performance issues with Trilian such as audio drop-outs, you can gain further Performance headroom by raising your host’s audio buffer setting. A setting of 256 is usually a good compromise between good performance and acceptable latency, but you may wish to increase the buffer size if you need more CPU power. Trilian will also work with larger buffer sizes, so you can try adjusting this setting in your host.
Host Sample Rate
Trilian has been designed for optimal playback at 44.1k or 48k sample rate. If a host’s project sample rate is higher than this, (88.2k, 96k, 192k, etc) it can have a significant impact on reducing Trilian’s performance, without any real sonic benefit to Trilian. In fact, certain patches may not sound correct at higher sample rates. We recommend keeping your host’s sample rate at 44.1KHz or 48KHz for the optimal experience with Trilian.
Multi-Instance vs Multi-timbral
On single and dual-core systems, it’s best to load multiple Parts (on different MIDI channels) within a single instance of Trilian, before opening any additional instances of the intrument. This is the best way to utilize the available CPU power for Trilian.
However, if a multi-core system is used, it can be beneficial to open multiple instances of Trilian to distribute the processor load between the cores. The resource handling is done by the host, so in this case it’s useful to open more than one instance of Trilian. So the most efficient use on a multicore machine is to use a couple of instances mult-itimbrally, if assigning all Parts to a single instance is using up all the resources of a single core. Consult your host’s documentation to make sure that it has support for multi-core/multi-processor systems.
Limiting Voices
Bass sounds don’t usually require a lot of polyphony, so setting the voice count to a low number can conserve CPU power.
To adjust polyphony for a Part, use the VOICES stepper on either the Main or Edit Pages.
Single Layer vs Dual Layer Patches
There’s a lot that can be done with a single Layer. If you can achieve the desired sound or complexity using one Layer instead of two, it’s likely that a significant amount of CPU power can be conserved.
Common FX vs. Layer FX
Using Common FX whenever possible is a great way to save CPU power. Instead of loading separate delay units into each Layer FX Rack, try sharing a single unit in the Common FX Rack.
Unused Modulation Routings
Modulation routings sometimes use CPU power, so be sure to remove any unused routings. For example if you are modulating FM Depth with a Mod Envelope, but then decide to turn FM off, remove the modulation routing to further reduce demand on the CPU.
Bypass Unused FX
When Bypassed, FX Units do not consume CPU power. To conserve CPU power, Bypass any loaded FX when they are not in use. This especially applies to Aux Send FX, since the entire Aux Send system is enabled even if you are only using one Send.
EZ Verb vs. PRO Verb
EZ Verb doesn’t necessarily use less CPU power than PRO Verb. PRO Verb has a variable CPU Power parameter, where EZ Verb’s CPU Power is fixed. This parameter changes the number of reflections in the reverb signal. A higher setting is not always a “better” sound and more reflections require a higher amount of power to achieve. Sometimes lower CPU settings will produce a more desirable result. If PRO Verb is set to maximum CPU, it takes much more power than EZ Ver. Lower PRO Verb CPU settings (like the default settings) can actually require less power than EZ Verb.
Sharing FX with Aux Racks
When using FX like reverbs, it’s often better to use the reverb on an Aux Rack, instead of as an Insert. There are times when several sounds need reverb, and instead of inserting 6 reverbs into 6 individual Parts, you could instead place only one reverb on an Aux Rack and then use the Aux Sends to send all six sounds to the single reverb unit. This is far more efficient on the CPU.
Aux Sends
If you are not using the AUX Sends on the Mixer Page, make sure all of them are off (all knobs turned fully counter-clockwise). When all of the Aux Sends are off, the entire AUX system is disabled, which saves CPU power. If any of the Aux Sends is on, the entire Aux Send system on all Racks and Parts is enabled, even if no audio is passing through it.
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