Gig Performer

After having been a very long time Brainspawn Forte user (which is discontinued for some time now) I found Gig Performer as a great replacement which adds a lot off additional possibilities and improvements for my workflow.
It was very easy for me to learn the first steps because it has a great drag and draw feature for setting up VSTIs and Routings.
But being easy to operate doesn't mean it has less abilities. Through Scripting abilities you can tweak and Change nearly anything you like.

As a live performing keyboardist I use it as host for a lot of different VSTis so I have endless possibilities soundwise. One great feature in Gig Performer is, that I'm able to set up different sets (called rackspaces) of VSTIs, Plugins and Routings per song or per songpart and can switch instantly between them without any gap. So I can freely choose per song/songpart if I need something from Omnisphere, Nexus, Halion, Falcon, Sampletank or even multiple instances of these within one song, easily spread over different keyranges of my masterkayboards. I also use different Plugins on the Mic Input of my Audio-Interface to do some Vocoder and Harmonizing stuff which I can also program per Song/songpart.

Right now Gig Performer is the perfect Live-Host for me because it combines very quick and easy workflow with endless abilities.

I could go on writing some pages about all the cool features but I strongly recommend to anyone who is looking for a live Host to try out the Demoversion.
I also need to mention that it has a very friendly and experienced quick replying community behind which is also a great Thing.

PROs:
+ Easy and intuitive to learn
+ Windows and Mac available
+ Low CPU usage
+ Seamless Sound switching
+ Very powerful (scipting)
+ great Community

CONs:
- I didn't find anything yet.

A class of its own; this is the right main "tool" to play Live, managing all my controllers on one side and plugins to a higher degree, .

shaping my sound and allowing creative freedom.

Also excels on MIDI routing, taking advantage of OSC.

Im a "happy camper" with Gig Performer first in the studio around sound design, connections, .

then at rehearsals testing, improving and finally in a Live situation focused on performing, knowing that Gig Performer stable, reliable, ground based helps.

my music making like no other piece of software.

Simply check the free trial and experience for yourself;-).

I purchased Gig Performer in August last year. I am a guitar player and had been previously using Reaper exclusively as my plugin host. Why I started looking at Gig Performer was because I wanted something I could just open and start playing, and that would give me quick access to many different setups (I was also not recording much so it didn't make sense to be using a DAW).

I have used wiring/connection UI's previously, but that was on really outdated free hosts. It really couldn't be simpler in Gig Performer: add some overdrive plugins, your amp sim (S-Gear all the way), and some post FX plugins for reverb and delay, maybe the in-built audio player for a backing track - connect them up - and you're away. If you want to create a different setup, just create a new 'rackspace' (or duplicate your original as a starting point). The other great thing about wiring views is that it is extremely easy to set up parallel FX chains or other more complex setups.

It took me a while to get used to creating 'widgets' on the front/panel view, but for me the benefit of these is the other major drawcard for Gig Performer: 'variations'. These are like presets within a preset - so within your rackspace setup, the widgets you have linked to different plugin parameters can be saved/changed per-variation. So that allows you to have variations created, for example, for 'Clean', 'Crunch', and 'Lead' tones, where the variations will: bypass or activate your overdrive plugins, or switch on the delay, or reduce the reverb mix level, or increase the amp drive and sag of your amp sim etc. These variations can be accessed directly using program change messages from your MIDI controller, or you can move up/down using global MIDI control change messages.

The other really nice feature I've been using is the ability to use the variations to send MIDI messages out to external gear. I wanted to use my analog guitar pedals with my Gig Performer setup, so I bought a midi-controllable pedal switcher. So now my variations for 'Clean', 'Crunch' and 'Lead' can also activate/deactivate my analog pedals.

There's a great setlist/song feature, which allows you to set up setlists and songs that re-use your previously created rackspaces and variations. It also manages audio tail 'spillover' nicely so you don't cut off your reverb or delay when you change rackspaces.

I've also found that Gig Performer is extremely usable with other audio apps. I have been successfully using virtual audio ports to route multiple output channels from Gig Performer to Reaper for recording, or to a looper app. I have also used virtual MIDI ports to send MIDI message from these apps back to Gig Performer to automatically change rackspaces or variations at specific positions on your transport timeline. I've also dipped my toe in using the scripting language to have greater control over Gig Performer than what is available in the standard UI.

In all, it is now my daily-driver and I'm extremely happy with my setup. It can definitely cover all bases from simple to extremely complex workflows. A great app.

This will definitely sound like an ad, but I paid for the software, I get no compensation from Deskew, and I'll tout it if I want to!;-).

I began using GP a couple years ago on the recommendations of musician Trey Gunn and mastering engineer/electrical engineer Steve Turnidge (he designs circuit boards for Pigtronix, among other things) in Seattle. It was just what I was looking for - a reliable and flexible way of going completely in-the-box without sacrificing any of the quality of my sound (I am a guitarist). But now, with GP, my laptop, MidiGuitar 2, a SoftStep, some expression and switch pedals, a Guitar Wing, and a Sensel Morph (which I am using for the drum pads, also connected to GP), I can cook up any scenario I can think of and be ready as an improvisor to come up with new sounds as well. My regular guitar sounds (which can get pretty wild), guitar synth sounds - using any synth in my VI collection via MidiGuitar 2 - and drum sounds are all handled by GP and all I have to do is draw lines between them to create connections (no thinking about busses & aux tracks) and teach it some MIDI controls. (I've also experimented with using Lemur on an iPad for visual feedback so I can keep the laptop out of the way.).

