Mr. Nightime Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I pulled the trigger yesterday, and bought a new laptop for stage use. It's a Toshiba Satellite with a 3rd generation i5 processor, a good amount of RAM, and big hard drive. Running Windows 8 64-bit. I need a good VST host. It was suggested that an option would be Cantabile Lite. I looked, and I may spring for the full version. But before I do, I need some opinions on what would do the trick for me. This will be for live use. I would like to have multiple VST instruments set up where I can change them from my controller board. I'll be using a couple of Tio Guido's offerings, like VB3, Mr. Ray, & Die Funky Maschine ZD6. Plus I'd like to have some other possibilities available. I'm OK with paying for it as long as I get something that would meet my needs. A Google search gives so many possibilities, but they don't seem to have any specs available. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wright Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I bought VB3 to run on a Mac for my winter.my back is breaking rig I am looking at Rax right now. The Cantabile light wont run on mac, so I am out of luck there. Rax gives me a easily editable mix screen and may be the answer for you also. I have set up three channel strips for VB3 Mr. Ray and Mr Tramp, but am not going to control it from my board. They offer a 15 day trial. http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/rax/ "I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too long" Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 The usual suspects for Windows are Cantabile, Brainspawn Forte, and Bidule. Of the 3 Forte has the nicest UI and appears a bit more polished. Bidule is more of a modular toolbox that you can patch together to create what you want. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 For just farting around and experimenting, there are several free VST hosts like SaviHost and VSTHost. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markay Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Try the free version of Cantabile and see how you like the interface. To get the setlist functionality you will the Performer version. Forte is another option. I found the Cantabile GUI easier to work with and it will do all you need, mappable buttons to switch between patches, splits, layers, effect chains etc. A misguided plumber attempting to entertain | MainStage 3 | Axiom 61 2nd Gen | Pianoteq | B5 | XK3c | EV ZLX 12P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markay Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I bought VB3 to run on a Mac for my winter.my back is breaking rig I am looking at Rax right now. The Cantible light wont run on mac, so I am out of luck there. Rax gives me a easily editable mix screen and may be the answer for you also. I have set up three channel strips for VB3 Mr. Ray and Mr Tramp, but am not going to control it from my board. They offer a 15 day trial. http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/rax/ Why not use MainStage? A misguided plumber attempting to entertain | MainStage 3 | Axiom 61 2nd Gen | Pianoteq | B5 | XK3c | EV ZLX 12P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wright Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I bought VB3 to run on a Mac for my winter.my back is breaking rig I am looking at Rax right now. The Cantible light wont run on mac, so I am out of luck there. Rax gives me a easily editable mix screen and may be the answer for you also. I have set up three channel strips for VB3 Mr. Ray and Mr Tramp, but am not going to control it from my board. They offer a 15 day trial. http://www.audiofile-engineering.com/rax/ Why not use MainStage? Hey Markay! I have been playing with it also. The Mr. Nightime mentioned Windows so I didnt bother suggesting MainStage. "I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too long" Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluzeyone Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Hey Nightime! Hafta keep me posted about how the laptop works for ya. Would like to hear your input from the ground floor on up. Im old school myself and curious. "A good mix is subjective to one's cilia." http://hitnmiss.yolasite.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Hey Nightime! Hafta keep me posted about how the laptop works for ya. Would like to hear your input from the ground floor on up. Im old school myself and curious. I'll keep you posted. Won't be used at the gig tomorrow. Not enough time to get things set up. Can't work on it after work, as we have the final performance of our musical play at church. Have to be there a mere 2 hours after I get off work. So I'll be forced to use the church's XK-3C on the gig. Bummer My next gig after that is in about 3 weeks so I'll have some time to get the kinks worked out. I just added 100 Euros to Guido's coffers. Purchased VB3 & Die Funky Maschine "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 I downloaded the trial for Forte 3. Not bad, but the 64 bit version does not accept the VB3 VST. The 32 bit does, but then seems to miss the 64 bit VSTs. Still working on getting it configured. I've tried to get Cantabile, but the web site seems to be down. Any other place to get it? "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Force Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 To get Cantable. I think right now there in an Internet issue. Wait a while then try again. Use JBridge to run 32 bit VST on 64 bit host. Steve Force, Durham, North Carolina -------- My Professional Websites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 Thanks I thought that I had downloaded the Forte version that had the 32-bit bridge in it, but it rejected all my 32 bit VSTs I was able to download from Torrent. If it works, I will can the cracks, and gladly pay for it. I REFUSE to pirate anything. "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 An update. I installed Cantabile Performer, and JBridge. That let me get VB3 working. I checked, and I was able to get the latency down to 1.5 milliseconds. Even I can't hear that. I played around with it, and was very happy with the performance. I just need to get the rest of the signal chain together, and I'm set. Just paid for Cantabile. "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davinwv Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I exclusively use Cantabile Performer live, but I also own a license for Forte 2.x. Other than the 32-bit/64-bit issues, what made you choose Cantabile over Forte? I have not used Forte 3.x yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Nightime Posted September 18, 2013 Author Share Posted September 18, 2013 Cantabile just seemed like a lower learning curve. I worked with Forte for a very short time, and had trouble finding where to add the instruments. I found that in Cantabile right away. Plus, Cantabile is about $20 less. A couple reboots, and Cantabile found my controller board with no issue. In fact, I created a setup with VB3 and Die Funky Maschine, and it comes right up with that as soon as I start the app. I'll install the Cantabile license and the JBridge license tonight, and uninstall Forte. "In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome. So God helped him and created woman. Now everybody's got the blues." Willie Dixon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnalogGuy1 Posted September 18, 2013 Share Posted September 18, 2013 I own both Forte and Cantabile too. Forte impresses me with the amount of control it has for external midi devices, but I use Cantabile exclusively now since I find I can patch together songs faster in it, and it includes a built-in midi player (for background arps like Baba O'Riley) and built-in audio player (useful for practicing...I have the play/stop controls mapped to buttons on my midi controller). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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