Software vs Hardware

[IvyBirds]

I would say that Toto is not an electronic act, and neither a small gigs operation, so.....

Not sure I get the point you are trying to make? Toto is a very synth forward rock/pop band.

In this example he is using an Arturia Keylab controller and a MacBook, both items can be purchased today from Amazon. It's exceptionally affordable and accessible for anyone to duplicate

When someone like me playing bar gigs in a cover band can easily afford to have the same rig as the band they are covering doing a big arena tour that is a massive plus

But the advantages such a rig offers when playing live is undeniable, it doesn't matter what the genre is or the size of the venue

[crimsonwarlock]

Not sure I get the point you are trying to make?

I reacted to people stating that bands were only using hardware synths live. I was not reacting to any of your posts, as not everything revolves around you

Toto is a very synth forward rock/pop band.

But it is not an electronic act by any measurte, so... Not sure I get the point you are trying to make?

In this example he is using an Arturia Keylab controller and a MacBook, both items can be purchased today from Amazon. It's exceptionally affordable and accessible for anyone to duplicate

Again, Not sure I get the point you are trying to make?

When someone like me...

You really should stop thinking this is all about you. But looking at your rather compulsive behavior of inserting yourself in almost every discussion here on the forum, I don't see that happening any time soon.

[IvyBirds]

Not sure I get the point you are trying to make?

I reacted to people stating that bands were only using hardware synths live. I was not reacting to any of your posts, as not everything revolves around you

Toto is a very synth forward rock/pop band.

But it is not an electronic act by any measurte, so... Not sure I get the point you are trying to make?

In this example he is using an Arturia Keylab controller and a MacBook, both items can be purchased today from Amazon. It's exceptionally affordable and accessible for anyone to duplicate

Again, Not sure I get the point you are trying to make?

When someone like me...

You really should stop thinking this is all about you. But looking at your rather compulsive behavior of inserting yourself in almost every discussion here on the forum, I don't see that happening any time soon.

Awesome but all I was doing was seeking clarification as I didn't and still don't understand your point

You were addressing my post and all I was doing was seeking clarification, I never said everything revolves me, but you post that referenced the video I posted most certainly does

[SoftSynthLover99]

Just saw this video on YouTube. It's Dennis Atlas the new lead keyboard player in Toto breaking down his rig for their current arena tour in Australia

It's all Mainstage, a MacBook, and two MIDI controllers including an Arturia Keylab 88

How anyone who claims to be a synth player can't see the advantages to this approach in a live setting is beyond me, especially as he is able to change patches and splits with a sustain pedal or even just by playing a note during a run

Lots of clips at the end also of him playing live with band in Sidney using that rig

Yep that’s awesome! He is not the lead keyboardist though, as you can see in the video in front of him one of the all time greats in Greg Phillanganes who is running all hardware in his setup, and has been touring with Toto for a long time as main keys player.

It’s no right or wrong way to play live that’s for sure. He does talk about CPU intensive patches and how he has to load them a bit earlier. If you’re the main keyboardist like Greg this is not ideal, but for doing the background keys leads horns and certain synth parts that is fine. Saw another video where he was talking about how Greg is usually playing the main keys parts and he brings the horns and extra parts etc usually. Very cool setup though!

If I was playing backup keys MainStage + MIDI (with hardware backup) may actually be a preferable setup. But if I was the main keys player (like Greg is for Toto) I would prefer hardware for the reliability.

All those patch switches and automation can be done on hardware as well. Not exclusive to software or MainStage

[SamDi]

Yeah, it‘s as if people have no problems anymore and they need to seek for creating one to put negative energy on.

Or maybe they can see the world for what it is and it frustrates them that the rest of you don't? That as long as your lives are OK, then it doesn't matter what else is going on in the world.

That said, I don't see aggression around here, just people with a bit of passion for what they do. I find that infinitely preferable.

So what is the world? For mankind it's mostly how mankind behaves. It's frustrating? Well, then one can try to fix it at least on his own side and try to be a nice guy and better human. Or one can stay on thinking, that most people are selfish and bad, while not anticipating that one probably would act pretty the same if he was in their exact situation.

Nothing against passion, but according to my understanding it would be better to use passion for making outstanding music - not leading any flame wars about in which form factor a synth is better.

