Playing soft synth live

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tomixornot
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2012/12/21 13:19:28 (permalink)

Playing soft synth live

Do you play soft synth live ?

In Sonar, you can load up various soft synth and by selecting a track, you can quickly select which soft synth to play. 

Is there a vst-i host that specialized in doing just this ? ..with features like
 - toggling loaded soft synth via program change number
 - enabling keyboard splits, different zone playing different soft synt

Thanks.




Albert


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    bitflipper
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    Re:Playing soft synth live 2012/12/21 14:38:43 (permalink)
    I've yet to find a soft synth that was optimized for live use, which is why I've never been tempted to do so. When I'm on stage, my hands and feet are busy enough without having to reach for a mouse to pull up a patch.

    What you really need is a synth that was designed specifically for live use. It would allow you to load up a series of patches and select one with a single keystroke. It would have a performance mode wherein keystrokes are limited to a subset needed for this function. It would not require a separate host, and it would never require looking at the laptop screen after initial setup. It would support patch changes via MIDI keyboard controllers.

    If you find such a synth, let me know!

    The closest thing I've seen like this have been with samplers: Kontakt and Omnisphere. I've seen the Korg NanoKontrol controller used to quickly toggle between patches, and that's about the slickest solution I've seen so far. Even that's a little constrictive, since you can have a maximum of only 16 patches queued up. But Omnisphere, at least, does have a performance mode intended for live use.
    post edited by bitflipper - 2012/12/21 14:43:08


    All else is in doubt, so this is the truth I cling to. 

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    #2
    tomixornot
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    Re:Playing soft synth live 2012/12/21 23:14:25 (permalink)
    Thanks @bit,

    Regarding the vst-i host for multiple synt, after searching for a while, Steinberg started with V-Stack.. but it's no longer available.

    A KVR discussion seems to point to these (I'm not sure what Bidule does, and the last time I tested VSTHost, it's latency was higher than X2).

    Forte 3
    http://www.brainspawn.com...mp;id=44&Itemid=66

    Bidule
    http://www.plogue.com/products/bidule/

    VSTHost
    http://www.hermannseib.com/english/vsthost.htm


    If it's possible, with a midi controller, we can configure sort of a poor man Kronos, with multiple synth engine.. :)



    Edit : Wondering, which Sonar 'view' can be tuned to select a track easily (? matrix ? console ).. 
    post edited by tomixornot - 2012/12/21 23:18:18

    Albert


    i7 2600K @ 3.40GHz / MB Intel DP67BG / 16GB Ram
    - ADATA 250GB SSD (Boot)
    - Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB HDD (Samples)
    Audio interface : Motu 828 MK ii
     
    i7 6700K @ 4.00GHz / MB Asrock Z170 / 16GB Ram
    - Samsung EVO 850 120GB / 500 GB SSD

    Audio interface : Roland Quad Capture
     
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    jeffb63
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    Re:Playing soft synth live 2012/12/22 07:19:43 (permalink)
    http://www.cantabilesoftware.com/
     
    http://www.eareckon.com/en/products/bloxpander-vst-host-for-live-performance.html

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    #4
    tomixornot
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    Re:Playing soft synth live 2012/12/22 10:16:52 (permalink)
    Thanks @jeff,

    Cantabile seems perfect fit.

    Albert


    i7 2600K @ 3.40GHz / MB Intel DP67BG / 16GB Ram
    - ADATA 250GB SSD (Boot)
    - Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB HDD (Samples)
    Audio interface : Motu 828 MK ii
     
    i7 6700K @ 4.00GHz / MB Asrock Z170 / 16GB Ram
    - Samsung EVO 850 120GB / 500 GB SSD

    Audio interface : Roland Quad Capture
     
    Win 10 Pro / Sonar Platinum
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    jeffb63
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    Re:Playing soft synth live 2012/12/22 13:23:45 (permalink)
    tomixornot


    Thanks @jeff,

    Cantabile seems perfect fit.
     
     
    It works for me.
     
    V3 should be around the corner.


    Studio:
    X3 Producer on i7 4770K Asus Z87-K 32Gb G-Skill Trident X. W8.1 x64. 2408 Mk3, ADI8-DD. BCF2000. 
    Stage:
    Cantabile Performer 2 on Lenovo W530 i7 3720QM 16Gb DDR3. Samsung 840 Evo, Samsung 840 Pro. W7 x64.
    #6
    Jim Roseberry
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    Re:Playing soft synth live 2012/12/22 16:38:59 (permalink)
    Cantibile and Forte were both specifically designed for live use.
    Both hosts present your virtual instruments as a virtual rack of synths.
    With both, you have the equivalent of a Multi-patch.
    You can create complex splits/layers... and soft-synths that aren't being used for a particular "Multi-patch" can be disabled (not loading the CPU).

    Once you get used to this level of function, you'll never go back to using hardware synths... at least not for sounds.  

    Best Regards,

    Jim Roseberry
    jim@studiocat.com
    www.studiocat.com
    #7
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