1

…i’m getting a bunch of new tracks ready to be played and perfomed and mashed and mangled by the ot on stage…

so lot’s of preparing the right way once, on the computer, to make it a serious package and fun to play with…

so before i finally decide how to put this cake into what kind of pieces, i stumbled 'bout the question again, how the flex sample slot list and the actual ram in use deal with each other…

to my understanding the maxed out headroom of ram for flex machines is only a question of realtime purposes…right?

so for example, i can have one large flex machine sample, eating up all the ram in one part/bank and when i switch to another part/bank i get instantly another prepepared flex machine sample, the same lenght, fluently to take over…correct?

does the ram switch and reload that fast?
or do all preprepared flex samples sum up in ram usage within the same project…?
or is it even the flex sample slot list, that can only contain this certain amount of maximum ram available…?

2

You have 85,5 MB of RAM available. In this memory you can have your Flex samples and recorder buffers, and it is a global thing for the whole Project. (Meaning you can’t have a Flex sample 85MB on Part 1 and then have another Flex sample 85MB on Part 2. But that’s what the Static stuff is for anyway.)

3

…ok.

sure i won’t use a flex machine for a file like this…it was just the most extreme example…

so, once i’m in a project and i fill up the flex sample slot list, there must be a warning, tellling me, the max ram capacity is reached…?

or is that slot list independant from that and it’s only counting what’s actually loaded to the project’s banks/parts…?

and if so, will i get some warning here, before or at least once the project ram is sucked up…?

and there is surely no file exchange on the fly…!?

16 banks with 64 parts use all the same ram for once, no matter what’s really and only needed per part…?

…so 30mb of samples in bank a’s parts leave only 40/50 mb of free ram space to all other banks and parts to come…?

sorry for not just finding out myself, but i’m in such a hurry and i need to prepare so much first, before i can even start enjoying the ot full on, that i need to know this before i get all this files packed in a perfect way to feed the ot with all those heaps of certain bits and pieces and stems of audiomaterial…

4

…need to push this, sorry…

any final answer to my little understanding…?

how does the slot list and the ram usage per second relate…?

5

Think of it this way: You have 85,5MB of RAM for the whole Flex sample list, including recorder buffers. This list is global for the whole Project.

The Static list on the other hand can have as many samples of any length (I’m not totally sure about this, there might be some limits?) as your CF card allows. And the functionality of Static vs Flex is pretty much the same. It’s all in the manual.

Edit: well the maximum number of slots (256? I dont even remember because I am never near filling the list) applies to Static as well of course

6

From the manual (pages 25-28)

The total amount of RAM memory available to a project is 85.5 MB. This memory is shared between the track recorders and the samples loaded to the Flex sample slots. By default the Flex sample slots can be filled with 64 MB of samples while the reserved track recorder memory ensures that each track recorder always can sample 2.7 MB of stereo audio.

The boundary between the reserved track recorder memory and the Flex RAM memory is blurred though. Track recorder memory can be increased at the cost [of] Flex RAM memory.

The opposite also applies, meaning Flex RAM memory can be increased at the cost of track recorder memory. The track recorders also can use Flex RAM when sampling.

…

At the top of the Flex sample slot list the amount of RAM memory available to the project is shown. If Flex samples are present in the list their BPM and size in MB are also displayed.

So what counts for RAM in any project is what’s reserved for the recorder buffers and what’s in the Flex sample slot list.

The Flex sample slot list and the recorder buffers use the RAM. The machines assigned in each part and bank just play the selected samples.

So to maximise your use of RAM, remove any samples that are not used in your project from the Flex sample slot list, and see whether you can reallocate RAM between recorder buffers and Flex sample slot list.

From the manual, page 31:

PURGE SAMPLES will remove all unused samples from the project. Note that samples are only removed from the Flex and Static sample slot lists of the project; the actual samples will not be deleted from the audio pool.

It’s also worth you checking what you have assigned in the PROJECT>CONTROL>MEMORY menu (see pages 39 and 40 of the manual).

2 Likes
7

From the manual, page 24:

Both Flex and Static machines can handle 16 or 24 bit/44.1 kHz wav/aiff files, either in mono or stereo.

You can choose whether to store internally at 16 bit or 24 bit resolution for both the Flex sample slot list and the recorder buffers, in the PROJECT>CONTROL>MEMORY menu (manual, page 39).

One minute of stereo, 16 bit, 44.1 kHz audio occupies about 10 MB of RAM. That’s about 0.17 MB/s.

So 64 MB default Flex slot RAM gives you 380 s (just over 6 min) of sample storage at the above settings.

8

…thanx guys…

but i read the imanual of course…

question remains the same…

or better, from what you all mentioned so far, the flex sample slot list is actually and indeed only capable of overviewing in an amount of certain mb according to the ram capacity…

i expected it to be different… i thought i could purge on the fly, so to say…
meaning not to kick or sort out anything completely…

so having heaps of prepepared sample chains in the slot list and in song a i’m able to use a complete different set of flex samples than in song b…and ot is just picking some reference data from the slot list for imediate access and is exchanging the flex machines content depending on the preprogrammed needs per moment…

so this is not the case…

all flex samples stay fixed in ram once they’re placed in the project…

hmmmm…

and where will ot let me know once i reached the max out…i’m just not filling up one by one, but in big heaps at once…so is there some warning included…?

9

If you want to see how much RAM is still available for the project, it’s given as a number in MB at the top of the Flex sample slot list.

