Gig Performer not available through Plugin Alliance anymore (Not a Deal)

[ralfrobert]

On 6/21/2023 at 5:09 AM, Bruno de Souza Lino said:

Why can't companies be like FabFilter and just deliver a quality product sans BS? They don't even have to put their plugins on sale because they just sell on their own.

They are on sale right now. And dynamic discounts if you own one or more plugins.  And pure quality.  Re-sale value,  too.  I am a happy customer over there.  

[simon]

1 minute ago, ralfrobert said:

They are on sale right now. And dynamic discounts if you own one or more plugins.  And pure quality.  Re-sale value,  too.  I am a happy customer over there.  

but what if FabFilter decide that you need to pay difference between the sale price and full retail if you want to update later? .........just like Deskew have  

[ralfrobert]

10 minutes ago, simon said:

but what if FabFilter decide that you need to pay difference between the sale price and full retail if you want to update later? .........just like Deskew have  

They won't,  I guess. And activation is via serial,  or key,  so let them try… ?

[antler]

10 hours ago, Matthew Carr said:

What is weird is they seem to realise they are pissing off customers who bought on a sale from PA, but don't care.

I suspect they care a little - they partially backtracked with an offer to do a partial refund.

They seem to have stopped communicating in this thread. It's disappointing - if there's a genuine reason for all of this and they explained it transparently, PA customers on the whole would probably be more likely to accept it.

Instead they've given us a story's that inconsistent with their previous communications. Perhaps it's a marketing tactic: give a believable story (to people who are new, have short memories, or don't search forums), and create an 'enemy' in it to help win people over.

[MusicMan]

4 hours ago, antler said:

I suspect they care a little - they partially backtracked with an offer to do a partial refund.

They seem to have stopped communicating in this thread. It's disappointing - if there's a genuine reason for all of this and they explained it transparently, PA customers on the whole would probably be more likely to accept it.

Instead they've given us a story's that inconsistent with their previous communications. Perhaps it's a marketing tactic: give a believable story (to people who are new, have short memories, or don't search forums), and create an 'enemy' in it to help win people over.

Maybe we should just stop giving them airtime and forget about them now.. I think the majority think it was handled poorly and they know that and will now do whatever they want with that..

[ALC]

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?

Edited June 24, 2023 by ALC

[Brian Walton]

4 minutes ago, ALC said:

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?

This is what I was using before I got GP at a discount.  Site is having issues but this thing is basically free  https://kushview.net/element/

[Bruno de Souza Lino]

12 hours ago, simon said:

but what if FabFilter decide that you need to pay difference between the sale price and full retail if you want to update later? .........just like Deskew have  

That won't happen because FabFilter rather spend time making their plugins better than planning the most efficient way of shafting the customer by doing the bare minimum. That's Waves and IK Terrritory.

[ALC]

18 hours ago, Brian Walton said:

This is what I was using before I got GP at a discount.  Site is having issues but this thing is basically free  https://kushview.net/element/

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?

[Walter Cruz]

18 hours ago, ALC said:

Apple Mainstage (Mac only) ... cheap, only $30 ... includes the EXS instruments available in Logic.  Better (cleaner) looking interface than Gig Performe

I use Mainstage since 2010. In the latest years I mostly played on a Pink Floyd cover band, and my old Mac is showing some signs of his age... I planned to test GigPerformer to see if I could possibly migrate to windows at some point, and because GigPerformer seems to handle some things better... then I stopped playing for a year, and now I'm playing with a Blues Band and really use just 4 or 5 patches in the entire show, so for now I will keep with Mainstage while my Mac still works

[Brian Walton]

2 hours ago, ALC said:

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?

Low latency virtual guitar rig chains.

Now relegated more often to setup a virtual chain to capture with Tonex so I can use the same tone with hardware and low latency.

But that is also now less frequent as capturing the real thing sounds and feels better.

Edited June 24, 2023 by Brian Walton

[Doug Steinschneider]

Longtime user of Cantabile here. The developer, Brad Robinson, is very responsive and interacts with the Cantabile user base regularly. He is constantly adding features requested by professional users. His focus is reliability followed by functionality. I like his approach to licensing, you can hang with the versions available during your first year indefinitely but renew the license (upgrade price) when you want newer features. 

