Deskew releases Gig Performer 4.5 - Plugin hosting software

[Infinitum]

Not sure about the TH-U as I have the full package and don't use the "Essentials", but LostIn70s plugins are free to use (donations are accepted) and don't expire.

[ALC]

8 hours ago, Infinitum said:

Saved gig files are saved gig files, i.e. they have nothing to do with the trial expiration. You can open every gig file that was created when using a trial on the fully licensed Gig Performer.

There is no point in merging templates, just google for "Gig and Rackspace files", and you'll find 100+ downloadable files created by GP community users. 

As for the routing options on Windows, check the Gig Performer blog, one of recent articles wrote about single-client drivers and routing audio to different places.

You seem knowledgeable.  How long have you been using Gig Performer and how have you been using it?  What do you like about it and what can be improved?

 I’m still coming up to speed on using GP4 and sharing my discoveries along the way.

 The templates are useful as a vendor showcase of features.  I wish there were a way to change the default templates to have user templates.

I’ve been reading up on GP on https://community.gigperformer.com.

[David Jameson]

1 hour ago, ALC said:

 I wish there were a way to change the default templates to have user templates.

Already on our list for a future version!

[ALC]

2 hours ago, David Jameson said:

Already on our list for a future version!

I appreciate when a developer is active, listening to customers, even on a non-support forum.  Thanks, David.

While I've got your ear, I'd like to add:

• Another request for tags based sorting/selection of plugins (you already proposed this solution, which I would agree with).
• Snap to grid for panel editor (right now, when even the example panels are irregularly spaced, it just looks amateurish, and it's not easy to get all interface elements lined up).  Compare with the quality of the GUIs in MTurboAmp.

Thanks for developing such a solid and powerful performance platform.

Edited July 16, 2022 by ALC

[Infinitum]

5 hours ago, ALC said:

I’m still coming up to speed on using GP4 and sharing my discoveries along the way.

To speed things up even more, here is my advice:

- the user manual is always 100% up to date (full disclosure - I wrote it)

- Gig Performer's blog is perhaps the best center for learning. Make sure to check it out.

- subscribe to Gig Performer newsletter to be up-to-date with great video streams, tutorials, interesting Gig Performer in Action stories from pro musicians, new blogs and more.

[David Jameson]

On 7/16/2022 at 2:21 PM, ALC said:

Another request for tags based sorting/selection of plugins (you already proposed this solution, which I would agree with).

Already implemented for next version!

 

On 7/16/2022 at 2:21 PM, ALC said:

Snap to grid for panel editor

You can already select widgets and align them in various ways. Not sure which example panels to which you're referring but there are numerous examples on our forum and they're all very clean

https://community.gigperformer.com/c/gig-and-rackspace-files/26

[ALC]

6 hours ago, David Jameson said:

Already implemented for next version!

Great to hear!

6 hours ago, David Jameson said:

You can already select widgets and align them in various ways. Not sure which example panels to which you're referring but there are numerous examples on our forum and they're all very clean

https://community.gigperformer.com/c/gig-and-rackspace-files/26

I'm aware of the alignment functions, but it's still rather painful to align everything across an entire panel if there are multiple groups of widgets.

The following is from the Keyboards -> Piano, Organ, Stage template, under Stage + Effects.  Notice the inconsistent spacing between each grouping.  The space between Tremelo and Chorus and Chorus and Reverb are not the same, off by a pixel, and between Reverb and Drive, and Drive and EQ, are also different.  A snap to grid would make it much easier to make consistent sizes of elements without needing to actually duplicate widgets.

Here's Bass -> Classic Bass:

The bottom of Amp Gain and Compressor backgrounds (shapes) are a pixel higher than those of EQ and Amp Out Level.

For the alignment tools, without being able to group elements together, it's difficult to easily align everything.  If you want to redistribute the shapes, the widgets are not locked onto the shapes they're on top of, so you'll have to manually fix the widgets after the fact.  If I try to redistribute the shapes, it redistributes the centers and not the spacing between the shapes.

Also the knobs for Amp Gain and Amp Out Level and the switch for Compressor are not centered within each "shape" it's sitting atop of.  And the label for Compressor doesn't line up with the labels for the rest of the widgets.

I think adding a snap to grid would be the easiest feature to add which would make building consistent and good looking interfaces easier.

If I have a number of panels that are duplicated, but I accidentally move a widget in one of them, it's very difficult to move it back to the original spot (without undo).

The following is from PA's Guitar -> Electric Guitar template:

I know it's not from Deskew (it's on PA) but it's representative of many of the templates, but from my attempts to build my own rackspaces, to make everything looking right (like not a prototype) takes more work than it should.

That said, I've been impressed with the functionality of Gig Performer.  A little attention to the GUI would improve the overall spit and polish of the app.

Thanks.

 

[David Jameson]

16 hours ago, ALC said:

 it's very difficult to move it back to the original spot (without undo).

So why can't you use Undo?

16 hours ago, ALC said:

A little attention to the GUI would improve the overall spit and polish of the app.

Well, a lot of attention gets paid to the GUI --- but let's be realistic --- there's only so much we can do for each release  ---- if we tried to address everything, there would never be a release --- that's why we have updates 🙂

16 hours ago, ALC said:

to make everything looking right (like not a prototype) takes more work than it should

We continue to improve the product  while ensuring that  we remember our primary goal, which is reliability on stage. The concept of a grid is on our list, along with about 1,000 other items!

[ALC]

10 hours ago, David Jameson said:

So why can't you use Undo?

At that point, I’ve clicked on different variations and undo is no longer available.

10 hours ago, David Jameson said:

Well, a lot of attention gets paid to the GUI --- but let's be realistic --- there's only so much we can do for each release  ---- if we tried to address everything, there would never be a release --- that's why we have updates

We continue to improve the product  while ensuring that  we remember our primary goal, which is reliability on stage.

I didn’t mean to imply that no attention wasn’t paid to the GUI.  Just wanted to point out a pain point from my experience and a suggested solution.

The consistent misalignment I see in the templates, gig files, and panels point to a different priority w.r.t. GUI quality.  They're not difficult things to fix (but admitted may be time consuming), but do require an awareness of GUI consistency.  You’re not responsible for the ones others make but certainly the ones that end up in templates.

I know software development is a matter of ongoing prioritization of limited resources.  I do appreciate the incredible pace of development.

10 hours ago, David Jameson said:

The concept of a grid is on our list, along with about 1,000 other items!

Thanks.  That’s all I ask.  Hopefully, it won’t be too low on the priority list.  And that my explanation helped nudge it  higher.

Thanks for making Gig Performer.  I hope to one day be able to contribute panels of my own.

Edited July 19, 2022 by ALC