Using Laptop and Plugins for live effects

[SumOne]

42 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said:

Looks like a cool setup!

 

I can't help but notice you've had a few different setups from multifx to dedicated pedals. What's the driver for moving to this setup? Is it just experimentation, or is it a specific problem to solve?

 

I've been blown away by some of the vst effects, amp sims, and captures available. My mate was using his Steam Deck as a little portable practice rig with a tonex one. it's a great time to be nerdy and into effects 🤣

 

Mostly I just like geeking about with different sounds and setups (I spent years making electronic music before I ever picked up a Bass).

 

I am less fickle with things like basses and keyboards though, so it's not only that I like shiny new stuff! I always tend to nit-pick and think multi fx can be improved.

 

The reason for this current setup is that I needed a decent Laptop and interface for DJ stuff, and started recording Bass at home through it - then realised that the latency is low enough that it is fine for home practice...and if good enough for home practice, perhaps it'll work live.

 

It potentially fixes that nit-picking I have with multi fx. Don't like the filter in the Helix/Boss/Zoom etc? Tough! You're stuck with it! (or start adding other pedals), but with a Laptop you can buy a MF-101 Plugin from Moog for about £20. Likewise for me with B15 Amp, Space Echo, etc. Plugins and almost limitless routing and combination options, and MIDI controllers just open a whole new world of nerding!

 

 

[MrDinsdale]

8 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

Mostly I just like geeking about with different sounds and setups (I spent years making electronic music before I ever picked up a Bass).

 

I am less fickle with things like basses and keyboards though, so it's not only that I like shiny new stuff! I always tend to nit-pick and think multi fx can be improved.

 

The reason for this current setup is that I needed a decent Laptop and interface for DJ stuff, and started recording Bass at home through it - then realised that the latency is low enough that it is fine for home practice...and if good enough for home practice, perhaps it'll work live.

 

It potentially fixes that nit-picking I have with multi fx. Don't like the filter in the Helix/Boss/Zoom etc? Tough! You're stuck with it! (or start adding other pedals), but with a Laptop you can buy a MF-101 Plugin from Moog for about £20. Likewise for me with B15 Amp, Space Echo, etc. Plugins and almost limitless routing and combination options, and MIDI controllers just open a whole new world of nerding!

 

 

Yeah, it's pretty awesome how much stuff is available and for a great price. It's made for interesting reading, too. 

 

I need to experiment more with vsts. I'm pretty happy with stuff I'm doing on the QC, but stuff like the space echo would be fun. 

 

Will be following!

[SumOne]

5 hours ago, MrDinsdale said:

Yeah, it's pretty awesome how much stuff is available and for a great price. It's made for interesting reading, too. 

 

I need to experiment more with vsts. I'm pretty happy with stuff I'm doing on the QC, but stuff like the space echo would be fun. 

 

Will be following!

 

I'd say particularly for home stuff it is a good option if you already have an audio interface. 

 

I've spent a lot of time with Bass hooked up to the Laptop for Multi-FX editing, Source Audio Pedals, Future Impact etc. And it seems like for many of those things you can just cut out the middle man of using a pedal, the Laptop has plenty of processing power to do anything pedals can do, and lot of the free VSTs are just as good (or better) than pedals. 

 

Admittedly, using it live is a different proposition - and  I might regret it! 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2024 by SumOne

[SumOne]

On 30/11/2024 at 09:37, barrettisgold said:

There is some great advice and shared experience/insights in this topic.

 

The Luminite Graviton M2 controller looks like a good solution to controlling plugins or other midi pedals. The touch screen should make it easier to tweak parameters over using the mouse or trackpad. I’ve not tried one but am considering getting one. I’ve read good feedback from owners on the fretboard forum.

 

https://luminitefx.com/en-gb/products/graviton-m2-midi-controller

 

Thanks, that looks good. Especially "Effortless MIDI programming on the large 3.5 inches touchscreen LCD" when compared to the Paint Audio Midi Captain Laptop editing: 

 

 

 

 

You can do stuff on the controller too, but for the more in-depth stuff needs this editing via Laptop. It feels like a programmer from 1990 would be quite at home with it!

 

 

Edited December 6, 2024 by SumOne

[SumOne]

Got myself a Luminite Graviton M2:

 

 

Seems a decent bit of kit. Lots of nerdy potential!

 

The best thing with all this stuff is also the biggest drawback - it can be very complex.

Edited December 21, 2024 by SumOne

[barrettisgold]

9 hours ago, SumOne said:

Got myself a Luminite Graviton M2:

 

 

Seems a decent bit of kit. Lots of nerdy potential!

 

The best thing with all this stuff is also the biggest drawback - it can be very complex.

Nice! Keep us posted on how you get on with it.

[SumOne]

After a while mucking about with this setup: Luminite Graviton M2 MIDI controller > UA Volt 2> Gig Performer 5 (Laptop is an Asus F15 i7).

 

The Luminite is great, but the world of MIDI talking to software like Gig Performer can be complex. It takes a lot of learning and figuring stuff out for yourself (not many (any?!) people with this specific setup to get help from).

 

UA Volt is very good and comes with a lot of decent free plugins.

 

Gig Performer 5 is good, a bit expensive for what it is but this is still quite a niche so not a whole lot of other options. It has crashed on me when changing the buffer settings and changing MIDI inputs, but hopefully other than that it remains reliable.

 

I'd say, a decent well maintained Windows laptop is just as reliable as an Apple Laptop (and I've owned two Macbooks and an iMac), it just needs a bit more setup. This one handles everything fine. For live use you just need to dig a bit into things like audio drivers, performance, turn off auto updates, don't download dodgy stuff, turn on flight mode etc.

 

The main drawback that I think could be a sign of things to come: In live use I want the laptop lid closed and laptop out of the way, but I need a visable/stompable tuner.

 

Edit: Another practical drawback is the Luminite needs power and laptop connection, which is completely reasonable (and could actually work via powerbank and Bluetooth), but USB to laptop is potentially risky as USB isn't really a roadworthy type of connection, and one trip on the wire and the laptop could go flying. Alternative is to use MIDI cable to the UA Volt and a separate 9v pedal power cable to power the Luminite... it then starts to feel like I need a pedalboard to go with it to have the power brick near, and then I still need to add a tuner pedal.....then - the list goes on and I'm back to using pedals but also with a Laptop/software and midi controller and audio interface, it all probably gets too complex and unnecessarily risky for my needs.

Edited January 3 by SumOne