My (hopefully) FINAL live rig solution

General discussion about Gig Performer
1

Boys and Girls,

This is HAL:

HAL Setup
HAL Setup1920×1885 630 KB

After much frustration with various laptops, HAL is my final answer to the issues that have plagued me over the past 18 months.

I am not an engineer or designer…but in my practical use experience, my opinion is (and really has always been) that laptops SUCK. It is simply not logical that a laptop, with everything being miniaturized, can offer the same performance AND reliability that a desktop has to offer.

Since I started this endeavor, I have bounced between three different laptops (that’s a lot of $$ to experiment with!), with each of them giving me some type of problem…either the audio interface was the problem (2x…each problem being different), or there was some type of VST compatibility that didn’t play nice. HOWEVER - during all this, none of these issues were present on my main studio PC. Why would these hardware/software issues work perfectly with GP on my workstation, but not the laptops?

I believe the root of these problems was the BIOS/motherboards of the laptops. All things (ie: the software being used) being equal…what else could it be? So far, my theory has been correct. In all my testing, HAL has not exhibited any of the quirkiness of the laptops and performs as well as my main workstation PC.

So I built HAL to accompany me to gigs. HAL is an Asus/Intel based PC mounted in a server chassis seated in a flight case:

HAL front
HAL front1920×719 146 KB

HAL uses a mini, wireless keyboard mouse combo, and portable “gaming” monitor. The monitor is powered by HAL, so minimal cabling is needed. The cabling stores neatly in the back cavity, and with a tension mount can be left connected at all times:

HAL Rear
HAL Rear1920×800 182 KB

HAL cable Storage
HAL cable Storage1920×799 274 KB

HAL sits on a basic guitar stand for gigs:

Gtr Stand
Gtr Stand680×750 149 KB

And when the gig is done, HAL packs up neatly and safely:

HAL Packed Up
HAL Packed Up1920×1337 463 KB

I realize that this is not as small or light as a laptop, but after years of humping Hammonds, Leslies, Rhodes, etc, this is a very small concession. And HAL only takes a minute or two more to setup than the laptop anyway.

HALs first gig is next week :wink:

Joey

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This is awesome, and exactly what I’ve been considering. How’s the cooling 1) inside the rack, and 2) inside the flight case? (How many fans did you end up needing?)

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I came to the same conclusion as well, it’s so hard to find a decent modern windows laptop (can’t speak about Mac) which has not had the bios altered by the manufacturer (for thermal control probably) which results in audio issues.

So I went with a mini build headless PC in my flight case - problem solved! Can be easily upgraded with more ram / hdd etc if needed and runs like a dream.

At the moment for control I use a low powered spare laptop connected via ethernet to the flight case mini PC (so I don’t have to carry separate keyboard, mouse, screen) and use remote desktop. Works fantastically well, although does need to be windows Pro on the headless mini PC.

As I had an ancient laptop lying around unused, this route was far more economical than buying a top end gamer laptop with a gfx card that’ll never be used (and worrying over whether it would work). Also means I have a dedicated ‘live’ PC only occasionally connected to the internet for updates at a time of my choosing - so I know when I turn up for a gig some unexpected update won’t have caused chaos :smile:

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The cooling seems fine since I started…the only fans besides the CPU and PSU are the 2 in the front of the unit that came with the server chassis. I am not a fan of performing outdoor summer gigs, but if one comes along it’s easy enough to stick a fan in front of it to help with airflow if needed.

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And, as of late, our selection of editable BIOS settings has diminished. My most recent HP had almost no flexibility in BIOS settings beyond the typical “wake PC on LAN activity” nonsense.

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Good to know. My biggest concern is temps under heavy workloads, but it sounds like just a few fans will do. What PSU did you go with? That’s a 1U chassis, right?

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Actually it’s a 2U. You will need that height to accommodate not only the PSU, but the CPU fan.
As for the PSU itself, I went with this one due to being fully modular and “quiet:”

Corsair
Corsair1500×1228 155 KB

1 Like
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do you have full specs for HAL?

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Asus B660M Plus WiFi motherboard
i7 3.6Ghz CPU
64 GB DDR4 Crucial RAM
1 TB Samsung M.2 970 SSD
Corsair RM750 PSU
RackChoice MicroATX 2U Server Chassis
Harmony Cases HC2UAD Flight Case
InnoView 15.8" Portable gaming monitor
Snpurdiri 60% mini keyboard/mouse wireless combo

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curious if you have you tested with latencymon?

