Steinberg VST Live on Win - Pros / Cons?

[ElmerJFudd]

Anyone opted for Steinberg’s VST Live on Windows PC?  Preferable to Cantabile or Gig Performer?  Pros / Cons? 
 

https://www.steinberg.net/vst-live/

[John H Carter]

Cantabile user here. Not looked at this, but would assume that needs some time to be trusted as stable platform for gigs. I guess it being Steinberg, that they won't be interested in supporting CLAP as a new plug-in standard.

[ElmerJFudd]

10 hours ago, John H Carter said:

Cantabile user here. Not looked at this, but would assume that needs some time to be trusted as stable platform for gigs. I guess it being Steinberg, that they won't be interested in supporting CLAP as a new plug-in standard.

This one has been out for about a year.  They’re on 1.1.63.  I just haven’t met anyone who has adopted it.  I’ll try and Google to see if a community of users has popped up.  Starting with whatever forums steinberg.net has. 
 

https://forums.steinberg.net/c/vst-live/

[Baldwin Funster]

Can't talk about those hosts but in general I've found windows wants to run processes and power saving measures and other various and mysterious backround tasks to the result that after an hour at a practice the computer or the host or some other thing needs to be rebooted.

I've followed instructions to turn off these background processes but you can't get them all. 

[ElmerJFudd]

2 hours ago, Jr. Deluxe said:

Can't talk about those hosts but in general I've found windows wants to run processes and power saving measures and other various and mysterious backround tasks to the result that after an hour at a practice the computer or the host or some other thing needs to be rebooted.

I've followed instructions to turn off these background processes but you can't get them all. 

Suggestions from Steinberg on Windows PC optimization for audio workstation. 
 

https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/en-us/articles/360008589880-Windows-How-to-set-up-and-optimize-a-Digital-Audio-Workstation

[GuitarMage]

14 hours ago, Jr. Deluxe said:

I've followed instructions to turn off these background processes but you can't get them all. 

Take a look at this ~100 pages free guide: https://gigperformer.com/docs/ultimate-guide-to-optimize-windows-for-stage/index.html

[Ibarch]

On 4/1/2023 at 6:33 AM, Jr. Deluxe said:

Can't talk about those hosts but in general I've found windows wants to run processes and power saving measures and other various and mysterious backround tasks to the result that after an hour at a practice the computer or the host or some other thing needs to be rebooted.

I've followed instructions to turn off these background processes but you can't get them all. 

 

Is this recent personal experience? I've never had to do that using my Widows laptop. I've found Windows rock solid for many years now. I can't recall seeing any other people with a similar issue in any forums I've frequented. 

 

Latency issues can be annoying and power saving issues can occur but usually they are noticable in seconds and a reboot isn't going to fix it. Plenty of guides on YouTube to troubleshoot and fix if you are having issues. 

 

 

[Baldwin Funster]

2 hours ago, Ibarch said:

 

Is this recent personal experience? I've never had to do that using my Widows laptop. I've found Windows rock solid for many years now. I can't recall seeing any other people with a similar issue in any forums I've frequented. 

 

Latency issues can be annoying and power saving issues can occur but usually they are noticable in seconds and a reboot isn't going to fix it. Plenty of guides on YouTube to troubleshoot and fix if you are having issues. 

 

 

Yes personal experience.  And I thank you all for the tips, I did them all. Still, I set the rig up and come back after a break and i have to reboot or disconnect and reconnect the hardware from the computer. 

And the latency was so bad I had to use the WASAPI drivers and those were unfinished or experimental or something. ASIO worked somewhat but I don't remember why I had to ditch asio. This was a number of years ago, so forgive my memory.  I got fed up and spent the next 5 years using hardware only. Then I had to buy a ipad to run an UA app. I got B3X and got started back into virtual instruments but on ios this time. It's soooooo much better. I still have the win 10 stuff and can try to use in an emergency but really I'd rather not.

[davinwv]

11 hours ago, Jr. Deluxe said:

Yes personal experience.  And I thank you all for the tips, I did them all. Still, I set the rig up and come back after a break and i have to reboot or disconnect and reconnect the hardware from the computer. 

And the latency was so bad I had to use the WASAPI drivers and those were unfinished or experimental or something. ASIO worked somewhat but I don't remember why I had to ditch asio. This was a number of years ago, so forgive my memory.  I got fed up and spent the next 5 years using hardware only. Then I had to buy a ipad to run an UA app. I got B3X and got started back into virtual instruments but on ios this time. It's soooooo much better. I still have the win 10 stuff and can try to use in an emergency but really I'd rather not.

This is *very* atypical for a tweaked, recent-spec Windows machine with solid ASIO drivers. Perhaps you should pay for a consulting session with Jim Roseberry at StudioCat. He built my current music laptop, but also offers these consulting services.

[ElmerJFudd]

2 hours ago, davinwv said:

This is *very* atypical for a tweaked, recent-spec Windows machine with solid ASIO drivers. Perhaps you should pay for a consulting session with Jim Roseberry at StudioCat. He built my current music laptop, but also offers these consulting services.

He sells a lovely bit of kit, but not inexpensive

 

15.6" (1920 x 1080) Display

Intel Iris Xe video

Intel i7 1260P @ 4.7GHz (12 cores)

16GB DDR4

500GB M.2 SSD (OS/Applications)

Thunderbolt-4

WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1

Windows 10 x64 

1 year warranty

 

 

If you have a capable laptop already but aren't very techy.  Someone like this may be able to talk you through what you need to do to get yours working well for music.  Does he also let you bring it or FedEx it in and tweak it for you?