I mean actually the discussion HW vs. SW would be not uninteresting - if it would be a real exchange and extending views. Unfortunately it are the same arguments on and on again. Nothing new.

Take the sound thing, which often is dropped. That's not HW vs. SW. It's actually analog vs. digital. It shows you how unprecise the discussion is and how easy people get triggered by words.

Or take the immediate access for sound tweaking on HW argument. Pretty true for (simple) analog subtractive synths. Also true for a Virus? Or for a DX7? Would it be true for a Serum or Phase Plant in HW? I think not.

You see: the discussion is pointless. Not because the topic itself, but because of people, not being able to think out of their own boxes. For me personally it would be interesting to read how people extend use-cases, e.g. how to use SW for jamming. Or how to combine HW and iPad apps to a lean jamming setup. Won't happen here...

[IvyBirds]

Just saw this video on YouTube. It's Dennis Atlas the new lead keyboard player in Toto breaking down his rig for their current arena tour in Australia

It's all Mainstage, a MacBook, and two MIDI controllers including an Arturia Keylab 88

How anyone who claims to be a synth player can't see the advantages to this approach in a live setting is beyond me, especially as he is able to change patches and splits with a sustain pedal or even just by playing a note during a run

Lots of clips at the end also of him playing live with band in Sidney using that rig

Yep that’s awesome! He is not the lead keyboardist though, as you can see in the video in front of him one of the all time greats in Greg Phillanganes who is running all hardware in his setup, and has been touring with Toto for a long time as main keys player.

It’s no right or wrong way to play live that’s for sure. He does talk about CPU intensive patches and how he has to load them a bit earlier. If you’re the main keyboardist like Greg this is not ideal, but for doing the background keys leads horns and certain synth parts that is fine. Saw another video where he was talking about how Greg is usually playing the main keys parts and he brings the horns and extra parts etc usually. Very cool setup though!

If I was playing backup keys MainStage + MIDI (with hardware backup) may actually be a preferable setup. But if I was the main keys player (like Greg is for Toto) I would prefer hardware for the reliability.

All those patch switches and automation can be done on hardware as well. Not exclusive to software or MainStage

But again the narrative vomited back by you was that it couldn't be done live, this video destroys that narrative doesn't it. He is experiencing NONE of the issues you claim are real and prevent people from doing so

The reality is, that it can be done live and is being done all the time live, even on massive worldwide arena tours where they can use virtually anything they wanted

Many actual working pros are doing exactly this in 2025 because it's EXTREMELY flexible and gives you quick access to a bunch of different timbres that can be switched back and forth extremely quickly something you acknowledge is happening here which you said previously no one was doing

I have seen Toto twice on this tour, (it's obvious you have not) and many times over many decades, Dennis Atlas is filling in for founding member David Paich who can't tour due to health reasons as he trades lead duties with Greg, he also gets the stage all to himself to do a synth solo as part of the set

Greg in this tour is playing bread and butter sounds on his Montage and MODX rig especially lots of piano and generic pads it's plain vanilla the two of them playing keys together is like Tommy Shaw and James "JY" Young playing guitar in Styx another band I have seen countless times where one plays lead and the other plays rhythm and the switch from song to song

In this video you can see Dennis Atlas playing the lead part for Africa their biggest hit and what is used as the Show Stopper during the synth solo part of the song with the spot lights clearly on him. That part starts about 3 minutes in. He plays it on his Arturia Keylab and it's all Mainstage



And again here at 1:49:15



Weird that the guy who plays the lead Synth Solo on their biggest hit during the show stopper, the song tens of thousands of people every night in the arena want to see is the guy you claim is not the lead Synth player

But then again it is also weird that on some of the biggest stages in the biggest venues the world over he is playing software synths with other musicians something that is supposedly impossible to do according to people in this thread

[jlgrimes11]

Just saw this video on YouTube. It's Dennis Atlas the new lead keyboard player in Toto breaking down his rig for their current arena tour in Australia

It's all Mainstage, a MacBook, and two MIDI controllers including an Arturia Keylab 88

How anyone who claims to be a synth player can't see the advantages to this approach in a live setting is beyond me, especially as he is able to change patches and splits with a sustain pedal or even just by playing a note during a run

Lots of clips at the end also of him playing live with band in Sidney using that rig

I use Gig Performer now live.

