Hi All. Just thought I’d update with the positive outcome of all this research in this thread. Had our first gig using this new build. (Small duo playing at a High Tea fund raiser in country town)
The ‘small form factor PC’ really works great… I think I have more than enough horse power… I get no lag or glitches…
While the Cooler Master NRP200 Max case isn’t the smallest in the world it was a good compromise between being able to fit in anything I needed too…and still not taking up much real estate.
The gig went perfectly from a tech point of view… couple of minor things that I think were just some config tweaks needed
From a portability perspective it was great.
I play keys, bass and some guitar. For the sake of simplicity I put all instruments through the Motu M4 and GP… then out to the bass amp and foh speakers (which double as our fold back)
This also helps greatly with getting a consistent mix when we have no mixing help.
I use Neural amp modeler as my guitar effects which saves needing a pedal board.
For extra bass with keys parts I use vst bass instruments like free Modo and Ample Bass Lite.
I also use audio player for backing in various parts… especially on more upbeat songs… when drums etc are helpful
I use Mobile Sheets to change the rackspaces via midi …programmed buttons on the Roland XP 80 and using a modified music stand with monitor.
For the GP monitor I bought a 2nd hand lcd and stuck it on this ’ retro’ shipping box!
It all was a great success… thanks for all the tips. One day I might buy a more portable gp touch monitor and try and figure out a slightly more portable size with 2nd screen…
it takes a bit of time to setup and pack down…around 30-40 minutes…but that is more because of moving 1 keyboard, 2 guitars, a PC, 2 monitors, Bass amp, foh speakers, mics and stands…
but all in all very happy with the portable desktop pc solution…pc works perfectly!
Thanks for all the tips and patience on this PC building journey! Here’s a few photos of the setup from the weekend.