[JamPro]

On 4/1/2023 at 1:33 AM, Jr. Deluxe said:

Can't talk about those hosts but in general I've found windows wants to run processes and power saving measures and other various and mysterious backround tasks to the result that after an hour at a practice the computer or the host or some other thing needs to be rebooted.

 

My studio computer runs Win 10 for hours continuously without a hitch and without needing a reboot.

 

Of course, I build my own studio computers, and install the OS - and all other software - on them myself.  It would not surprise me at all if an off-the-shelf Win computer filled with commercial bloatware does not perform well.

[SweetP]

I have been using VST live for about 10 months now as my primary performance rig.  I use an HP envy touchscreen laptop with W11 i5/16gbRam/SSD.   Personally...I find VST live to be a game changer. I wish I had this tool 20 years ago when I was a full-time gig warrior. I create a project for each band/show I work with, and then build songs with all the layers, lyrics, samples, tracks, and even sheet music. A simple tap of the finger moves me through the set pulling all my patches, etc for me.  So frickin easy and stress free.  I have not had any crashes or issues, but I almost exclusively use modeled VST instruments which are much less resource intense.  I also own Canatible but have never used and find it frustrating.  VST live is an outstanding tool and I highly recommend it.

[Garubi]

9 hours ago, SweetP said:

I also own Canatible but have never used and find it frustrating.

What host are you running on? 

[Ibarch]

On 3/31/2023 at 5:19 PM, ElmerJFudd said:

Anyone opted for Steinberg’s VST Live on Windows PC?  Preferable to Cantabile or Gig Performer?  Pros / Cons? 
 

https://www.steinberg.net/vst-live/

 

Following your post, I went away and checked out VST Live on Windows. I liked it a lot, so much I bought it.  Go show my post to Steinberg and collect your sales commission. 

 

I've been looking for something to use when playing live, for open mics and some band rehearsals. I use a Roland Rd-88 as my main gig board but substitute this for a Casio CT-S500 (that's another thread here  I need to go thank for the recommendation). I use Zenology Pro to recreate my RD-88 scenes on my laptop. This works great from a sound perspective, but had challenges because Zen Pro doesn't support changing to different sounds via midi. 

 

I've been using Ableton live but found this not touch friendly. It doesn't support set lists. I need 40+ instances of Zenology, and stopping Ableton putting CPU through a plugin (and quickly switching instances on song changes) proved non trivial. 

 

I looked briefly at Gig performer but then this thread came up. At 25% of the cost, VST live was a no brainier. I like the set organisation. It is touch friendly and I found it quick to work out the best way to set up my songs.

 

I have currently 16 songs in my largest project , all using up to 3  separate instances of Zenology to mimic the RD-88 scenes. VSt live loads the project in about a minute and preloads all the plugin settings for every song during this load. It switches instantly between different  songs and parts within a song once loaded. Most importantly, it only eats CPU for the active song, not my hoardes of other Zenology instances in the non active songs. It even keeps the sounds of the original part running whilst loading up the next, something some keyboards can't always do. My 11th Gen i7 doesn't go above 40% CPU usage whilst running my heaviest scenes. 

 

Whilst playing sets, I've found it rock solid. It has never [yet] glitched during a performance or switching between songs. 

 

It is a little flakey when I am adding new songs or editing existing ones. It can crash sometimes, seemingly at random. But this only seems to be during editing. Not playback. 

 

It isn't perfect, it feels like a v1 of a product. There are some rough edges and places  that clearly are still in active development. They are releasing new builds frequently, bug fixing and adding new features as they go. 

 

But I like it, it has been a great find and is an ideal solution for me. Ive reached the end of my free trial and it was enough for me to dig into my pocket and splash the cash. Can't say more than that. 

[ElmerJFudd]

Thank you for sharing.  It makes sense to me that Steinberg is making a serious effort with VST Live (especially on Windows - which I am often tempted by when I price out a new Mac with 32gb RAM and 1TB of storage ).  An 11th Gen i7 is a nice processor family - is it a mobile CPU in a laptop or did you put together a small form factor build?  Also, how much RAM and storage?  

[Ibarch]

I am running a Surface pro 7+ with 16GB ram and 512GB SSD. When I started with a new band a couple of years ago the plan was to use a midi controller and laptop in place of a heavy keyboard. So I bought the surface pro for the tablet form factor along with Omnisphere and Keyscape. That didn't quite work out, I never gelled with the lack of weighted keys so I bought the RD-88. I have since added the casio as the RD-88  is too heavy some days 😂

 

I'm still almost £1k to the good than if I had shelled out for a Nord stage. Very happy with what I have ended up with. Best of all worlds for me. 

[ElmerJFudd]

3 hours ago, Ibarch said:

I am running a Surface pro 7+ with 16GB ram and 512GB SSD. When I started with a new band a couple of years ago the plan was to use a midi controller and laptop in place of a heavy keyboard. So I bought the surface pro for the tablet form factor along with Omnisphere and Keyscape. That didn't quite work out, I never gelled with the lack of weighted keys so I bought the RD-88. I have since added the casio as the RD-88  is too heavy some days 😂

 

I'm still almost £1k to the good than if I had shelled out for a Nord stage. Very happy with what I have ended up with. Best of all worlds for me. 

Excellent. I know at least one other forum member that has had success with Surface Pro as their platform for live VST host. I’m sure there are others.  

[Ibarch]

VST Live does seem to eat the battery somewhat. That maybe down to the Zenology Pro V2 VST's appetite which seems to have increased from v1. 

 

Mind you, it will still comfortably get through a 2 hour practice provided I don't leave Edge open too. 

[ElmerJFudd]

Yes, I've also found Roland Cloud software is not exactly "CPU-light", but neither is Spectrasonics.  At least not when set to do what it is capable of doing.