Host for live VST usage

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Hi there

I'm looking for a host that would allow me to use VST's (no VSTi's) i live situations. Something that would allow me to get audio in (through ASIO), process it in a chain of VST's and send it to PA/mix (through ASIO soundcard once again).

I CAN do this with Cubase - but that is very cumbersome and not well suited for live usage. Something light (and rock stable) that can save/load settings for the plugins and just stream audio through them would be preferred. Any suggestions?

/mortjo

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energyXT ?

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I second the energyXT (40 EURO) suggestion. If you only need to route VST effects, this might be good enough for you.

Also have a look at the demo of Brainspawn Forte ($ 149)(works only in Win2000/WinXP). Forte is written specifically for live usage and includes a Scene Manager.
Last edited by asseca on Wed Oct 13, 2004 8:43 am, edited 3 times in total.

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If I'm not mistaken, someone in this forum actually uses Ableton's Live to mix his band while performing live.

I don't use the host myself, but I imagine it would accept VST plug-ins and was made for live performance anyway so probably a good call.

On the other hand....

The great thing about EnergyXT is that it is a very light host and there can be alot of advantages. Because it's modular you can create complete project environments for processing audio have them all saved to disk and be able to load them up with program control changes. If this is primarily what you want to do, EnergyXT is a VERY cheap alternative to something like Ableton Live.

I don't actually know much about its stability in live situations because I don't perform live, but there are a few EnergyXT users who do actually use it live. Perhaps if you post some questions in the company forum you can get the answers you need to help make a decision.

Caleb
Happiness is the hidden behind the obvious.

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also Console is good for this kind of thing (supports DX/i as well).

Depends how in depth you need the host to be...

DSP
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duncanparsons wrote:also Console is good for this kind of thing (supports DX/i as well).

Depends how in depth you need the host to be...

DSP
This is from the Conxole page:
"CONSOLE can also be used to increase the number of plugins that you can use in applications that have a limited a number of plugin slots(eg Cubans). allowing you to use all the plugins at your disposal. The only limitation is your CPU."

Do Cubans really have a limited number of slots? :D

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Nice free/donationware solution:
1) TobyBear's MiniHost running
2) CTAF's Multifxvst

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Tracktion, the routing can be as complex as you like and considering that it's only $80, you get recording and VSTi hosting and sequencing as a bonus!

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Thanks a lot for the suggestions. I'll have a look at the cheaper ones :)

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FORTE seems to be a good solution too.

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Since I have Ableton, Console and Ext, here's my point of view.

If you ONLY want to play VSTi's live with routing adding effects,... Live is definitifly overkill. If you want to play defined loops, backing tracks,... then Live is the ideal solution.

Console and Ext offers for live playing the same, and for about the same price. I noticed a big difference between Ext and Console wich is important. With the same configuration, Ext has lower latency. I don't know why this is, suppose it is just better. But it is a fact ! This is the reason I switched from console to Ext.

Hope this helps

Rony

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