LP-64 EQ causes deadlocks (application hang) at project startup in Platinum and X3

Hello,
 
I've been a loyal Sonar / Cakewalk user since Cakewalk Pro Audio times. But since X3 Producer I've had this strange problem when loading projects. I hoped upgrading to Platinum would solve it, but it did not.
 
So the problem is that when my project has several LP-64 EQs, the project won't usually open at all. Or they do open after 3-10 attempts. It varies randomly. So my usual procedure opening projects involves manual killing of SONARPLT.exe and multiple retries. As I wrote, it usually opens after 3-10 "kill/reopen" retries. In larger projects this is very annoying.
 
Observations:
- Sonar goes into "Not Responding" state and must be killed.
- This happens in larger and smaller projects.
- Windows event viewer shows event only after I kill the SONARPLT.exe process. After killing it the event viewer shows text SONARPLT.exe "deadlock" at hex/byte code dump.
- I isolated the problematic plugin by removing all plugins one by one and trying project loading max 10 times to ensure it would go into deadlock state. Finally I had only LP-64 EQs left. After removing them the project opened each time.
- After finding out LP-64 EQ was potential guilty I tried the same project by removing only LP-64 EQs and leaving everything else untouched. The project opened each time.
 
Has anyone else had similar problem and have you resolved it? I really like the LP-64 EQ and would like to continue using it.
 
I'm using Win 7 64-bit and have 16 GB of RAM.
 
 
 

Exactly. It's like loading a pickup with a 14-ton rock and wondering why it won't accelerate 

As noted it is a massive resource hog of a plug and best used sparingly... BUT maybe if you really want to use it in this manner I can think of a couple work arounds.
 
The simplest being crank your interface buffers way up. Might help. Disable your AV (or at least add any Cakewalk and audio related stuff to your white list). Actually I find my projects load way faster with less problems when I disable MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials).
 
So that might help. Of course though my system remains almost completely offline so I am not as prone to infections. If you use your DAW for other online stuff be careful.
 
However if that doesn't work just freeze all the tracks with the LP64 on them. You can't tweak them when they are frozen but you can unfreeze them whenever you want to perform tweaks. This will however freeze any other effects on the tracks as well. If you make any changes on a frozen track they will be lost so do your tweaks, freeze, don't do any more tweaks until you unfreeze.
 
You can really micro manage this type of thing. Also Archive any unneeded tracks in the project (like anything you don't need to hear like bed tracks/scratch takes). Freeze any synths unless you are using them.
 
The other thing that might work is open the project in Safe Mode which disables all plug ins then you can add them back in one at a time. Sounds like you are just SLAMMING your system on start up so this would allow you to get it open by disabling the offending plugs (in this case the LP64) then reintroducing them one at a time which is less drastic and sudden. That way once you have the project open you can go about freezing, archiving, bouncing, replacing the nasty plugs with less oppressive ones, etc.
 
Another real loooong way around thing I just thought of is once you get the project open create presets of the LP64 settings you have on your tracks (put the track name and date on them or project version or whatever). Then you can just delete them (or some of them) before saving and closing then reintroduce the presets for each track next time you open which would make opening easier. When you are done tweaking then freeze them to the track.
 
That last one is super crazy and likely unnecessary in most situations with all the other options available to you but I don't know your needs so maybe it could be useful... really though the best recommendation would be STOP using the LP64 as a track by track plug (find a replacement EQ... Sonar ships with plenty like the Sonitus stuff), next up would be the tweak and freeze method, then after that you can start going apeballs with the wierdo solutions I mentioned.
 
Also consider you project. Maybe you don't need such an oppressive eq on the tracks. Maybe you could just route things to busses then use the LP64 on the busses. So instead of 12 instances of LP64 on tracks you only have 2 or 3 on busses that are being fed by the tracks you initially had the LP64 on.
 
Personally I mostly just use the Quadcurve on tracks these days and then do any wackiness on the busses. I do want to get into using Sonitus EQ more or some of the other ones but the LP64... honestly I think it's more of aPITA than it's worth unless doing something specific and not in a large project. Stereo file mastering project... it's fine. Just like the crazy multiband compressor and some of the other insane resource hogging plugs.
 
Full disclosure... I'm an idiot who really just rams through crap as needed. I am not a pro.

Beepster

pwalpwal
still, sonar shouldn't hang like described by the op...

It's not Sonar. It's the freaking computer being overloaded.  It's like trying to run ten instances of Call of Duty or something. You just don't so it.

it's not like running 10 instances of cod - it wouldn't let you ;-)
say for example, if i build a big multi-project solution in visual studio, it gives a little notice that the action is "taking longer than usual" so maybe something like that? it is the pc being overloaded, but overloaded by sonar, so maybe sonar could provide some feedback? whatever, it shouldn't just hang as described... could be a feature, "project feedback", including cpu usage per plug, ram usage etc, some "sonar self-awareness"? :-)

We don't know what quantity "several" instances involves, the number of cores in the processor and the speed, if there are other CPU-hungry plugs and the LP-64 tips it over the edge, what SONAR's performance meter is showing, whether there are virtual instruments being loaded into RAM and the computer is doing hard disk swaps...all we know is that removing the LP-64s solves the problem. Given that it's a plug-in that stresses out computers, it sure seems like the computer is being stressed beyond a level it can accommodate. 

mettelus
If a plugin is CPU hungry, you can also bounces tracks and archive the originals to free up some resources. This also allows going back to the initial track if necessary.

Yes, excellent suggestion! Some people are not aware you need to archive to disconnect from the CPU; when applying mute the track is still connected, so it can return instantly when unmuted.

Run the freeware LookinmyPC app.  Uncheck all the checkboxes except 'running processes'.  Make sure you don't have something hogging resources/cpu.  One of my laptops for no reason at all started getting sluggish, oddly after a MS update had completed, and found there was some Microsoft app caught in a loop constantly sucking up 30-40% of the CPU.  Googling the app name turned up it was some useless font handler, and I disabled it through services.msc.