I use the software on a pair of 2013 i5-3360 Lenovo laptops with 16GB RAM and 2 TB SSD and Behringer UMC202HD's. One station is used with a converted acoustic kit into an eDRUMin and Superior Drummer at 64 buffers. The other is for synths, Hammond, Rhodes and Wurli emulations. The software instills confidence. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Doug Steinschneider

[Fleer]

4 hours ago, Walter Cruz said:

I use Mainstage since 2010. In the latest years I mostly played on a Pink Floyd cover band, and my old Mac is showing some signs of his age... I planned to test GigPerformer to see if I could possibly migrate to windows at some point, and because GigPerformer seems to handle some things better... then I stopped playing for a year, and now I'm playing with a Blues Band and really use just 4 or 5 patches in the entire show, so for now I will keep with Mainstage while my Mac still works

MainStage still is pretty incredible. For $30 or so you’re getting all 70GB worth of sounds, FX and instruments in Logic Pro. 

[ALC]

On 6/24/2023 at 7:22 PM, Brian Walton said:

Low latency virtual guitar rig chains.

Now relegated more often to setup a virtual chain to capture with Tonex so I can use the same tone with hardware and low latency.

But that is also now less frequent as capturing the real thing sounds and feels better.

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)?

Edited June 26, 2023 by ALC

[ALC]

On 6/24/2023 at 7:58 PM, Doug Steinschneider said:

Longtime user of Cantabile here. The developer, Brad Robinson, is very responsive and interacts with the Cantabile user base regularly. He is constantly adding features requested by professional users. His focus is reliability followed by functionality. I like his approach to licensing, you can hang with the versions available during your first year indefinitely but renew the license (upgrade price) when you want newer features. 

I use the software on a pair of 2013 i5-3360 Lenovo laptops with 16GB RAM and 2 TB SSD and Behringer UMC202HD's. One station is used with a converted acoustic kit into an eDRUMin and Superior Drummer at 64 buffers. The other is for synths, Hammond, Rhodes and Wurli emulations. The software instills confidence. 

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.

[Brian Walton]

1 hour ago, ALC said:

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)?

Yes current version is just fine.

Don't use it live in the sense of out at a gig as I never have felt a laptop and interface is the appropriate setup for a guitarist.  

Windows only.

Used for "live" home use and recording one computer into another computer.

Have both ToneX software and hardware.  Referencing hardware here so I don't have to deal with computer latency problems as ToneX pedal is right at 3ms no matter the setting.

[Felix Anzola]

Based on the "I paid for this software" principle, users must be provided with the last updated version of the software available for download, backup and to continue using with Plugin Alliance's license.

It is not like yeah we burnt bridges with PA so users all come and pay us 100$, unless Deskew can take back my license and give me my 100$ I paid, then I should be able to download my crappy, non-updatable PA version as many times as I want.

Now that I know this, I realize we were not given a notice to go to PA's website and download a backup, they did it all sneaky silent right?

All this said, because users paid for it, users are indeed absolutely entitled for those installers. Where are those installers available? - The PA ones users Paid For?

 

Sorry for the rant, any link to the last installers will be appreciated, please note I'm referring to the installers that were available online anyway - nothing more.

 

Rock on! ???

 

EDIT: For those looking for alternatives - definitely take a look at JACK + Carla combination. This is all public domain and free, not as stable and there is a learning curve, but worth the shot taking a look.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Felix Anzola

[ALC]

1 hour ago, Felix Anzola said:

Based on the "I paid for this software" principle, users must be provided with the last updated version of the software available for download, backup and to continue using with Plugin Alliance's license.

...

All this said, because users paid for it, users are indeed absolutely entitled for those installers. Where are those installers available? - The PA ones users Paid For?

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)

[Felix Anzola]

3 minutes ago, ALC said:

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)

Hi ALC, thanks so much, you are the absolute best!

 

I was looking on the products page and couldn't find the installers - totally enraged! ?

 

BTW - I can confirm also that "falkTX/Carla: Audio plugin host" V2.5.5 works nicely, and paired with "JACK Audio Connection Kit" (using ASIO Jack Router) it is a beast. 

[fitzroy]

Does anyone have a working installer for the PA unlocked edition of Gig Performer 4? I had to do a complete system rebuild a few months ago and I just realized I can't install GP; PA no longer hosts the installer, and on Deskview's  own download section, their version (including 4.5.8, which I believe is the last one under the PA license) requires activation via email + serial.