Questions on VEP Setup

[mrj1nx]

Hey there,

I have some questions regarding the workflow and Pro's/Con's of a Vienna Ensemble Pro setup. I am someone who's been using mac laptops for ~10 years and don't really want to switch to a windows system, but the pricing of macs if you want real horsepower is very expensive. So I'm looking for alternative paths to get the horsepower without paying a small fortune for it. I'm using Logic Pro X as my DAW, also have Reason but stopped using it a couple of years ago, not looking to go back. I've been thinking about buying a used server machine to have as a slave, I might also be able to use one or several OSX laptops as slaves if it would help.

I've been thinking of switching to a DAW that's cross platform to be able to use it on both a powerful windows PC and a mac laptop. In that case it feels like the choice is between Ableton, Cubase or Studio One.

So here are my initial questions:
1. Is VEP a viable option if you're not working with big templates of orchestral sample libs? As in, tweaking soft synths on the fly, making a lot of tweaks to the sounds etc. Is there a way to have the softsynth open on the main computer and then just moving it over to the slave computer painlessly? Or do I have to use a screencast app to be able to make changes to a patch?

2. On OSX, is it possible to run VEP from an external drive without installing anything on the Mac, including both plugins and the VEP server program?

[jancivil]

Hey there,

I have some questions regarding the workflow and Pro's/Con's of a Vienna Ensemble Pro

So here are my initial questions:
1. Is VEP a viable option if you're not working with big templates of orchestral sample libs? As in, tweaking soft synths on the fly, making a lot of tweaks to the sounds etc. Is there a way to have the softsynth open on the main computer and then just moving it over to the slave computer painlessly? Or do I have to use a screencast app to be able to make changes to a patch?

2. On OSX, is it possible to run VEP from an external drive without installing anything on the Mac, including both plugins and the VEP server program?

No to all questions.
I wasn't paying close enough attention apparently. Yes to it being viable besides the usage of large orch libs as I go into below. I meant no, you don't need to be doing that to find it useful.*

It opens as an application, which means you install it where there is an OS.

So, you open it and either launch your template you saved in it (and preserve it, probably in order to run decoupled from the DAW) or just open the DAW project coupled with it where it will cause the coupled VEP project to launch.

*: I am not doing big orchestral, but smaller generally albeit not exclusively. It is where I mix; the automation handling, all plugins hosted in it in one list means simpler handling.

Working directly with a synth GUI IE: recording automation done via mouse isn't it; "changes on the fly", no.

[jancivil]

I run very few plugins in Cubase.
Typically in order to interact with the plugin's UI.

Connecting your midi controller to it directly IE., bypassing the DAW isn't impossible per se but it isn't officially supported.

[ZapAxe]

I'd suggest you download a demo of VEP and try it out.

As a Cubase user, I just use the built in app called VST System Link (VSL). To use VSL, you need a Steinberg product & an audio interface with digital I/O audio connections on each computer, as digital audio is the medium of networking (as opposed the Ethernet like VEP).
Since each computer has some version of Cubase installed, they're each a full DAW. I can do anything I want & spread my loads in any combination among multiple computers.

[jancivil]

NB: that means two Cubase licenses.
The differences between Cubase and Vienna Ensemble Pro include being able to assign 'threads per instance' which really means assigning cores. It's definitely more efficient than VST System Link. So you're suggesting rather dated tech as though in favor of this solution, which is not relevant to the question.