Many of the benefits go beyond sound.

Also Analog pitch drift is a real thing even on modern Analog synths. People often rely on keys players for pitch reference which is not always a good idea on Analog.


Then there are dedicated digital boards like the Modx or Montage which doesn't sound that much different than software. The main benefits for hardware is on the fly changing of sounds and tweakability but this often depends on what you buy. Not all boards are that geared for Live playing and depending on genres and personal taste i think many might now prefer sound of modern software especially when knowing how to control it.

[BONES]

So what is the world?

Humanity is nothing more than a plague on this world, destroying everything in it's endless evolutionary quest to procreate. We are yet to evolve beyond our basest instincts, yet we pretend otherwise. It's pathetic.

Well, then one can try to fix it at least on his own side and try to be a nice guy and better human.

If you want to fix it, stop people from breeding. Take action to reduce the global population to a level the planet can live with. The idea that we can fix anything with out big brains and amazing technology is the wrong approach. We need to grow up as a species and evolve beyond our breeding instinct. Humanity doesn't need 7 billion people to survive, we need to drastically reduce the global population and make more room for the rest of the biosphere.

Or one can stay on thinking, that most people are selfish and bad, while not anticipating that one probably would act pretty the same if he was in their exact situation.

I am in the same situation as anyone else in the Developed World and I don't act like they do.

You see: the discussion is pointless. Not because the topic itself, but because of people

Of course it is and that's exactly the reason. People are, by and large, completely unaware of their biases and totally unwilling to accept that fact. As I always say in these discussions, if you prefer hardware, that's perfectly reasonable but don't try and justify a personal preference by making stuff up to make yourself feel like your preference makes objective sense.

BTW, I hate "Africa"! It gives me the same feeling as someone running their fingernails down a blackboard. Urrgh!

[SoftSynthLover99]

Just saw this video on YouTube. It's Dennis Atlas the new lead keyboard player in Toto breaking down his rig for their current arena tour in Australia

It's all Mainstage, a MacBook, and two MIDI controllers including an Arturia Keylab 88

How anyone who claims to be a synth player can't see the advantages to this approach in a live setting is beyond me, especially as he is able to change patches and splits with a sustain pedal or even just by playing a note during a run

Lots of clips at the end also of him playing live with band in Sidney using that rig

Yep that’s awesome! He is not the lead keyboardist though, as you can see in the video in front of him one of the all time greats in Greg Phillanganes who is running all hardware in his setup, and has been touring with Toto for a long time as main keys player.

It’s no right or wrong way to play live that’s for sure. He does talk about CPU intensive patches and how he has to load them a bit earlier. If you’re the main keyboardist like Greg this is not ideal, but for doing the background keys leads horns and certain synth parts that is fine. Saw another video where he was talking about how Greg is usually playing the main keys parts and he brings the horns and extra parts etc usually. Very cool setup though!

If I was playing backup keys MainStage + MIDI (with hardware backup) may actually be a preferable setup. But if I was the main keys player (like Greg is for Toto) I would prefer hardware for the reliability.

All those patch switches and automation can be done on hardware as well. Not exclusive to software or MainStage

But again the narrative vomited back by you was that it couldn't be done live, this video destroys that narrative doesn't it. He is experiencing NONE of the issues you claim are real and prevent people from doing so

I NEVER said it couldn't be done live so not sure where you got that from. It's just not the normal setup for most keyboardist in a live situation. Heck most straight up keys players don't have techs who can properly setup a rig like that so the vast majority are not using this kind of rig. Maybe 1 out of every 10-15 keyboard players will use a setup like that. And that's being generous if I go by the tours/concerts I've seen over the years!

I just don't like the quirks that come with that kind of setup after I personally used one live (latency, CPU spikes, note dropouts/hanging etc). I didn't like the feeling of having to look over at my laptop to make sure things are running smoothly or make sure the charger is plugged in or make sure someone doesn't trip over my audio interface and knock everything offline etc etc. I can see that setup being less problematic with a dedicated tech, but even then I'm not sure I would opt for that kind of complexity.

Also prefer the way hardware handles "note stealing" and polyphony. Especially for heavier jazzier chords that require higher polyphony counts

But if I'm just doing synth solos and playing specific synth parts then sure MainStage + MacBook Pro + Midi keys could possibly be a great setup. But being the main keyboard player and having to carry the chords of a song? I'd rather have hardware for that. And sometimes the pianos or hardware like Montage M or Nord keyboards for example cut through the bands mix better than plugins in a live setting.

