Best Program For Live Performing?, Need access on the fly... Options

[LiseD]

I'm interested in using my PowerBook G4 667 as a basis for a virtual synth (VST or other format) system that will allow me to have the same sounds/setup available regardless of which MIDI keyboard I'm using. I play at three locations regularly (plus my home rig), and would rather tote my TiBook and a few cables than lug a rig (which doesn't fit in my car) to three locations that already have an adequate keyboard just so I could have my setups done in advance and have access to the sounds/splits/layers I like.

So far, I haven't abeen able to figure what software would work best for me. I would need to have access to a dozen or so sounds (set up in advance based on what we'd be playing), with the ability to change sounds, do splits and layers, and adjust levels on the fly with a minimum of fuss (maybe some kind of smart key setup). Somebody on another board recommended V-Stack, which I've tried, and seems pretty close, but I'm concerned it might not offer enough flexibility to switch or adjust quickly while I'm playing. The other recommendation was Kontakt, but I couldn't really test drive it because they didn't have an OS X demo.

Most of what I've seen seems directed toward recording, loop-based stuff or pre-fab tracks, but that's not at all what I do right now. I need to just play and improvise live. That other stuff is a bonus if the package already includes it, but not as its sole purpose. I'm running Panther with 1 GB of RAM.

Thanks in advance for helping a 'puter audio noob...

[krisg]

You might want to try REASON. I did a concert with 4 midi controllers hooked up to it, sequences running at the same time, drummer, bass, guitar and vocals all went smoothly and without a single problem. You can wire out every synth/sampler to a separate output on your soundcard or mix them down. Very flexible.

[surrealka]

Yeah, just want to second that. Reason is highly diverse, sounds great, gives you a lot of options for sounds, and most importantly, is one of the most efficient and stable programs out there (has anyone ever had Reason crash on them?). Good Luck.

[td3k]

You might also want to add, Ableton Live. It is geared toward live performance, has VST, and a killer looping engine, (in my opinion, superior to REX files.) audio track recording, time warping on the fly, ReWire, all sorts of coolities. It makes a very nice compliment to Reason, (I usually ReWire slave Reason into Ableton and bring my Reason patterns into Ableton). It runs quite nicely on my 933Mhz iBook.

http://www.ableton.com

Hope that helps,

TD

This post has been edited by td3k: Sun 11 Apr 2004, 03:22