Most of the time I can run enough real-time effects with processor power to spare, so why does my sequencer occasionally glitch or stop altogether?
This is often a result of running close to the edge with processor power, so you need to look for anything that might cause a temporary blip that takes you over 100 percent CPU power. One possible culprit is graphic redraws: when the song position cursor reaches the right-hand side of the screen, the computer has to perform a complete update of your monitor display, which can require a large amount of processing power. The cure is to zoom out so that the entire song is displayed at once — this ensures that a screen update is never required, and may let you add more effects without glitching. Similarly, opening other editing windows or switching to your synth editor or soundcard mixer utility all require momentary bursts of processor power. The simple answer is to resist the temptation to change anything on your monitor screen during recording or final mixdown; sometimes even moving your mouse can tip things over the edge if your system is on the brink. Applications that run as backgro
