I’m searching for a long time on how to use GP as an arranger keyboard meaning to play recorded intro’s, style’s, fill’ins like any other arranger, do you have experience doing it? do you know any app that actually works with out complications? I know of a few out there like “GIGLAND” and “SOFTARRANGER” , but I dont feel confident with it, like how long will it take to load all the sounds, specially when changing to a different sound, any help on this topic would be really helpfull. I sort of gave up, I am just trying my luck ,as I see how knowledgeable you all are. Thanks
Do people use Ableton for this? Or it that different because it is playing back audio rather than midi?
Jeff
Ableton can trigger MIDI as well and you can “drive” GP from it.
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@jeffn1
Does this video answer my question? Do i need Ableton as a host? ,if yes, there is latency problem, because to many vst’s open at the same time, I have Ableton and tried it, but to many vst’s makes latency problems
When I say latency problems, I mean that there is clipping sounds.
Those are two completely different phenomena.
Clipping is generally due to the signals being too loud. If there is a problem with the CPU not being able to handle all the plugins, you’ll get glitches in the sound. To see if the problem is with the latter, bypass some of the plugins and see if it makes a difference. What does GP’s CPU meter show?
Maybe this can fit your needs?
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Or:
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In both meter’s, Ableton and GP it doesn’t show any thing wrong, or getting to the max, but in ableton, when I start using too much heavy plugins, while playing, I get some unwanted sounds, like scratching sound, I’m not familiar with the name of those sounds, if it’s called clliping or something else, what ever you call it ,it’s unwanted scratching sound. (not feedback sound.)
Thanks for your work,and being so supportive.
Clipping is generally due to the signals being too loud. If there is a problem with the CPU not being able to handle all the plugins, you’ll get glitches in the sound. To see if the problem is with the latter, bypass some of the plugins and see if it makes a difference. What does GP’s CPU meter show?
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I forgot to say that, in Ableton, when I increase the overall volume, the unwanted noise gets worse. I do have 16 ram laptop and other good stuff, but still my computer guy said that it makes sense that I need even a better laptop.
Which doesn’t tell much about the general specs of the computer… could also be an old Celeron which runs at 800MHz (just to exaggerate things a bit 
).
If someone wants to seriously talk about audio issues, they should always tell us all the details… everything else is just poking around in the dark, which is mostly time consuming and unsatisfying for everyone who is involved in such a discussion.
Also the used audio interface, driver and sample rate/buffer size settings are of great importance when it comes to troubleshooting someone else’s system over the forum.
See also this guideline:
How to report issues and ask properly for help? - General discussion about Gig Performer - Gig Performer Community
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I am doing this exact thing ie running an arranger within GP.
For drums I use Air Strike 2
For Bass I used Ujam
For strumming/picking guitars I use Ujam
These plugins follow chord input.
For intros, fills and endings with Strike 2, I use note input from an iPad triggered using a blue tooth pedal
I use a Nektar 49 note keyboard with 1 1/2 octaves split for left hand chord control.
Solo right hand plugins I use include Kontact, UVI Plugsound Pro and Arturia.
Thanks. I don’t get it, what do you use in order to record and playback intro’s, fills, and variations? Do you have any photos or videos of your setup? I’m super curious how everything works, because I have been searching very long, it might be a big help, Thanks again.
Hi. Its very simple really. The main vsts I use have built in loops. Strike 2, Ujam Virtual bass and Ujam guitars all have built in loop engines. I don’t record at all, but I play live using Gig Performer. My main instrument is Music Labs Real Guitar, and I use it in joystick mode with a PS 3 Guitar Hero wireless controller. This controller allows realistic picking and strumming with all the plugins they produce. The Nektar 49 keyboard is only used when I want to include a solo eg mandolin, sax, uilleanne pipe, flute etc
I start a new song by setting up Strike 2 using one of its loops to the appropriate rhythm. Then I choose a bass pattern loop using a Ujam virtual bass. These two plugins sync perfectly. Then I choose a Music Lab guitar which is played in real time using the PS Guitar Hero I already mentioned. These controllers are hard to get now as they are not made anymore. But they can be found on EBay with high prices. When I started with GP some years ago, I bought several PS 3 controllers when I realised that were not made any more. Only the older five button version will work. Music Labs never developed the joystick mode after the initial release. I suspect they designed it only for keyboardists who wanted to record authentic strumming and picking. I think I gave them quite a surprise when I told them I was using it live as a real instrument. I’ve been doing this for 10 years now, and don’t know of any others using this controller live. It sounds fantastic.
The key to total control is an iPad Pro running OnSong and motivated with a BT foot pedal. OnSong is a lyrics/chords app that has extensive midi control. Under headings such as Title, Verse 1, Chorus etc, I embed a midi command. These are mapped to GP widgets which control program change etc - the full range of midi commands.
Regarding Gig performer. because all my rack spaces are complete songs, I don’t use set list mode. I load each rspace separately. My computer is a MS Surface Pro 8 i7 with 16gig ram. I use predictive mode set to 3 for a particularly large gig file of 460 songs. Otherwise, when I play a set of 20 songs for one hours worth, I turn predictive off, and the gig file will load in 3 to 4 minutes.
Finally, I have an excellent US based technician that I frequently have Zoom calls with, and he has set up the midi connections for me. Just lately, I have changed from wireless based to Ethernet based and it is now much more reliable.
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And here is a video, as well 
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Maybe I can split bigalminal’s post and create a
new thread in Stories from the Trenches?
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Hey, Thanks for posting the clip. I had forgotten about that one.
My setup has changed quite a bit since the clip was made. However, the basic idea is still there.
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Cool, then create another one
Maybe I will:). I could feature an Irish song using the Nektar/Music Labs combination with Bolder Sounds amazing Irish plugins.
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Like you, I searched for a long time too. I come from an arranger keyboard back ground, but I got tired of the fixed arrangements and the midi files I was using. When I found Gig Performer, my world of music suddenly came alive again.
Using the Strike 2 drum vst, and the Ujam Virtual Bass series (they have 5 basses) and adding in the Ujam Virtual Guitars, you have an arranger combo that is virtually (pun intended) full of endless possibilities. With an arranger plugin (if you can find a good one), you are stuck with the ideas that the designer originally input.
To finish - ML Real Guitars do have midi out, so you can play more than guitar sounds using one. One of my particular faves is an acoustics piano sound being played by RG set to picking mode. In the clip featuring the song “Vincent,” you can hear a marimba fading in and out. That is being played by the Guitar controller. BTW - The train sounds in “City of New Orleans,” were found on the net as wav files. They are played from the music player plugin and triggered by note events sent at the appropriate time from OnSong on the iPad Pro.
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Huge thanks, it’s so nice of you! I just see that this setup won’t work for me, the way I play at an event is that I need instant changing of styles, intro’s etc. (each of them with lots of tracks) and I need a lot of styles. This is besides from the right hand playing solo. Thanks again