ALC

Steinberg VST Live is new (just over a year old) ... it's a VST host for live performance.

Correct, that's what's listed in the product description, but when you install, you get HALion Sonic 7 (when they released 7, they made the numbering consistent between HALion and HALion Sonic).

I finally got around to calibrating the speakers using ARC 3. Here's the result. The bass frequencies are hyped (80 - 220 Hz). Certainly don't do a mix without flattening out the response. After ARC 3 EQ, it sounds balanced. I've been pretty happy with the CR3-X purchase (mainly using it for virtual instrument monitoring). Any way to use ARC 3 (or other EQ) systemwide?

FYI, Padshop 2, Retrologue 2, and HALion Sonic with Pro/Artist/Basic sets are included with VST Live Elements/Pro, pretty good for $30/$50. Padshop 2 is currently $65 and Retrologue 2 is currently $50. If nothing else, you can get VST Live for the instruments. For those looking for an alternative to MainStage or Gig Performer (for live performance), this is worth considering. GP is more mature, but Steinberg has been actively updating VST Live since its release just over a year ago (currently on its 16th release).

@Peter - IK Multimedia Thanks for changing the policy to be responsive to the needs to your customers. Curious folks can check out TheGearPage.net for the discussion thread.

It seems to only delete files that don't have references from other packages. Also, some software has separate packages for VST, VST3, AU, and AAX, while other software has single packages that includes all the plugin variants. I like that the program will show which files don't exist in red. This program helps with fully uninstalling plugins (and all associated files). I think I'll still be doing manual deletion of plugins, but use this program to periodically do cleanup.

I’ve mentioned before that I use Gig Performer for managing plugins (obviously not for cheapskates, but if you happen to have it …). Given how quick it scans plugins, and that it can do it incrementally, it’s my plugin playground that I leave running. With it, I can figure out what plugins to keep, either VST or VST3. With Windows, most packages can be uninstalled through the system package manager. When uninstalling, the system package manager can delete all the files registered. Like with Native Instruments, you can uninstall specific programs/libraries cleanly on Windows, but not on Mac (was a very manual process). I’ve also learned to be selective in what I install, when given a choice, rather than installing everything as per the defaults, but not all installers provide the option.

Very handy to have. I went through and deleted a whole bunch of packages that already had most of the contents deleted manually (non-AS Native VST, VST3, and leaving plugins that only work in AU). Thanks, Wide Blue Sound!

Purchased.

I've been using the Plugin Manager in Gig Performer for plugin management on the Mac. It took me a while to overcome being uncomfortable mucking in the plugins directory but needed to recover space on my 512 GB SSD. I use GP to see what's loaded and to bring up the location of a plugin (but doesn't work on AU). It doesn't do AAX, but I just delete the whole Avid plugins directory periodically. I delete any AU/VST/VST3 that fails to load. I delete AU plugins if the VST/VST3 works (so only the AU plugins left are Rosetta 2) . I delete VST if VST3 works except for instruments (VST for Unify). I've started doing the same on Windows though I'm still hesitant to make changes outside of installers.

I have Bitwig Studio 8-Track and the full upgrade is $259 for me ($359 - $100 summer sale discount). Is the above the price for upgrade from 16-Track?

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/manage-plugins.html: Click on the product and look under Downloads. For me, I see: Deskew Gig Performer® 4 UNLOCKED [full license] Downloads Gig Performer® 4 UNLOCKED Installers Installer v4.5.8 (Mac, 165.56MB) Installer v4.5.8 (Win, 72.89MB)

https://www.ikmultimedia.com/pickandmix2023/ Go down to qualifying products. As always with these group buys, check directly with the vendor’s promotion page. The qualifying products are all FX related which Syntronik isn’t.

Indeed. I like that licensing as well. In addition, there are tiers to the licensing (including free) so you can pay only for the functionality that you use. I'm just awaiting the MacOS release. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Then probably, the current GP PA version works well enough for you? Using Windows or MacOS or both? Using it live or for recording? Are you using the TONEX Pedal (ref to hardware)?

I tried Element before when I was looking for a plugin chainer that I could use in different VST hosts. I found the free Waves StudioRack now works for that function after they enabled using 3rd party plugins. How were/are you using GP/Element?

There wasn’t a discount but they did bundle a synth at one point.