And, the whole setup fits inside the bag that used to carry my VG-99, while weighing less in entirety than the FC-300 pedalboard I used to carry as well. The developers are very responsive, and there's a great online community who have helped me with questions both simple and obscure. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Tony Geballe.

(full disclosure - I was in the Trey Gunn Band, and Trey now plays in a band with one of the developers - but we didn't discover that connection until after I began using Gig Performer. It came up as an aside while the dev was helping solve a problem on a tech support call that came moments after I posted a question to their support site, and we started talking about musicians in Seattle.).

Having grown frustrated with Mainstage's sluggish performance, I purchased GigPerformer [v1.? at the time...now at 3.6.1] for Mac and was impressed by its responsiveness, as well as its user interface. GP's superior memory management allows me to load a large number of Rackspaces (each of which contains one or more plugins) and select (either separately or as part of a Song) via mouse, external MIDI controller, or iDevice (using OSC)...instant playability; no lag or hiccup. GP is easy to navigate, and its performance is rock solid. Although primarily for live performance, I enjoy using it in the studio: the Rackspaces/Songs I configure for recording can be reused on stage...no problem sounding like the record...same sounds and config.

King of live VST hosts - as a long time mainstage user who enjoyed it's flexibility but got increasingly frustrated with annoying bugs and obscurely missing features, when Gig Performer first turned up it was a breath of fresh air as a very powerful and flexible host. Now 3 versions on it is absolutely killer and forms the basis of my live guitar rig. I have absolutely no issues using this for a VST based live guitar rig and have never suffered any issues live. It's simple to set up when simplicity is needed but incredibly flexible and powerful if the user so wants. The absolute key thing is that it allows me to set up my rig how I want to, not how the software developer wants. That is very free-ing to be able to then make music without having to bend yourself to a way that you don't want to work. Some great extensibility with the GP Script functionality is the icing on the cake.

If you are looking for a live VST host - or even if you are currently a Mainstage, Cantabile, or other user currently - I would highly advise you to check out Gig Performed.

Gig Performer is a must when it comes to play live with software plugins, but it also makes it possible to control hardware instruments in a seamless way. Whether you are a professional keyboardist, guitarist, drummer, singer or simply an enthusiast musician, Gig Performer will provide you a professional grade solution to own the stage with ease. And if you are a power user, Gig Performer is the ultimate solution to push the limits even farther as it supports OSC and integrates its own compiled programming language to extend its possibilities infinitely. I tested it during two weeks before buying it, but I knew during the first minutes of use, that this software would definitely change my conception of my live keyboard rig.

For me GigPerformer is the perfect playground and the perfect tool when it comes to playing music - it's not a DAW or a sequencer, it's made for live performance... for playing. I am mainly a keyboard hobbyist and i can barely imagine a better solution of how to use any virtual instruments or effects in exactly that way that i think it shoud be. But i also started to play guitar a while ago and it's just amazing what can be done with virtual amps and effects within this software. Lots of fun for me.

How it works:
On "back side" of a virtual rack, Gig Performer lets you easily place and connect all the plugins with virtual cables (midi and audio), which is very intuitive and easy to do. On the front side of the rack, the panel, you can place all kind of virtual controller elements (widgets), like faders, knobs, buttons... just as many and as big or small you want them to get the best live-control over the plugins.
Those widgets can then be connected to any parameter of the used plugins on the software side, and of course they can also be connected to any MIDI-controller on the hardware side. This means, the hardware controls the widgets and they control the plugin parameters. That way you have only those parameters in sight and under control that you really need - not more, not less.

And if this is not enough, or you might have some ideas or demands that you can't achieve with the widgets and their functions, there is a very powerful scripting language "under the hood" which let's you do things that were natively not possible, and it's not so very difficult to understand.

So Gig Performer is not only very useful for keyboarders, but also for guitar or bass players and singers, it even can be the best friend of the FOH-guy, since there are almost no limits in what and how you can do with this great program together with all the cool virtual instruments and effects on the market. And most important: It runs rock solid and it runs fast.

Since Gigperformer is available for both platforms (Windows and IOS) it is open to a big crowd of musicians, and of course the internal file-format is cross-compatible (if the used plugins are available for both OS too), so users may easily exchange their data and virtual racks.

BTW is their support (and the forum) one of the best i've ever expirienced! Because the developers are not only programmers but also active musicians, they know exactly about the needs of their customers and they always have an open ear for problems, issues and new ideas.
There is a constant improvement of the software that regularly brings new features too.

If you ever thought of trying it... just do it. You have a 14 days trial period.

Imagine that you could create your own rack or pedalboard full of synths & FX,
Imagine that you could add, modify or remove any button, switch, fader in any position and direction,
Imagine that you could control any function or parameter with any MIDI device,
Imagine that you could have hundreds of racks or pedalboards in front of your eyes,
Imagine that you could switch from one to another by one single press,
Imagine that the first one could fade out while you play on the second one,
Imagine so many more things that could actually be done...
Stop dreaming and just do it: switch to Gig Performer.

Gig Performer is easy to learn, it's packed with great features, and low on CPU demand. We all need dependable rock-solid performance when using plugins and GP delivers. The community forum and customer service are the best in the business. If you haven't downloaded the free 14-day trial yet, don't wait any longer. Try it and you will be convinced.

In short words: The best Live VST/AU Host on earth.

I have tried others but the flexibility, reliability and CPU usage is impressive.

I never got such fast and good support in case of issues.

Most times an issue occurs it is not the fault of Gig Performer, but bad programmed plugins!