Hello, I am new at this forum. I will ask few questions so if there was a thread with similar issues please just reply with a link of that thread. I want to ask if anyone of you uses midi keyboard as a live performance instrument. If so, can you tell me the optimal Windows laptop configuration which will do the work without glitches, bugs, waiting and something like that? I saw that macbook is used ofren, but I want to know if that is possible with windows os. Cheers!
Midi keyboard as a live performance
- Thread starter Yngwar
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Following this thread: Looking to do the same so I can utilize plugins with my Studiologic SL88 controller. Trying to be as simple & lightweight as possible (possible to do this on an iPad)?
Welcome.
Windows is the operating system of the devil and nobody can give a precise configuration since the permutations involved are far to many to quote.
If you look at advertised Multimedia laptops these will offer the best configuration for audio work there a gaming laptop is primarily geared towards the display.
These laptops will have a fast 4 core CPU or have even more cores, 2 Gb RAM per CPU core as a minimum, a fast SSD as large a capacity as you can afford.
The thing with a Windows computer is that you cannot be sure what will happen when the operating system is updated.
Cannot advise on software.
A Macbook would be a better choice, coupled with Apples Main Stage app and that will do what you seek, reliably and with minimum issues. Main Stage is the go to app so I suggest you watch videos and do further research on using it.
Windows is the operating system of the devil and nobody can give a precise configuration since the permutations involved are far to many to quote.
If you look at advertised Multimedia laptops these will offer the best configuration for audio work there a gaming laptop is primarily geared towards the display.
These laptops will have a fast 4 core CPU or have even more cores, 2 Gb RAM per CPU core as a minimum, a fast SSD as large a capacity as you can afford.
The thing with a Windows computer is that you cannot be sure what will happen when the operating system is updated.
Cannot advise on software.
A Macbook would be a better choice, coupled with Apples Main Stage app and that will do what you seek, reliably and with minimum issues. Main Stage is the go to app so I suggest you watch videos and do further research on using it.
Thank you for your indepth answer. If I were to invest in a new laptop, what is the oldest version of the Mac that would be sufficient? (They are quite pricey as you well know.)Thanks!
Is it not possible to do from an iPad?
Imcd
IPad, there are apps that may be able to do what you seek, I have heard of Camelot Pro so this may be worth checking out.
Are you OK with connecting an iPad to your keyboard?
IE what you need and how to set it up.
As for Macbook, as long as it has the most current operating system and has the CPU and RAM requirements to run Main Stage you should be OK.
There is a problem with Apple software in that it does tend to be updated shortly after the operating system is given a major update. The result is the new software will not install on old computers which are running old versions of the operating system. Hence my comments in the previous para.
That said our iMac is a 2014 vintage and it runs and updates just fine, where some friends with 2009 Macbooks are stuck with operating systems and apps which are put of date, yes they still function fine.
Be very careful buying second hand and if you do please ensure it has a full refund on a return if it turns out not to be suitable.
IPad, there are apps that may be able to do what you seek, I have heard of Camelot Pro so this may be worth checking out.
Are you OK with connecting an iPad to your keyboard?
IE what you need and how to set it up.
As for Macbook, as long as it has the most current operating system and has the CPU and RAM requirements to run Main Stage you should be OK.
There is a problem with Apple software in that it does tend to be updated shortly after the operating system is given a major update. The result is the new software will not install on old computers which are running old versions of the operating system. Hence my comments in the previous para.
That said our iMac is a 2014 vintage and it runs and updates just fine, where some friends with 2009 Macbooks are stuck with operating systems and apps which are put of date, yes they still function fine.
Be very careful buying second hand and if you do please ensure it has a full refund on a return if it turns out not to be suitable.
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iPads don't run plugins per se, but there are plenty of apps you can trigger from your SL88. For some things, like pianos/EPs and orchestral instruments, the iPad apps are generally not as good as the best Windows/Mac VSTs (though they can still be quite good, and it's always subjective to some extent); for other things, the iPad is arguably just as good, like for some of the VA synth stuff, or the well regarded B3X Hammond organ app which is supposedly identical on Mac, Windows, and iPad (but much cheaper on iPad), and they tend to have nice interfaces.
Summing it up, I'd say:
Windows: maximum selection and flexibility, available touchscreen (works better for some apps than others), biggest nuisance to setup and configure and keep stable (between the auto-updating and the way adding something new can alter how things were working and it can then be hard to "undo" the change you made... you know, typical Windows stuff ;-) )
Mac: selection/flexibility almost as good as Windows, much easier to setup and configure and keep stable (no forced updates, better MIDI/audio support at the OS level), no tablet/touchscreen option, pricier base unit than Windows but can be cheaper in total since you may be able to get by with the $30 Mainstage software and no external audio interface
iPad: easiest to setup and configure, most portable, everything touchscreen optimized, well-priced apps. The limited configuration options is a double-edged sword... if your setup is working the way you want it will probably stay that way, but if something isn't working right for you right off the bat, there will probably be no way to fix it. ;-) Nicely, you can defer unwanted updates indefinitely; but on the downside, once you upgrade, there's no way to go back (unlike on a Mac).
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For simplicity iPad/iPhone connection is the way to go. I'm an big user of the cheap iOS app called bs-16i. With it you can load your own soundfonts and there are lots of free ones I've put together on my site https://sites.google.com/site/soundfonts4u/
First, I own an approximately equal number of windows and IOS equipment so I have no dog in this fight. I would like to point out that the autoupdate thing is a myth. The people I know who use laptops live on stage (many performers do this) simply turn off the auto update function. It's not rocket science. On an amusing note, I get IOS updates much more often than windows updates and IOS doesn't offer the option to back them out again as windows does. As for configuration, I would consider an I7 processor with 16gb and 1tb SSD the basic setup and that will cost you considerably less than a similarly equipped apple machine.
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On iOS, if you get an alert to auto-update, you can always say "not now." It's a nuisance, but you can put it off indefinitely (or you can go into a setting and turn tha auto-update off). On WIndows, if you get such an alert, it only gives you (IIRC) 30 minutes before it will start updating no matter what you do. At least that appears to be the default behavior. I'm not much of a WIndows guy, so if there is a way around that, it was not obvious to me.