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No I have not…
When everything works to my satisfaction I stop experimenting!

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This might strike you as blasphemy, but I would def check out the latest M1 Macbooks. Tiny, super-powerful in the context of GP, able to run off of battery for many hours…I didn’t believe it either until I got one.

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It’s not so much blasphemy…but piece of mind at rhis point. In my experience, there’s no replacement for full sized components and a big, clunky powwr supply. Besides, HAL is already built and firing on all cylinders.

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I think it’s the same old “Fender vs. Gibson” or “Ford or Chevy” or “electric vs. gas” debate.

There are tradeoffs, and which is better depends on how much value you place on one tradeoff vs. another. I love the sound of a Les Paul, but I hate the way it feels. If I’m only going to use one guitar, it’s not going to be a Les Paul. Obviously a lot of people feel differently, and (hopefully) we’re all making the choice that’s right for us.

The purely objective right choice is running GP. What you run it on is a distant secondary consideration. I think on that we can all agree. Anyone who believes otherwise is obviously mistaken.

(I’m kidding, of course. Sort of. Maybe.)

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haha, its funny to see this.
cause i think same. kind off :laughing:

thats also funny. Cause everybody here seems to see it like this.

But: whenever i tryed to make in specific threads/discussions a point for GigPerformer,
would several other people chim in, and tell everybody that they are using another host.
…works well with DAWs this way. But…

to notes is this:
with the appearance of the M1/M2 macs, this has changed.
especially the now older M1s.
can´t talk win-PCs.

these mac minis are close to a scam.
its quasi nothing inside. the motherboard is tiny.
there are rip apart videos online.

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This looks really interesting to me! I am currently deciding which laptop/computer to use for my live rig and my main concerns are robustness regarding temperature and shocks when moving/transporting the hardware. Gaming laptops are probably not designed for being moved a lot and I guess you can easily get into thermal problems. Home laptops aren’t really designed for being moved either. The other options I had in mind where business laptops (they are more designed for reliability) or even rugged laptops (which are really expensive unfortunately).
These server cases would be another option but I am a bit worried of transporting it regularly. How are the components mounted inside the server case? Especially the cpu cooling.

Greets
Wolfgang

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I am not sure that’s a legit comparison…

Fenders vs Gibsons is about personal preference…what do you think plays better or sounds better. It’s a purely subjective argument.

This is more about hardware reliability and compatibility across various anomilies in software code. If each of my laptops “acted” like my desktop - then I might agree with you. But then again, if they acted like my desktop, I wouldn’t have done this in the first place!

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With all due respect, Wolf…if you have to ask this question, this DIY project might not be for you. The components mount inside the server case like they would in any other desktop case, and the CPU cooler mounts directly to the motherboard (not the case) like in any other desktop layout. The server chassis is then mounted inside the flight case with bolts on “mounting ears.” - just like any other flight case :wink:

Joe

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I should have positioned my earlier comment differently. My comment was actually in response to:

I was subtly trying to steer the discussion away from another “my preference is better than your preference” thread. Yes, there are objective differences in performance from one of anything to another of anything. I’d call them tradeoffs. How each of us evaluate those tradeoffs is what makes our preferences.

I think HAL is very cool. If I were a touring musician I’d be running something like that myself. (I might make it a 3U rack and put my audio interface in there as well.) I think it’s great that you posted it here so that others can better understand the full range of options.

Of all the “my rig” threads I remember seeing over the years, your solution is unique. In a similar direction is the small form factor units @David-san uses.

If Carl Palmer gives me a call to fill in for Keith Emerson on his tour this summer I’ll review the venue list and decide which is right for me then. I’m certain either would work well. (PM me if you’re reading this, @CarlELPalmer. Glad the surgery went well!)

My point about Gibson vs. Fender was intended to say, “let’s try to focus on what’s good about HAL” to expand people’s knowledge of creative options. Something like HAL would indeed be better for me, and maybe better for a lot of people. Let’s avoid going down a “there’s an objective best GP rig” concept in every “my rig” thread. (I’m not saying you did that.)

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That was my reaction too… there are several other threads on here about that topic, plenty of good points to consider, but this is not that thread, this is a thred about HAL, clearly an investment of considerable time and money into a very ‘kick-ass’ GP hardware platform. I don’t see value in turning this into a debate on other solutions. Let’s just celebrate HAL.

Long live HAL.