[Tj Shredder]

I don‘t get this discussion. If we would just share our solutions without telling my solution is the best because most of …. do it that way is stupid.
Hardware or software or whatever is a perfect solution for who ever prefers it.
If you do it differently, I might learn something and get inspired to streamline my set or keep it as it is…
Beyond right or wrong is the place where we can meet!

[IvyBirds]

I NEVER said it couldn't be done live so not sure where you got that from. It's just not the normal setup for most keyboardist in a live situation. Heck most straight up keys players don't have techs who can properly setup a rig like that so the vast majority are not using this kind of rig. Maybe 1 out of every 10-15 keyboard players will use a setup like that. And that's being generous if I go by the tours/concerts I've seen over the years!

You don't need a tech to use Mainstage or Gig Performer, it's actually quite simple and lets the computer do the work for you

just don't like the quirks that come with that kind of setup after I personally used one live (latency, CPU spikes, note dropouts/hanging etc).

That's simply not an issue however if it were it would nott be used on the largest stages all around the world

I didn't like the feeling of having to look over at my laptop to make sure things are running smoothly

Then don't, I most certainly don't while performing that the beauty of it. You can just use a pedal, or any button it knob or even a key on your keyboard to advance to the next song or part of the song. It's actually easier than switching presets on a synth

or make sure the charger is plugged in or make sure someone doesn't trip over my audio interface and knock everything offline etc etc.

Yet somehow you can make sure your synth is plugged in and no one trips over the power cord or audio cables or MIDI rig. My laptop is always plugged in and my interface is bus powered. If the laptop gets unplugged it will switch over to battery and keep on trucking. Honestly I have everything locked down in a small case it's not going anywhere

I can see that setup being less problematic with a dedicated tech, but even then I'm not sure I would opt for that kind of complexity.

It can be as complex or as simple as you want, you don't need a tech. Large tours always have had keyboard techs even when they were 100% hardware

Also prefer the way hardware handles "note stealing" and polyphony. Especially for heavier jazzier chords that require higher polyphony counts :phones

Well the good news is with Mainstage and Gig Performer you can determine polyphony limits and allocation and how they are handled, and of course many hardware synths have high polyphony counts and you never run into note stealing, yet with Mainstage and Gig Performer you can set any hardware or software synth to have such limits if you want. It's actually easier and more flexible than the polyphony allocation in Montage and of course you can switch this on the fly as you are playing in the middle of a song with zero issues something you can't do in many hardware synths even those that have polyphony allocations

But if I'm just doing synth solos and playing specific synth parts then sure MainStage + MacBook Pro + Midi keys could possibly be a great setup. But being the main keyboard player and having to carry the chords of a song

Why do you think you can't play chords with software instruments? You can and it's simple. In the prog/classic rock band I play in there are many songs where I play chords for part then switch out to a lead part followed again by chords. Keep in mind I can make these changes simply as I am playing without lifting my hands off the keyboard. Or I have others where I play chords then continue to do so with my left hand while playing something else with my right and then go back to chords with both hands, again everything is seamless and happens without me lifting my hands off the keyboard

I'd rather have hardware for that. And sometimes the pianos or hardware like Montage M or Nord keyboards for example cut through the bands mix better than plugins in a live setting.

That is the FOH's responsibility but I most certainly don't have any issues with my plugins cutting through the mix any differently than with my Montage M

[SoftSynthLover99]

I NEVER said it couldn't be done live so not sure where you got that from. It's just not the normal setup for most keyboardist in a live situation. Heck most straight up keys players don't have techs who can properly setup a rig like that so the vast majority are not using this kind of rig. Maybe 1 out of every 10-15 keyboard players will use a setup like that. And that's being generous if I go by the tours/concerts I've seen over the years!

You don't need a tech to use Mainstage or Gig Performer, it's actually quite simple and lets the computer do the work for you

just don't like the quirks that come with that kind of setup after I personally used one live (latency, CPU spikes, note dropouts/hanging etc).

