This article continues where the previous article about 32 and 64-bit REAPER left off. At the end we recommended the 32-bit version of REAPER with specific plugins running as a separate or dedicated process. This article will explain the difference and how to do it.
Native, separate or dedicated process?
The difference between these is pretty simple but it took some research to find out exactly what it was.
Native is the default setting for all plugins, everything opens and shares RAM with REAPER. Big sampler-based instruments need a lot of RAM.
Running plugins in a separate process will put all the specified processes in ONE other process, like one other program. The RAM will be shared by all the bridged plugins.
Example: 5 instances of KONTAKT = 1 bridge, 1 separate 32-bit program.
Running plugins in a dedicated process will run each plugin in it’s own process, each with it’s own RAM allowance.
Example: 5 instances of KONTAKT = 5 bridges, 5 separate 32-bit programs.
Crash tactics
Also a factor is what happens when a plugin causes a crash.
With Native (default), if a plugin crashes, REAPER will close too. This is the worst situation but REAPER is still very stable with this setting.
With Separate Process selected, if one of the bridged plugins fails, they all fail. The session should still be safe. You can save and relaunch the project.
With Dedicated Process, if one plugin fails, the session and all other dedicated or separate plugins will be fine. A new bridge will be opened in the dock or task bar for each plugin.
The Dedicated Process option seems to make the most sense, especially if you only need a couple of these programs. But you don’t want to change the default or you’ll easily have 50 programs running and the bridge will drive you insane.
Which plugins should be dedicated?
We recommend keeping the default on Automatic and just run sample-based instruments such as KONTAKT, SSDSampler (Steven Slate Drums 4), SampleTank, BFD or anything really buggy that you don’t want to crash your entire session as dedicated, or Separate if you prefer.
How to
The first thing to do is check the default setting for bridging in the Plug-ins/Compatibility settings. This should be set to Automatic by default. This sets all plugins to ‘Native’ unless otherwise specified.
Next, open up the FX Browser and click on the Instruments. Right-click and select Run As>Dedicated Process for each of the sample based instruments.
We’ve tested this with plugins that were not very stable, and now we can’t make them crash no matter how hard we try. This along with the other stability tip, REAPER is incredibly stable and we can use the latest and greatest plugins.
Leave a Reply