Perhaps it would be more productive to talk about alternatives to Gig Performer. I feel that having competition is good for the market. Here are some of my experiences/thoughts. If on Windows only, Cantabile is the most obvious competitor to Gig Performer. They have three tiers of their product (free, Solo, and Performer). The principle design goals are stability, performance, and flexibility ... reminds me of Gig Performer. Their updates are subscription based, like Bitwig. They have an active community. A Mac version is being worked on, but it's been several years and still hasn't been released. I've only tried the free version. Apple Mainstage (Mac only) ... cheap, only $30 ... includes the EXS instruments available in Logic. Better (cleaner) looking interface than Gig Performer. Steinberg VST Live ... still in its infancy ... clean interface, but a little buggy. I picked this up for $50 when it was 50% off. Definitely worth that price, given it comes with Padshop 2, Retrologue 2, and HALion Sonic 7 with Pro / Artist / Basic Sets. The way this works is more straightforward to me than GP4 ... with a more DAW-centric bus type of workflow, and is faster if all you want to do is have virtual instruments and just mix between them. Studio One Professional Show Page ... similar to VST Live, I like the more DAW-centric design. Set up "players" and save the presets for each song. I like this as well, but for doing splits and transposes, have to create a multi instrument, explicitly adding another layer, whereas VST Live has that capability for every patch. I'm still on S1 5 Pro--I don't know if they've made a lot of improvements in S1 6 Pro. For doing basic stuff using the DAW-centric insert/bus paradigm which is most of the time for me when using keys, I find Mainstage, VST Live, or S1 Show Page is faster. However, for more complex signal routing, Gig Performer and Cantabile are better suited for it ... especially for guitar (visually, just having a flowchart type of interface makes more intuitive sense when it matches how virtual wires are connected). PluginGuru Unify ... can easily layer patches ... the only thing missing is being able to quickly change between patches in a setlist. So, I've been playing around with using Unify within S1 Pro Show. I've been looking for a VI host that I can give neophyte keyboardists and have them be able to layer patches and switch between patches in a setlist. So far, VST Live is the most intuitive (though I've experienced some VI loading issues that may be buggy behavior, or something I don't understand). Gig Performer is powerful, but too complex (and I would guess Cantabile would fall in this category as well). Anyhow, what are other folks experiences? Is Gig Performer the best solution for your use case or is something else working for you sufficiently or better?

I have Nectar 3 (3.3.0), but unfortunately doesn’t show an update for me. I guess it’s really an update for Nectar 3 Plus.

Here’s the corresponding video: I would suggest sharing the video rather than the Waves link since that’s what’s publicly available.

These plugins are fully supported on Windows. https://support.airmusictech.com/en/support/solutions/articles/69000801954-air-music-tech-windows-11-compatibility For macOS, these plugins were updated for Big Sur (but with Rosetta, not Native): https://support.airmusictech.com/en/support/solutions/articles/69000801956-air-music-tech-macos-11-big-sur-compatibility They’re still supporting these, but just doing compatibility fixes, no new features. For mature plugins, that’s pretty good. If you are on macOS, expect these will never be Apple Silicon Native (they have new SKUs that replace the functionality of these). Otherwise, these are very good for the price.

One thing I learned about PSP is that their plugins AFAIK are all zero latency, which is a huge plus if you're doing stuff live. I regret that I missed that deep discount while I was researching and deliberating. MixBox can build up a bit of latency depending on the modules used (not a problem if not using it live), but MixBox can still be used live--you just have to avoid certain modules that cause a lot of latency (to make it low or very low latency, but not no latency).

Definitely a good deal for the price. I agree with cclarry--it's a no brainer. Do they still give the Sunset Sound Reverb Collection with new purchases or was that a temporary offer? Also, I don't know the current relationship between MixBox and MixBox for iPad (which they made it free). Not sure if the regular MixBox unlocks MixBox for iPad. I bought both before and paid like $7 to unlock the SSRC. Anyhow, definitely a powerhouse of a plugin.

Same. Purchased for $1.

Alesis now bundles a new BFD Player with some of their drum kits, so that's integration (Alesis and BFD) that makes sense. https://www.alesis.com/products/view2/command-mesh-special-edition https://www.alesis.com/products/view2/surge-mesh-special-edition Free Premium Sound Pack & BFD Player Software Connect your drum kit to a PC or Mac via USB and unlock an expanding library of add-on premium drum kits with BFD Player. Featuring meticulously recorded drum sounds that are great for practice or recording into your favorite DAW, BFD Player is a plugin and standalone software instrument that delivers top-notch drum sounds with a simple-to-use interface. https://www.bfddrums.com/drum-software/bfd-player.html