This Ableton tutorial covers two practical techniques for keeping your sets running smoothly when CPU load starts causing audio dropouts. Freezing a track captures its current state as audio, freeing up processing resources while leaving the door open to unfreeze and continue tweaking later.
The second approach targets redundant effect instances: if the same CPU-heavy plugin is running on multiple tracks, consolidating it onto a single Return Track and routing via Sends delivers the same result at a fraction of the cost.