Is GP suitable for automating plugins via a DAW?

Hi everyone!

My band and I have been running tracks/clicks/etc through Ableton for quite a while now, but I’m at a point where I’d like to take a lot of realtime processing off of our X32 and go the plugin route.

First and foremost, we do not intend to run ultra fast processing on our signal via plugins (comps, eqs, autotune, etc) - mainly just tempo synced delays, reverbs, some other types of effects of that nature.

The main objectives are as follows:

Keep Ableton in the mix to run tracks and automate GP.

Use GP to lay out all realtime effects and be controllable via MIDI from Ableton.

Continue to use Ableton with a higher sample buffer, while running GP as fast as possible.

For reference, we are running our show on an Apple silicon-based MBP, with audio running around in every direction via Digiface Dante. The intention is to keep all software on one laptop if possible.

Is GP a good candidate for meeting these needs, or should I be looking at Live Professor 2, Mainstage, or something else I don’t know of yet?

Happy trails!

We have many users who use GP in conjunction with Ableton Live and hopefully some of them will respond to your question.

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You’re on a Mac, and I’m a Windows user, but I’m not sure that you can run Ableton and a VST host like GP at different sample rates if they’re both connected to the same audio interface, since that’s where the sampling takes place. Sample rate mismatches tend to cause problems.

I think @Dextroze has experimented with many different setups between GP and Live. And of course @pianopaul!

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That all is doable.

What are the sources coming from for the realtime effects?

In one of my bands we are using GP for voice processing of the lead singer.
All effect parameter etc. are controlled by MIDI from the DAW on a separate machine (in this case Logic, but Ableton Live can do that also).

“or should I be looking at Live Professor 2, Mainstage, or something else”
don’t do that !

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Hello,
I’m quite new to this world, the world of plugins, using a computer on stage etc (it’s been around 3/4 years now).
But I start feeling better with all of this, and indeed, GP and Live are a great combination.
I use dumb clips in Ableton in my arrangement view in order to change rackspaces/variations in GP and it works flawlessly. I try to put all my plugins and effects in GP and everything that’s samples/clic/etc on Live.
I hope this helps :slight_smile:
All the best

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Hi Paul,

I will most likely be pulling sources from direct outs from the X32 via the Dante card. This technically costs me a little latency vs pulling directly from the Dante sources of each signal, but simplifies routing in case I end up using audio from different sources, like a wired mic at rehearsal vs a wireless at a gig. As for what kind of sources I’m processing, I’m going to start with the 4 vocals in the band and go from there.

The end goal is to get a system going in GP/LP/Cantobile/whatever that is reliable and eventually becomes a load it and don’t look at it kind of thing. I want to be able to MIDI map things like delay time by subdivision, plugin on and off status, receive tempo via Ableton Link or MIDI clock, and then spit out the wet signal of everything to a stereo pair back into the X32. As the I/O grows, maybe there will be more of those hardware return tracks, but we’ll see.

I know that all this information is discoverable on my own, but I’m assuming I have to create a UI in GP which will in turn be MIDI mappable - unless I can MIDI map parameters directly from a plugin edit screen or something. I am interested in seeing how people are laying out their setups to get some gears turning in my head for how this system could potentially look and operate.

Oh, and if it matters, I have options for MIDI throughput - we are currently using Bome’s for App to App stuff as the IAC driver as of late has been doing weird things for us. We also use an IO Connectivity Mio for hardware patching and multing via RTP. The most consistent results so far have been to run all MIDI data thru the Mio, but it’s frankly not practical for day to day programming when I’m away from that hardware.

I have no idea if I’m giving you details you don’t care about, so sorry if I am. I just know that different apps react differently to some of these solutions and want to see what the GP masters have learned the hard way!

Sorry, I realize that part of my post was a little unclear. I am not looking to run at different sample rates, but rather different latencies to and from the hardware. High latency from latency, low latency to and from GP.

Ok, Running different sample rates on the same interface is no good idea.
You would need a interface for Ableton and a different for Gig Performer.

So for my understanding:

In Gig Performer you get Audio Signals in (from DAW or Mic or Instrument)
and process it through plugins.
This processed sounds you send to your mixer.

From Ableton you get MIDI messages in and with HOST automation and Widgets you can control any plugin parameter you want (when the plugins support HOST automations - and almost every plugin supports HOST automation).
With variations you can save different settings of the widgets, so when you just flip between effects or bypass effects or so just send a PC message from Ableton to Gig Performer and you are ready.

When you want fades in effects then just send MIDI CC message to Gig Performer (when on the same machine then IAC is the best solution for MIDI) and the Widget you learned on that message controls the plugin parameter.

This would even work when you use separate machines, just create network sessions.

This is generally a bad idea for all audio applications, not just Gig Performer. It’s is listed as “Don’t do that”, in this thread.

I am using MIO XL to control Fractal from Gig Performer via Ethernet and MIDI cable.
Is super reliable.

Thanks for this Paul. It sounds like the Variations and Widgets features are something I should be looking into a little bit more when comparing GP to other software, as those do seem like a good selling point.

I am not running different sample rates via the same hardware. I am running different latencies via different software for reliability reasons.

Hi @mhadjoglou,

the concept of variations is very important for gig performer.
With widgets and the inbuilt scripting language you can build setups other’s even never dreamed of :wink:

When you use Ableton Live, are you using the Suite version?
WIth OSC you have a Monster.

I have Ableton Suite, yes.

I suppose with this info it’s time to actually dive into the software and poke around some more. Thanks for the info!

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Yes, download the trial version and whenever you have questions,
here in the forum you will get answers and solutions.

Thanks, @pianopaul — I was about add that widgets and variations are core concepts to the GP philosophy but you saved me the trouble :slight_smile:

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