That's simply not an issue however if it were it would nott be used on the largest stages all around the world

I didn't like the feeling of having to look over at my laptop to make sure things are running smoothly

Then don't, I most certainly don't while performing that the beauty of it. You can just use a pedal, or any button it knob or even a key on your keyboard to advance to the next song or part of the song. It's actually easier than switching presets on a synth

or make sure the charger is plugged in or make sure someone doesn't trip over my audio interface and knock everything offline etc etc.

Yet somehow you can make sure your synth is plugged in and no one trips over the power cord or audio cables or MIDI rig. My laptop is always plugged in and my interface is bus powered. If the laptop gets unplugged it will switch over to battery and keep on trucking. Honestly I have everything locked down in a small case it's not going anywhere

I can see that setup being less problematic with a dedicated tech, but even then I'm not sure I would opt for that kind of complexity.

It can be as complex or as simple as you want, you don't need a tech. Large tours always have had keyboard techs even when they were 100% hardware

Also prefer the way hardware handles "note stealing" and polyphony. Especially for heavier jazzier chords that require higher polyphony counts :phones

Well the good news is with Mainstage and Gig Performer you can determine polyphony limits and allocation and how they are handled, and of course many hardware synths have high polyphony counts and you never run into note stealing, yet with Mainstage and Gig Performer you can set any hardware or software synth to have such limits if you want. It's actually easier and more flexible than the polyphony allocation in Montage and of course you can switch this on the fly as you are playing in the middle of a song with zero issues something you can't do in many hardware synths even those that have polyphony allocations

But if I'm just doing synth solos and playing specific synth parts then sure MainStage + MacBook Pro + Midi keys could possibly be a great setup. But being the main keyboard player and having to carry the chords of a song

Why do you think you can't play chords with software instruments? You can and it's simple. In the prog/classic rock band I play in there are many songs where I play chords for part then switch out to a lead part followed again by chords. Keep in mind I can make these changes simply as I am playing without lifting my hands off the keyboard. Or I have others where I play chords then continue to do so with my left hand while playing something else with my right and then go back to chords with both hands, again everything is seamless and happens without me lifting my hands off the keyboard

I'd rather have hardware for that. And sometimes the pianos or hardware like Montage M or Nord keyboards for example cut through the bands mix better than plugins in a live setting.

That is the FOH's responsibility but I most certainly don't have any issues with my plugins cutting through the mix any differently than with my Montage M

Appreciate the response and details of how you use a live setup. Curious if you are using 3rd party Synths/Libraries or stock sounds? Cause maybe that is where we differ in how we experience CPU spikes, latency etc? my setup was MacBook Pro + Apollo Twin + Roland Fantom at the time I used MainStage live.

One of my favorite pianos in UVI key suite always got a bit wonky when playing chords causing CPU spikes, clicks and pops etc. And several NI pianos like Noire that actually sound good are also CPU heavy. And while playable during a song, in my mind it’s just nerve racking not knowing if something you play will have too high a polyphony count jump and cause Kontakt or UVI workstation to go haywire.

I will say Keyscape performed well for me though, although I did not like the way it sounded live. In the studio yes keyscape is awesome, but in a live setting it sounded too muddy for my taste.

I think it comes down to the player and what kind of compromises you are willing to make for your setup. And which setup are you “at your best” when playing live. That’s what really matters in the end for me as a player!

[mjolnir]

snip

...
Personally, I don't have time to make music, I just like to play soft synths occasionally for fun. So it's PC for me. But I do wonder, if I'd want to take music more seriously, would I be frustrated with PCs....

snip

okay, that's from the OP (origin of this thread).

That's rather different from any of us who really really are in it to make music.
I'm not slamming the OP, but I don't think the thread would even exist if s/he was in it to make music.
But that's just a hunch of mine.

To me, it's good to combine both and get a synergistic effect.

[IvyBirds]

I NEVER said it couldn't be done live so not sure where you got that from. It's just not the normal setup for most keyboardist in a live situation. Heck most straight up keys players don't have techs who can properly setup a rig like that so the vast majority are not using this kind of rig. Maybe 1 out of every 10-15 keyboard players will use a setup like that. And that's being generous if I go by the tours/concerts I've seen over the years!

You don't need a tech to use Mainstage or Gig Performer, it's actually quite simple and lets the computer do the work for you

just don't like the quirks that come with that kind of setup after I personally used one live (latency, CPU spikes, note dropouts/hanging etc).

