Way easier to just use a Macbook with MainStage and a small interface.
Or a Surface Pro with Forte if you want to keep it small and Windows.


Edit: not sure if you're familiar with the Muse Receptor series?

Sanderxpander

Beepster
I though the 10 MIDI device limit died with XP?
 
Or perhaps that was about the 10 slots getting filled up then not releasing when new devices were added and there is now only a 10 devices at ONCE limit... which could be kind of limiting in a large studio.
 
Might have to read up on that.
 

Nope. Windows will let you install a whole bunch but your software just doesn't find any beyond the first ten. Even dumber is that Windows sees the same device in a different port as a new device and starts installing the drivers all over again, creating new ports.

That last part is why I try to use the same ports for the same device at all times (not move them around) but I thought even that had been resolved. I think John was the one telling me about all that but it was a long time ago so I may have misunderstood.
 
I've only got a few devices anyway (and as I said restrict their movement between ports on the system) but certainly something to watch out for if it is still an issue.
 
I do think MS does not necessary give a crap about us music folks as much as Apple to a certain extent (more business and graphics/video oriented) and we'd be a little screwed as far as hardware if it weren't for the hardcore PC gaming community (which seems to be the only reason ultra hi spec hardware gets made for PC). It still does not seem like that fact (which is actually me speculating so not treally a fact) makes dropping the coin on a Mac worth it to me. It MAY be a little more convenient to own a Mac in certain regards but to me there seems to be a lot "relinquishing all control to Apple" going on with that choice and I'm an inherently curious person anyway so the PC paradigm is just plain interesting.
 
Meh. As I said... whatever works, works.

There has been a lot of confusion over the midi implementation and there have been erroneous reports flying around on the Internet about it being fixed. It's not. I think Anderton told me he spoke to some MS devs who are finally addressing it for WinX.

Sanderxpander
Way easier to just use a Macbook with MainStage and a small interface.
Or a Surface Pro with Forte if you want to keep it small and Windows.


Edit: not sure if you're familiar with the Muse Receptor series?

I'm assuming that was in reply to my daydreaming about a stage box. I've already concocted some scenarios using laptops but to me there seems something inherently wrong about having such a device on stage. I am however used to having bottles, gear and stinky weirdos flying past my head (and into me) while playing so that likely has something to do with it. lol
 
I'll look into those devices/platforms though. Really at this point the experiment would be to get my guitar sims running through the board, mains and monitors effectively. I can no longer move or set up gear so just being able to bring my guit, a small gigbag with the computer stuff and my sorry butt may be the only way to get on stage again without paying roadies.
 
I miss playing live. I also miss the money I used to make playing live... even if it wasn't much (but it was sumthin').
 
Cheers.
 

Sanderxpander
There has been a lot of confusion over the midi implementation and there have been erroneous reports flying around on the Internet about it being fixed. It's not. I think Anderton told me he spoke to some MS devs who are finally addressing it for WinX.

That is good. I completely skipped the Win8 thing but I have a good feeling about 10. Considering it's going to be "free" and I have 7discs/licenses/images I figure there's no real risk.
 
Thanks for the info.

I have a friend who uses a MacBook, MainStage and the built-in Logic ampsims/preset and a Fast Track Pro. I don't honestly like the sound but it does work and it could be a lot better if he knew what he was doing and used better ampsims. If that is basically all you're aiming for I would definitely opt for a laptop, it could even be a second-hand Mac, use your current interface and buy MainStage for 30 bucks. MainStage is pretty flexible in how you set up your patches and controllers. You could use any keyboard controller or pedal controller you might have to flick through your patches and affect things like gain, wah, etc..
Or even an iOS or Android RTP midi app to control stuff from your phone touch screen.

Kamikaze
 One day Kree fecked up a system issue, bug style. His manager called him up to find out what went wrong. He told him that it stemmed from someone in the office looking at porn. It wasn't true, but he knew his manager looked at porn. His manager congratulated him on finding the root of the issue, and nothing more was said

So I can look at porn if I get a Mac?

Kamikaze
 One day Kree fecked up a system issue, bug style. His manager called him up to find out what went wrong. He told him that it stemmed from someone in the office looking at porn. It wasn't true, but he knew his manager looked at porn. His manager congratulated him on finding the root of the issue, and nothing more was said

 

bapu
So I can look at porn if I get a Mac?

Dell's are optimal for porn:
 

Ya, the laptop route is probably going to be the route I have to take (if this ever happens at all). Eventually some kind of portable rack setup would be cool.
 
I guess I see a lot of possibilities for all this like having a full backing band in the box (pre programmed or if I get my chops up programmed on the fly) but baby steps first. Getting a decent, reliable guit setup that will be reliable live would be that first step.
 
The two things that worry me most is
 
a) The PA factor. I am getting extremely good at dialing in sim tones. I'd say some of the stuff I'm coming up with beats anything an amp could throw (especially anything I can afford and/or lug around) and obviously there is a lot more flexibility. Problem is... how is that going to translate out front through house system and through on stage monitors (if they exist at all) for me and the band? It would change from club to club and the sound guy would have to be semi competent. Some kind of neutral powered monitor type set up could work (which I could test my sim presets through and perhaps be mic'd like a regular amp) but then I've got a bulky piece of gear to lug around (impossible without minions). Then again I've never tried a line out to board set up like this so maybe it'll be fine just as long as the system isn't total crap (and the sound guy doesn't do something dumb).
 
b) Stability. This is the real threat and sadly I don't think I'd trust Sonar to handle this. Of course sims can be run standalone but if I wanted to do some backer track type things or shape the sound with tools outside the sim then I'd need a host. Actually since my last post I had Sonar crash while I was playing around with he modifiers in GR5. There really didn't seem to be any reason for it. I don't get a lot of crashes and when I do it's usually because I'm doing something dumb but occasionally... like this time... it just happens for no reason. In a live situation that would be brutal. I'm thinking that IF I were to use a host DAW live I might go with Reaper simply because it is so low footprint and (supposedly) stable that it might not be as prone to temper tantrums in public. I installed it on my (woefully underpowered) laptop to trial it and then installed X1 just to see what would happen. Without an interface Reaper was still a little finicky but useable (it would probably be fine with some system tweaks and an ASIO interface)... Sonar, as expected, was essentially stunted. What it DID show me though was that pretty much ALL of the synths and effects (aside from the obviously locked stuff like PC modules) showed up in the Reaper plug browser and were useable which is great. Gotta do way more testing on all that (and a better laptop) but seems like a possible option for some of my wackier plans. Of course there is always Ableton which is a more notorious live tool but I only own an LE version (came with one of my doodads) so I'm not sure how useful that will be (and I don't want to spend a bunch of cash on it) and it kind of scares me being the dinosaur I am.
 
It's fun to think about and if I ever go back "home" where I can harass club owner friends and sound guys to let me tinker for a while when no ones around then I'll definitely give it a try. Maybe by the time that happens (if ever) they'll have some rock solid, simple solutions that I can afford or I'll be smart enough to jury rig my own mad setup. Otherwise I guess I'll just have to bribe people with beer to move crap for me and stick to me, a guit and a couple stompboxes running into a boring old amp. lol

I'm pretty sure Ableton LE would be enough for your needs.

Also, the point of PA and stage monitors is that they are SUPPOSED to be neutral, or at least not color even nearly as much as any guitar amp. Of course there may be crappy monitors or PA but hey, welcome to the world of the keyboard player. I do not think this would be a huge issue though it will take a little time to get used to it. An EQ on your main output bus might help for quick room adjustments. My keyboard has one.