RAM Disk on Mac

mickrich · May 2nd, 2012, 04:47 AM

Does anyone ever set up a ram disk when recording/mixing?
On OSX it's very easy to set up.
copy/paste this into terminal

diskutil erasevolume HFS+ “r1″ `hdiutil attach -nomount ram://3959731`

You will now see a 2GB RAM Disk on your desktop.
If you copy a session folder into this your performance will scream, especially if the session has lots of audio tracks.
What's happening is you have created a virtual disk using RAM instead of using your actual (mechanical) hard disk so read/write/seek time is REALLY REALLY fast. Transport controls become instant and very large track counts pose no problem.
Problem is that if you crash or when you shut down the RAM disk is gone and so are its contents.
I usually don't use this when tracking in case of a crash but it's great for mixing.
Copy the whole session folder into the RAM disk and open from there so audio will be streaming from the RAM disk.
Every time you hit save also drag the project file (The one you select to open the song that's usually a couple of MB) to the original project folder on your hard drive.
This way if you loose the RAM disk you can reopen where you left off.
(If you are consolidating or bouncing tracks during mixing you will need to copy the complete project folder when you save).

I take no responsibility for any work lost if you use this but you should be ok if you follow the instructions for saving above.
This is extremely useful where you have plenty of free ram that's not being used. eg. If your DAW is using 4GB and you have 8GB available

006 · May 2nd, 2012, 09:36 AM

That's actually pretty cool, did not know about that. Luckily my iMac is running sessions just fine so far, but I imagine this will come in handy later down the road when it starts to get older.

xTomx · May 2nd, 2012, 09:39 AM

This is really handy - good share dude!

Blacklight_Studio · May 2nd, 2012, 11:06 AM

I guess it is something similar to what Pro Tools 10HD is doing when you enable the feature of cashing the entire session in to RAM and dedicate corresponding amount of RAM for this purpose?

avrinder · May 2nd, 2012, 12:11 PM

Rad, thanks for the heads up!

JeffTD · May 2nd, 2012, 02:12 PM

Gonna try this for editing, see if it helps with the dreaded Cubase multi-edit slowdown. I have 8GB now... might bump that to 12 if this works well!

sinewavealex · May 3rd, 2012, 11:33 PM

I'm guessing ReadyBoost is the Windows equivalent?

I got 4gb set up at a USB drive plugged in permanently to my desktop. Though I don't use half as much channels as my mixing needs are different, it's very useful for loading large sample libraries with my puny pair of 2GB RAM cards

JeffTD · May 3rd, 2012, 11:41 PM

No noticeable difference between RAMdisk and HDD for editing unfortunately. Will give it a go with mixing next chance I get.

Morgan C · May 4th, 2012, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinewavealex

I'm guessing ReadyBoost is the Windows equivalent?

I got 4gb set up at a USB drive plugged in permanently to my desktop. Though I don't use half as much channels as my mixing needs are different, it's very useful for loading large sample libraries with my puny pair of 2GB RAM cards

IIRC ReadyBoost is the opposite. This uses RAM as a Hard drive, ReadyBoost uses Hard drive space as RAM.

LeSedna · May 4th, 2012, 06:27 AM

There is a way to set this up as a more permanent solution via mounting it at each startup and backup of the ram disk onto your hard disk at every shut down, can't find the link at the moment

Uros · May 4th, 2012, 07:00 AM

This might be useful

You Tube

and some valid info here http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/home...emulation.html

rino655 · May 9th, 2012, 02:46 PM

pointless for PT10 users but cool for everyone else! I use it for hosting a music server and boy does it index like a beast!