That's simply not an issue however if it were it would nott be used on the largest stages all around the world

I didn't like the feeling of having to look over at my laptop to make sure things are running smoothly

Then don't, I most certainly don't while performing that the beauty of it. You can just use a pedal, or any button it knob or even a key on your keyboard to advance to the next song or part of the song. It's actually easier than switching presets on a synth

or make sure the charger is plugged in or make sure someone doesn't trip over my audio interface and knock everything offline etc etc.

Yet somehow you can make sure your synth is plugged in and no one trips over the power cord or audio cables or MIDI rig. My laptop is always plugged in and my interface is bus powered. If the laptop gets unplugged it will switch over to battery and keep on trucking. Honestly I have everything locked down in a small case it's not going anywhere

I can see that setup being less problematic with a dedicated tech, but even then I'm not sure I would opt for that kind of complexity.

It can be as complex or as simple as you want, you don't need a tech. Large tours always have had keyboard techs even when they were 100% hardware

Also prefer the way hardware handles "note stealing" and polyphony. Especially for heavier jazzier chords that require higher polyphony counts :phones

Well the good news is with Mainstage and Gig Performer you can determine polyphony limits and allocation and how they are handled, and of course many hardware synths have high polyphony counts and you never run into note stealing, yet with Mainstage and Gig Performer you can set any hardware or software synth to have such limits if you want. It's actually easier and more flexible than the polyphony allocation in Montage and of course you can switch this on the fly as you are playing in the middle of a song with zero issues something you can't do in many hardware synths even those that have polyphony allocations

But if I'm just doing synth solos and playing specific synth parts then sure MainStage + MacBook Pro + Midi keys could possibly be a great setup. But being the main keyboard player and having to carry the chords of a song

Why do you think you can't play chords with software instruments? You can and it's simple. In the prog/classic rock band I play in there are many songs where I play chords for part then switch out to a lead part followed again by chords. Keep in mind I can make these changes simply as I am playing without lifting my hands off the keyboard. Or I have others where I play chords then continue to do so with my left hand while playing something else with my right and then go back to chords with both hands, again everything is seamless and happens without me lifting my hands off the keyboard

I'd rather have hardware for that. And sometimes the pianos or hardware like Montage M or Nord keyboards for example cut through the bands mix better than plugins in a live setting.

That is the FOH's responsibility but I most certainly don't have any issues with my plugins cutting through the mix any differently than with my Montage M

Appreciate the response and details of how you use a live setup. Curious if you are using 3rd party Synths/Libraries or stock sounds? Cause maybe that is where we differ in how we experience CPU spikes, latency etc? my setup was MacBook Pro + Apollo Twin + Roland Fantom at the time I used MainStage live.

I am using a pretty beefy windows laptop with an i7 and 64gb of RAM to run Gig Performer. I play in 3 different bands and do a ton of solo piano gigs

For Piano sounds I almost always run Pianoteq live. I have a pretty large sample library and every flagship software synth/sampler on my studio PCs. Gig Performer has a really good Autosampler built in that makes presets for "Decent Sampler". I use that a ton and playback using Decent Sampler live. It uses far less CPU and I don't need the overhead of the full synth engine for a lot of things

I also run Diva, and The Legend HZ for my analog poly and mono needa

[Jim Roseberry]

Recently watched the Dennis Atlas video... thinking about using Gig Perfomer for live.
We've got about 60 shows booked for 2025.

I've taken out both software based rigs (using Forte, Cantabile, or Ableton Live)... and hardware based rigs.
There are advantages/disadvantages to both.
I've never had performance or stability issues with my software based rigs.

My career has been building custom PC DAWs professionally the past 30+ years.
My computer performance expectations go far beyond any laptop... so that means a mini-ITX build.
If I'm taking out a software based rig, I'm not going to deal with latency that's higher than my hardware keyboards.

When I started playing with this band (about 6 years ago), I was fronting the band 100% of the songs.
We needed to cover some keyboard sounds... but I didn't want to be tethered to a keyboard.
At first, I was triggering notes/phrases (samples) with small Keith McMillen MIDI controllers (using my hands or feet).
I was using a software rig with Ableton Live... and that worked just fine.
A couple years later, the band wanted to expand into songs that required more playing vs triggering (Journey, Night Ranger, Kansas, Styx, Foreigner, etc). I had to become more of a traditional keyboard player... and that meant being tethered to a keyboard. The bass player and I were now splitting fronting the band.

