Charlotte, NC - I need an XK3 or similar

[Jim Alfredson]

I downloaded and played with the free version of Cantabile this afternoon. Whoa. Super streamlined, very low latency, very easy to use. I may opt for the full version. This is great software and much more stable and solid than any DAW when it comes to running VSTs at low latencies.

 

I'm sold! Thanks for the suggestion!

[RichieP_MechE]

The guy who owns the company is a keyboard player who just wanted some damn drawbars.

He's also a member of this forum. He posts As OB Dave.

[davinwv]

I downloaded and played with the free version of Cantabile this afternoon. Whoa. Super streamlined, very low latency, very easy to use. I may opt for the full version. This is great software and much more stable and solid than any DAW when it comes to running VSTs at low latencies.

 

I'm sold! Thanks for the suggestion!

 

I'm so glad it is working out for you. I love it!

[JeffLearman]

I second the opinion to use live VST host rather than a DAW for live use.

 

Possible solutions for drawbars:

 

Native Instruments B4D drawbar module - no longer made, but worth a try looking. I'd have sent you mine if I'd seen this earlier. The buttons on top are laid out in a grid designed by an engineer, not an organist; they're fucntional but just generic buttons in a grid and take a lot of getting used to. I didn't bother using the buttons much at all; I'd mapped other controllers on my keyboard to the functions I used (including sustain and sostenudo pedals).

 

Voce - maybe you can find an older cheaper one.

 

Oberheim OB3-squared - be sure to get the "squared" version; the original has only MIDI input.

 

 

[davinwv]

I've actually got a set of Voce MIDI Drawbars that I'd like to sell. Jim - PM me if you're interested.

[Jim Alfredson]

I wanted to update my impressions of the PX-3 a bit since I used it tonight again with Janiva.

 

I was able to dial in some tremolo from the built-in DSP that sounded really good. A quick FB message to Mike Martin on how to actually save my changes (and a quick reply from him, thanks Mike!) and I was off and running, creating "registrations" for my most oft-used tones.

 

So how did it sound? The Wurli sat right where I wanted it in the mix. The acoustic piano sounds great in the upper and lower registers. Just cuts right through in a way that the Motif ES rack never did. The mids were not as punchy as I'd like. I need to mess with the EQ but I'm confident I can get that happening.

 

Overall, I'm thrilled. Happy happy.

 

 

[Bosendorphen]

The good news is that VB3 sounds really good live. The bad news is that it kept hanging notes, something it did not due when I tested it out at home for 2 hours. I don't know why but I realized that if I closed the GUI in Reaper, it played fine. Maybe it has something to do with the plug-in still being 32bit only running in a 64bit program/OS. I don't know. I really hope Guido updates it to true 64bit native format soon. Otherwise I may be forced to go to NI or something else.

 

You should look into a proper live host like forte or Cantabile. Cantabile Lite is free to use, and it is much more lean and mean than a DAW like Reaper. You should notice a significant difference in latency as well, as Cantabile is very efficient.

 

I've used VB3 live hosted in Cantabile Performer on tons of gigs (along with Garritan Steinway, Scarbee Mark I, A200, and Clavinet), and I've never had any stuck notes.

 

+1

I've been Using Cantabile on my little HP 210 netbook with VB3 and it's just dandy live! And that little guy doesn't have a whole lot of power. Glad you like it too, Jim.