Rack output ports - Output processing using CPU

Cantabile
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Inspired by the awesome webinars by Terry I made myself a utility-rack with a huge set of output ports, one for each control variant on my SL Mixface, and I insert the utility rack as an embedded rack (from file) in all my instrument racks, and use it to manage the settings.

Looking in the Profiler I noticed that the “Output processing” is rather heavy on the CPU, and having this utility rack in each instrument rack starts to add up. And now I wondered if there were anyone who had been down this path and had any (good) suggestions.

So far I have tried disabling the bindings that maps to the output ports, it made no difference. I have tried to delete a lot of the output ports, it made a huge difference. So my conclusion was that the bindings are “for free”, but the output ports themselves are “expensive”. Please correct me if this was too hasty a conclusion. However, I don’t think that it is possible to disable output ports, and I don’t want to delete those I don’t use right now, as I may want to use them at a later stage (I am still trying to work out the best setup, I am far from through with all the inspiration that Terry provided, and I am just starting to scratch the surface on using the profiler).

Oh, and I am on latest version of Performer, and Win 11.

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And - as usual - just describing the problem gave ideas to solutions. First thing I will try is to minimize the number of output ports: instead of having a single output port for each fader (i.e. Fader 1 - 9), all sending a CC 0, then I will try to have a shared Fader output port, sending on CC 1 - 9, and use the CC number to distinguish when I make the bindings between the utility rack and the instrument VST.

Better ideas are more than welcome, but I think that this will bring me a long way, without making it necessary to remember what CC number I have used for what controller.

Update: I made the changes as planned, now using CC numbers to distinguish between the knobs, buttons and faders, and thus reducing the number of midi output ports with about 80%. And at the same time cutting the idle ‘toll’ considerably, and as this is the rack I use in all other racks, it actually makes a noticebly difference.

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