In this more traditional keyboard playing role, I started bringing out my Montage 7.
Cartage wasn't too bad... and it was quick/easy to setup.
Montage 7 served me well for a couple years... but I started to get a bit unsatisfied with its Pianos, Organs, and more analog type synth sounds.
We (ironically) went to see Toto here in Columbus... and both keyboard players at that time were using Nord rigs.
A Nord Stage 88 on the bottom... and either a Nord Stage Compact or Wave2 for top-tier.
Both players sounded fantastic.

Most of my keyboard playing years, I've owned hardware "workstation" keyboards (due to their versatility).
I had always completely ignored Nord keyboards... as I never ever thought I'd like a "Stage Piano".
So many touring players were (are) using Nords, I knew there had to be something to it.
The local GC had a Stage 3 (prior to Stage 4 being released)... so I went there and got it.
Much to my surprize, I was able to program our entire four hour show in two days (including custom samples).
Programming the Stage 3 was actually... fun (not pure drudgery).
The Pianos, E Pianos, Organs, and analog synth type sounds were ALL a significant improvement over my Montage 7.
I was hooked... but also a little put-off by some odd quirks/limitations (vs a workstation type keyboard).

Nord instruments are distilled to what's absolutely necessary (vs what you might prefer).
-Split-Points are preset locations (not user definable). Yes, that's still a head-scratcher.
-For user-samples, there's no velocity-switching for samples. You've got a single velocity.
-Pitchbend up/down ranges are presets (not user-defined).
Though I was loving using the Stage 3, I was struggling with these hard-imposed limitations.
Several NYE gigs ago, I had to cover the violin part for Friend In Low Places.
I was thinking the Nord would sound terrible for this (vs the Montage 7).
To my amazement, the single velocity solo violin on the Stage 3 blew away the solo violin sound in the Montage 7.
At that point, I stopped worrying about the Nord's limitations... and started to 100% dive-in.

About 6 months after I started using the Stage 3, Nord announced the Stage 4.
Based on my extremely positive experience with the Stage 3, I immediately pre-ordered the Stage 4.
Stage 4 didn't come with the same library as the Stage 3.
What I thought would be a super easy transition... ended up being a couple months.
Sampled my Stage 3... and used Sample Robot to create other much needed samples (Strings, Brass, Choirs, etc).
While the Stage 4 is a great instrument, the included sample library isn't as wide/diverse as something like Montage/M.
The beauty of it is that you make it your instrument... with the exact sounds you want/need.
The downside... you have to do the dirty work to get it done.
The Nord Sample Editor and Sample Robot made this process relatively painless (tolerable).

At this point, I have my Nord Stage 4 sounding (to my ears) exceptionally good.
Playing tunes like Carry On Wayward Son (split second to change sounds), I decided to add a second tier keyboard.
Struggled for months trying to decide what to use... thinking I wanted something different (from the Stage 4).
After grabbing Montage M8x, Montage 7, Fantom 7, and Nautilus... I realized I didn't need something different.
I needed something practical.
Added the Stage 4 Compact (it is super compact and light-weight)... and delivers more of what was already working well.

For what it is, my current two-tier Nord keyboard rig is relatively light/compact.
Out of all the keyboards I've owned (even with the quirks/limitations), the Stage 4 is hands down my favorite.
My long-winded point; the bar for my live rig is pretty high.
If I go the software route (again), that new rig will have to eclipse my current setup.

I've got an extensive collection of virtual-instruments.
I'm trialing Gig Performer... and like a lot of things about it.
One obvious thing, programming/tweaking virtual-instruments is a PITA vs doing the same with the Nords (which have a very immediate knob/button/slider per function UI). Even using MIDI control surfaces... it's still nowhere near as immediate.
Advanced sample libraries is where the software rig has a massive advantage.
Comparing analog type synth virtual-instruments, I almost always prefer the Nord's VA synth engine.
Getting virtual-instruments into Gig Performer... with widgets that would facilitate more immediate tweaking... is going to take substantial time/effort.
For myself, what I don't want is to create a lot of additional work... for what ends up being a lateral move.