Thinking of Building a PC for Live Performance

[Jazzmammal]

Markey, there's a great article written by one of Cakewalk's software engineers about Sonar and Win 8. He wrote about how fast Win 8 is and the improved latency. This was about a year and a half ago. I don't have the link but it should be easy to find if not by Google then on the Cakewalk forums.

 

Now that I've added a small on topic tidbit I have an off topic comment.

 

I just don't get the fascination with using computers live on stage. I'm sure there are some very specific exceptions to this but virtually any sound you guys are using via VST's I can get on my Kurzweil PC3. Anything. Same for a Kronos or the top line Motif. Will the keyboard sounds be EXACTLY the same as the VST's? Probably not but still extremely good and how many times have we all talked about the noise and acoustics at live gigs? Any small subtle differences between an EP or super synth sound you hear on your computer at home listening on your pristine studio monitors and what I can get using my PC3 at a live gig is completely lost due to noise, acoustics, the PA and everything else.

 

Next is the controller. There's tons of threads about the lack of good, solid, reliable keyboard controllers at a reasonable price. Look at all the complaints about these crappy cheap mini usb plugs all of the controllers use. Almost everybody says to use a regular worktatation as a controller because of the keybed, ruggedness and the fact you should have a backup in case your computer fails.

 

All the time, knowledge and everything else involved in this endeavor could be better spent learning how to program sounds on any one of these three top of the line keyboards and you're done. I'm convinced a side by side comparison between a PC based VST system on stage next to a good player with my PC3 doing the same type of sounds would be indistinguishable to a listener 30 feet out front in whatever noisy venue you would want to try this in.

 

Captain, just my humble opinion.

 

Bob

 

 

[Ashville.Guru]

Deja vu!

 

- Guru

[JeffLearman]

Having said that, and as one with utmost faith in the infallability of computers when used live there is no way I would fly blind without access to a screen, keyboard and mouse

My sentiments exactly. I used a laptop live, roughly weekly for about 5 years. It was the same laptop I used for everything else, which lead to greater than usual rate of issues. Most of the time, new issues appeared at home rather than at the gig, but I definitely found it necessary to have the screen and keyboard.

 

I also was glad that I had a keyboard and not just a controller, for the couple times when it either didn't work or needed a reboot during a set, so I had a usable piano and other sounds.

 

I would add one more part to your question, latency of the headphone out compared to a decent UAB audio interface.

Using ASIO4ALL, I don't see much difference between built-ins and my MOTU 828. (With my latest laptop, Thinkpad W530, I can run with 96 samples, for 2.2ms calculated latency, which is nice. I didn't bother trying 64 samples yet.)

 

When I started using laptops (back on a Thinkpad T20), I brought along my MOTU, which has Velcro and sets on the top of my keyboard. But it extended the length of my keyboard, was an extra piece of kit and took a bit more time to set up, so I ended up using the headphone output and never looked back.

 

I used the headphone outputs on a number of different computers and with one exception they all worked great. No, they don't sound quite as good as the MOTU, but the difference isn't noticeable once the whole band is playing.

 

Sure, on some PC's, the headphone outputs aren't good enough, but they're definitely worth a try.

 

I agree with those who suggest using a laptop and shaking out the issues before planning a build. It's hard to beat the convenience of a laptop.

 

That said, after I got a Nord Electro 2, I quit using a laptop live and never looked back. The laptop sounds better, but the NE2 is even more convenient and provides a second keyboard tier.