May 2nd, 2012, 04:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
mickrich Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 875	RAM Disk on Mac Does anyone ever set up a ram disk when recording/mixing? On OSX it's very easy to set up. copy/paste this into terminal diskutil erasevolume HFS+ “r1″ `hdiutil attach -nomount ram://3959731` You will now see a 2GB RAM Disk on your desktop. If you copy a session folder into this your performance will scream, especially if the session has lots of audio tracks. What's happening is you have created a virtual disk using RAM instead of using your actual (mechanical) hard disk so read/write/seek time is REALLY REALLY fast. Transport controls become instant and very large track counts pose no problem. Problem is that if you crash or when you shut down the RAM disk is gone and so are its contents. I usually don't use this when tracking in case of a crash but it's great for mixing. Copy the whole session folder into the RAM disk and open from there so audio will be streaming from the RAM disk. Every time you hit save also drag the project file (The one you select to open the song that's usually a couple of MB) to the original project folder on your hard drive. This way if you loose the RAM disk you can reopen where you left off. (If you are consolidating or bouncing tracks during mixing you will need to copy the complete project folder when you save). I take no responsibility for any work lost if you use this but you should be ok if you follow the instructions for saving above. This is extremely useful where you have plenty of free ram that's not being used. eg. If your DAW is using 4GB and you have 8GB available __________________ www.facebook.com/trackmixrecordingstudio Re-amps through Mesa Triple Recto and MK4, Peavey 6505, Marshall DSL and 8100, H&K Triamp II. Mesa, Orange, Marshall cabs IR packs: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...s_MICKRICH.zip https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2133088/MICKRICH_IR_PACK.zip

May 2nd, 2012, 09:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
006 Mike G Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 8,981	That's actually pretty cool, did not know about that. Luckily my iMac is running sessions just fine so far, but I imagine this will come in handy later down the road when it starts to get older. __________________ >>>>Lyle Cooper Session Drums<<<< Winter Skies Productions on FaceBook Cubase Slip Editing Tutorial Video 006 Drum Pack v1.1: TCI Only,WAV Only

May 2nd, 2012, 09:39 AM	#3 (permalink)
xTomx Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cambridge/ St Albans, UK Posts: 692	This is really handy - good share dude! __________________ www.tomrichfield.com My old hardcore band: https://www.facebook.com/Isolateduk

May 2nd, 2012, 11:06 AM	#4 (permalink)
Blacklight_Studio Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 151	I guess it is something similar to what Pro Tools 10HD is doing when you enable the feature of cashing the entire session in to RAM and dedicate corresponding amount of RAM for this purpose? __________________ www.myspace.com/blacklightstud

May 2nd, 2012, 02:12 PM	#6 (permalink)
JeffTD Ballclap Supremus Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 10,963	Gonna try this for editing, see if it helps with the dreaded Cubase multi-edit slowdown. I have 8GB now... might bump that to 12 if this works well! __________________ Arcana Recordings

May 2nd, 2012, 12:11 PM	#5 (permalink)
avrinder Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 525	Rad, thanks for the heads up!

May 3rd, 2012, 11:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
sinewavealex Keyboard player Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Israel Posts: 158	I'm guessing ReadyBoost is the Windows equivalent? I got 4gb set up at a USB drive plugged in permanently to my desktop. Though I don't use half as much channels as my mixing needs are different, it's very useful for loading large sample libraries with my puny pair of 2GB RAM cards

May 3rd, 2012, 11:41 PM	#8 (permalink)
JeffTD Ballclap Supremus Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 10,963	No noticeable difference between RAMdisk and HDD for editing unfortunately. Will give it a go with mixing next chance I get. __________________ Arcana Recordings

May 4th, 2012, 06:27 AM	#10 (permalink)
LeSedna Mat or Mateo Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Montpellier, France Posts: 4,485	There is a way to set this up as a more permanent solution via mounting it at each startup and backup of the ram disk onto your hard disk at every shut down, can't find the link at the moment __________________ MacBookPro 17in 2011 (MacOs/W7) / REAPER / Duet - equator D5 / ESP (SD) - Ltd B50 INHERIT EP about 50% finished (For fans of Devin Townsend / BTBAM / Cynic / Tesseract / Tool / Pink Floyd)

May 9th, 2012, 02:46 PM	#12 (permalink)
rino655 you boyz been to mexico? Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 154	pointless for PT10 users but cool for everyone else! I use it for hosting a music server and boy does it index like a beast!