If you want a picture of how much RAM is available, it’s on the right-hand side of the PROJECT>CONTROL>MEMORY menu:

  • grey = Flex samples
  • white = unused
  • black = reserved track recorder memory.
10

Load short loops and hits to the Flex slots, bigger samples to the Static slots. I don’t get why you are obsessing over Flex machines, the Static is pretty much the same like I said.

11

…sure, but aim is nothing but two hours of performance in a row, highly realtime interaction capabilties needed meanwhile, and that in tight hold of round about 400 action cues…

so i better have a concept and an overview BEFORE i prepare all pieces in some most suitable way…

and i better make sure to squeeze all in without finding me running out of options the half way, after editing on this thing for three days… just to find out i need to restructure the basic material again, which will take me another two days i don’t have…

so, sorry for insisting…but thanks anyway…

1 Like
12

Been an OT user since it was invented. Flex machines are great for recording. I no longer use them for anything else. Static machines can handle significant manipulation.

How did you decide to use Flex vs. Static?

13

The only performance downside to putting samples in Static machines instead of Flex machines is that modulating the STRT setting is more restricted than with Flex.

14

[quote=“” PeterHanes""]

[quote=“reeloy”]…

so, once i’m in a project and i fill up the flex sample slot list, there must be a warning, tellling me, the max ram capacity is reached…?

or is that slot list independant from that and it’s only counting what’s actually loaded to the project’s banks/parts…?

…
[/quote]

From the manual (pages 25-28)

The total amount of RAM memory available to a project is 85.5 MB. This memory is shared between the track recorders and the samples loaded to the Flex sample slots. By default the Flex sample slots can be filled with 64 MB of samples while the reserved track recorder memory ensures that each track recorder always can sample 2.7 MB of stereo audio.

The boundary between the reserved track recorder memory and the Flex RAM memory is blurred though. Track recorder memory can be increased at the cost [of] Flex RAM memory.

The opposite also applies, meaning Flex RAM memory can be increased at the cost of track recorder memory. The track recorders also can use Flex RAM when sampling.

…

At the top of the Flex sample slot list the amount of RAM memory available to the project is shown. If Flex samples are present in the list their BPM and size in MB are also displayed.

So what counts for RAM in any project is what’s reserved for the recorder buffers and what’s in the Flex sample slot list.

The Flex sample slot list and the recorder buffers use the RAM. The machines assigned in each part and bank just play the selected samples.

So to maximise your use of RAM, remove any samples that are not used in your project from the Flex sample slot list, and see whether you can reallocate RAM between recorder buffers and Flex sample slot list.

From the manual, page 31:

PURGE SAMPLES will remove all unused samples from the project. Note that samples are only removed from the Flex and Static sample slot lists of the project; the actual samples will not be deleted from the audio pool.

It’s also worth you checking what you have assigned in the PROJECT>CONTROL>MEMORY menu (see pages 39 and 40 of the manual).
[/quote]
Maybe I’ve missed/forgotten this, but what is the best way to remove individual samples from the Flex/Static lists? I tried this recently, but it appears that they were deleted from the audio pool as well.

15

From the manual (pages 25-28)

The total amount of RAM memory available to a project is 85.5 MB. This memory is shared between the track recorders and the samples loaded to the Flex sample slots. By default the Flex sample slots can be filled with 64 MB of samples while the reserved track recorder memory ensures that each track recorder always can sample 2.7 MB of stereo audio.

The boundary between the reserved track recorder memory and the Flex RAM memory is blurred though. Track recorder memory can be increased at the cost [of] Flex RAM memory.

The opposite also applies, meaning Flex RAM memory can be increased at the cost of track recorder memory. The track recorders also can use Flex RAM when sampling.

…

At the top of the Flex sample slot list the amount of RAM memory available to the project is shown. If Flex samples are present in the list their BPM and size in MB are also displayed.

So what counts for RAM in any project is what’s reserved for the recorder buffers and what’s in the Flex sample slot list.

The Flex sample slot list and the recorder buffers use the RAM. The machines assigned in each part and bank just play the selected samples.

So to maximise your use of RAM, remove any samples that are not used in your project from the Flex sample slot list, and see whether you can reallocate RAM between recorder buffers and Flex sample slot list.

From the manual, page 31:

PURGE SAMPLES will remove all unused samples from the project. Note that samples are only removed from the Flex and Static sample slot lists of the project; the actual samples will not be deleted from the audio pool.

It’s also worth you checking what you have assigned in the PROJECT>CONTROL>MEMORY menu (see pages 39 and 40 of the manual).
[/quote]
Maybe I’ve missed/forgotten this, but what is the best way to remove individual samples from the Flex/Static lists? I tried this recently, but it appears that they were deleted from the audio pool as well. [/quote]
With the sample highlighted in the Slot List, press Function + Clear (Play).

1 Like
16

.flex machines seem more accurate to me…

…but there is no versus thing…

it’s just another 128 slots i need to fill up with sense…mono sense…

otherwise i just won’t get along…the static slot list is simply too easy to fill up…started chaining complete arrangements with different stems all in a row in one sample…

but can the card be reeaded out many time at once with the same sample…?..
playing one same sample chain on five tracks at the same time…can that work?

but maybe it’s time to think of a clean solution to fill reload gaps and drop this thought of having it all in one project…

what’s the longest time to boot a new project you experienced?

what i got here by now, takes with all knobs to press first, round about twenty seconds…
see how i jump over that…and with what…

17

interesting! it definitely can work, its just lot of work to prepare… i guess…

18

It’s been a year, he probably figured it out :slight_smile: i wonder how the gig went?