how quickly can you change patches when the band wings it

Got in as well.
Here's a good comparison vid:

Edith: yeah baby

Yup...I'm interested in knowing if the instrument load times are a hitch in your live get along as well??

backwoods: sorry, I missed your post and just saw it now after Fleer revived the thread.
 
Switching patches isn't something you'd want to do mid-song. Depending on settings and the patch, it can take (up to) a couple minutes, so I have to plan ahead. Depending on the gig, I may only use one patch. I use only a handful of patches anyway, which I've gathered in the User folder so at least I'm not wasting time scrolling through them. 
 
They key to fast load times is to 1) use thinned patches and 2) set the preload buffer low. The second option, however, can be avoided if you only intend to use, say, the grand piano. In that scenario, set the preload buffer to its maximum value of 100 KB. It'll take much longer to initially load the patch, but you'll have less disk activity as the night wears on. You can even let your laptop's disk spin down to save battery, because before you've finished your first set the library will have been fully cached.
 
The biggest issue I have now is with Windows. It's doing something - haven't yet determined what - that will cause severe dropouts over the USB connection for up to the first half-hour after booting. My solution is to boot the laptop first, while I'm still setting everything else up. The problem goes away after a while.
 
I'm thinking it might be Windows Update repeatedly testing the network (which isn't there) before finally giving up. Which reminds me, one thing I haven't tried is completely disabling the network interface. Wi-fi has already been disabled.

bit, what are the specs of your laptop? is that slow load time from an SSD or a 7200 rpm?
 
cheers,
-Tom

It's an off-the-shelf generic laptop (Acer) with an i5 processor, 8 GB RAM and a 1TB conventional drive. I bought it to do my day job on the road, not with the intention of using it for audio purposes. An SSD-equipped computer would be much faster. Having more RAM would probably help, too.

bitflipper
It's an off-the-shelf generic laptop (Acer) with an i5 processor, 8 GB RAM and a 1TB conventional drive. I bought it to do my day job on the road, not with the intention of using it for audio purposes. An SSD-equipped computer would be much faster. Having more RAM would probably help, too.

Last year I also picked up a generic Acer with a Core i5, and a 5400rpm HDD, to use for a portable office, not music.  The price was right.
 
I finally decided to give it a go with Sonar, just to be able to play with it when away from home.  So I loaded ASIO4ALL, Sonar Platinum, and a few soft synths.  Then plugged in some Sennheiser headphones, and my Xkey 25.  CPU usage was low, and was pleasantly surprised by how well the Realtek sounded  And with low latency as well, the soft synths were very responsive!!!
 
Like you said, it would be nice to have more RAM, and an SSD.  My desktop PC has me spoiled.  So I found a YouTube video on performing the upgrade.  Here's a tip:  if you think you may ever want to swap drives, or RAM, get a laptop with access from the bottom panel, LOL!
 
Hope your model doesn't have that issue!  On mine the solution is to pull the keyboard, then unscrew and disconnect the motherboard, then pull the MB.  The RAM and disk is located UNDER the motherboard, with no access from the bottom side.  So this basically needs to be completely disassembled to perform an upgrade.  Yikes! I've not yet been that motivated to risk tearing it apart.  Runs fine once it boots up, and things that I need are loaded from HDD 
 
Good luck with that new stage rig!!!

Yeh, I've disassembled a few laptops over the years and each time swore I'd never do it again. Pulling them apart can be difficult, but it's easier than putting them back together!
 
Unlike my previous laptop, which had easy access to the drive, RAM and battery, this Acer was clearly not meant to be easily upgraded or repaired. But it was a good price for a 17" display, IIRC about $750. 
 
I have a tiny 25-key controller that I keep in my computer bag for traveling. I wouldn't want to use it in a speed metal jam session, and its lack of mod and pitch wheels is annoying, but it serves the purpose for jotting down ideas while on the road. The Realtek audio is perfectly acceptable for monitoring at the beach. 
 
And of course the Realtek doesn't even come into play in my live rig, as it's not used for anything. Audio goes straight to my synth via the USB port, and from there to my amplifiers.
 

Some free patches from Ilio for Omnisphere2 and Keyscape, downloadable normally until Dec. 1, but apparently still available:
http://www.ilio.com/dlpro...m_source=customer-list

Interesting. I didn't expect to see this new product category appear so soon. Keyscape, AFAIK, doesn't allow you to import your own samples, so I'm guessing Ilio's patches are just Omnisphere multis that happen to include some Keyscape patches.
 
I'm going to grab them, though. Just in case I decide to not get the grandkids anything for Christmas and buy myself an Omnisphere 2 upgrade instead.