I was wondering if oscillators(osc~) might behave unusually if the processor is being stressed. I have quite a few oscillators going to different outputs, and if I leave the computer, or change something, the pure sine tones become distorted, even getting a dynamic ring modulation sound (rather Cylonesque).

I think I answered my own question. I believe gaps occur in the audio if the processor falls behind the real time audio demands.

Hi

I think the problem you are experiencing is simply cpu overload. Like you say, if the processor can't keep up with the patches demands, then audio will drop out until the next buffer cycle. This means stutters and holes in the audio stream (distorted output)

Try increasing the latency in the Preferences > Audio Settings to an amount where the stuttering stops. Otherwise you can reduce the number of [osc~] in the patch. Upload the patch and we can see i there other areas where you can reduce unnecessary load

cheers

I took your advice and went through the patches thoroughly, chopping as much as I could. As well I increased the latency somewhat. This helped tremendously, and the patches are running at about 1/3 the previous load. It seems that the dimensions of GUIs alone presents a challenge for the processor, so even reducing the size of all my sliders and arrays helped. I may be mistaken on the last point, but it seemed to help.
Thanks for your advice.

pd's gui is notoriously inefficient. -especially if you have things changing or moving in realtime.

@mod said:

pd's gui is notoriously inefficient. -especially if you have things changing or moving in realtime.

should be changing soon tho?
http://puredata.hurleur.com/sujet-3325-gui-rewrite-progress

I've always marveled at Autechres Max/msp patch:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Autechremax.jpg

that would kill Pd currently!