Hello everyone
I am a newcomer to the forum and am seeking more information about GP. I have been playing keyboards and synths for 40+ years, working with DAWs since 1996 and software synths for about the last 10 years. This is all on Windows mostly using desktop computers. I’ve done a lot of live performing but not so much these last 15 years. I started working with a band recently and I’ve become a lot more interested in using tracks, software synths and automation in a Live setting.
I’m not really sure how certain things work in this environment. Ideally I’d like to run multiple keyboards as well as guitar, bass, vocals, and eventually drums through something that would play tracks, control patch changes and effects for the instruments and vocal channels and be able to quickly move to the next song with everything programmed ahead of time.
After looking at Mainstage for more than a year now I’ve discovered there seems to be some decent Windows alternatives. I very much do NOT want to go to Apple and I’m feeling like GP looks pretty good so far. I have a lot of questions but could someone school an old synth-jockey on catching up to 2020 possibilities?
My setup with backing tracks and click track for the drummer is this:
I am using 1 rackspace per song and switch sounds by using variations.
For the backing tracks and the click track I am using Ableton Live.
In Gig performer I am using Scripting to start/stop/switch scenes in Ableton Live.
From scripting OSC messages are sent to Ableton Live and in Ableton Live a custom M4L Patch reacts on the incoming OSC Messages.
In Gig Performer I am using the global play feature to react on specific bar/beat so variations (and therefore sounds) are switched at the correct song position.
This way I can concentrate on playing and do not have to take care of switching to the correct sound.
In Ableton Live I have my backing tracks and the click track.
Also a midi track which sends its messages to a VJ software is used to play synchronized Videos on a beamer.
This software is called Grand VJ and I am using realtime effects for the videos.
So when the band decides to play a different tempo, Ableton Live and my videos are always in snch.
Thanks for responses so far.
I can see that one can do a lot with this program. I’ve been using Reason for the last ten years. They recently turned it into a VST of sorts so I’m guessing it should integrate with GP in some way. If not I might revisit Ableton ( I used it for awhile years ago).
Still wondering specifically can you also have multiple instruments going at the same time-like multiple synths, guitar and bass for effects…? I want to streamline my patch changes and it would be cool to have VST effects on the guitars and vocals.
Like i said tell me more about what you guys are doing…
