I originally started using Cantabile in my “originals” group (we did some covers, but they were “rethought” rather than “tributized”).
How many people are using Cantabile to recreate classic cover songs? Might there be some benefit in sharing patches and setups?
I tend to rely mostly on the Arturia stuff plus Kontakt and Battery. There are a few others (Omnisphere, though it tends to be a bit of a hog and load times can be long and the Roland stuff sounds great but the authorization model is frustrating in a live situation as mentioned before).
I tend to find some patches in the stock libraries that are good enough for live work (though the names are certainly not aligned with song titles - like “Separate Waze” - maybe it’s a copyright issue… . When I can’t find something that works perfectly, I generally do some programming of my own to make them fit. With hundreds of stock patches, plus relatively inexpensive third party patches, sifting through is time consuming, but I do find some gems.
Here’s an interesting one that I put together (video explanation to come). Lots of states and a ton of plug ins to do all that I need in this two song medley.
[Yes, I’m still trying to do a video on some stuff to show what I’ve accomplished but running into technical hurdles and have gigs I need to prepare for… I’ll get to it… eventually]
I do a lot of this stuff in our Funkrock band JackOJane. I play with 2 controller keyboards and a dedicated i7 Cantabile laptop that never goes online. I want to mention two things, that could be tips for you: In our case, we settle in advance on what songs we will play in a gig. I create a setlist for every set. The setlist contains Songs, and those are indeed my building blocks per song. A song can have a Falcon piano, a B-3X organ and a bunch of Halion 7 bells and samples. (Toto’s Pamela is my most complex song as of now) So all these thing can be different in the next song. Set the setlist to pre-load, so it takes only a 0.5 seconds to switch out the complete song! Keep an eye on memory with resource monitor when you prepare. I can easily fit 10 songs in 16 GB mem. Then , in each song, use states like you do. There are some techniques to have them switch really fast too. In Pamela, there is two synthsolo parts with different sounds. After the first section, I hit a rubber drumpad square on the keyboard and immediately I have the next state with my bellLead for the next bit. I also have four pedals on the floor, one on them to move to the next state. I also have Pamela advance a state whenever a certain A-flat is played, except in songstate 9, or something like that.
I do have a special session song that is more like your setup, with song states to disable instruments. When an instrument is on, I can cycle through it’s sounds to just pick something for the session. But for prepared songs, setting up a song per song gives you the best experience. And again, use pre load in your setlist. Oh, I load the setlist ahead of the gig, and set 2 during the break, those take 45 seconds to load, since Cantabile needs to load them ahead of time, that is the trick. Good luck!
I’m a guitar and Electronic Wind Instrument player so i can’t really share any useful patches for keys. However I think if you check forums for your software and VSTs you may find patch sharing specific to each instrument for common covers.
There are numerous tips but your best bet may be to simply post questions on specific issues or challenges.
Not sure if you’re aware of the alphabetical display of songs in your set list. I use this a lot so I have 2 custom buttons in Cantabile for Set lists… 1 is “Normal Order” and organizes the Set list by Program number, so it’s shown in the order you saved the set list. The other button is “Alphabetical”. So when we digress from the set lsit to play a request or whatever, one click of the alphabetical button and I can find the song easily.
Tom
In addition to sorting songs, you can use the Find function (Ctrl-F) and start typing the song name to locate it quickly. I usually name songs with both artist and title in case I have a brain block and can’t think of one or the other. The find function pulls up all matches as you type.
As for sharing patches, given the vast repertoire of cover songs and the diversity of people’s VST and sample inventories, I think it’s more practical to ask about specific signature sounds you’re having trouble replicating.
I’ve been doing cover bands since 1966, and still doing them. I suspect I’ve been in hundreds of cover bands, plus many professional concerts and studio recordings.
I could share, but it would take several weeks to list the ones I remember. So wouldn’t playing with “well known stars” on stage be considered a cover band too?
First, everyone’s using different favorite plugins - my songs probably wouldn’t translate very well to your setup.
Second, we interpret these covers in our own way - different flavors of instrumentation, distribution of parts between musicians etc. My way of playing certain songs would probably be very different to yours. Also sound aesthetics play an important role - we “massage” the sound until the whole thing fits our overall sound, which may be very different to your band.
Third: how I use patches may be different to what you prefer - distribution between upper and lower keyboard, splits and layers, using song states vs using keyboard zones etc.
And TBH that’s what makes things fun for me - making the song my own. I like the freedom a “cover” setup gives me as opposed to a “tribute” band, where the “music police” controls every lick and sound…
There may be some value in sharing specific “signature patches” like the Tom Sawyer sweep, the Sledgehammer Shaku or the Owner Of A Lonely Heart Orch Hit. I still like a sound design challenge now and then, but sometimes you just need “that sound”…
Most of the time I tweak things a bit, but where I spend a great amount of time are the signature sounds, and would they be worth exploring as a group and perhaps crowd-solving.
I guess my underlying question wasn’t so much about having a repository, but about whether it’s appropriate to use the related forum to ask for help or clarity. Those contributing could share (or not) if appropriate.
I have a couple challenges I could start with if people are interested. I do find it addicting to try to figure some of these out, but I don’t always have the experience with specific synths (or plugs) to make it happen even when I have the theory.
Urgent, by Foreigner. Internet lore (and album credits) say it’s Thomas Dolby.
This comes in right before the Junior Walker sax solo. It’s a “warbling” sound, starting high and dropping. It also seems like the LFO speed changes toward the end.
Not sure what synths were used at the time (1980/1981 would be my guess). I came up with something passable on the Arturia Prophet V, but am looking for more ideas on how it’s put together if you have them.
I play in a cover band, l have made some custom sounds for things, but l’m kind of primitive to it, so l don’t know exactly what l could offer. I tend to pick through presets for my sounds, sorry, get ready for the epic!
I started playing in a rock band in the later 80s, my rig at that point peaked with -
Main (lower) keyboard was an Ensoniq EPS
Upper keyboard was a DW-8000
I would set a TG-33 on the left side of the bottom keyboard, as an additional source. That replaced my K1m that failed at some point.
I got used to finding sounds that were “close enough”, l would control the TG-33 from one of the 8 channels on the EPS, and would layer sounds on the EPS to get closer to some sounds. Essentially, l could mix and match about 10 sounds, which was quite comfortable.
Spent 20 years raising kids, but eventually, the band came back together. Sadly, my old keyboards reached end of life, so l started over, first with a Juno-D 61, and a Yamaha S-80 (l think), later switched to a Juno-D88. This was a ton of sounds, and 20 pounds lighter than the Yamaha.
I’m now using Cantabile, mostly for my 2nd keyboard, with an A-800 as a controller. I’m getting better at setting things up.
One thing l will say, we’ve done a few songs with very specific intros (Too Much Time on my Hands), l’ve sampled the intro, added a count in on the right channel - 8 counts, four for the drummer, then he clicks 5-8 for everybody else). I’ve done the same for Synchronicity II, and a few other things. Rush sampled (tape) the intro to 2112, because the thinking was “we’ll never get that the same, again”. I don’t love heavy track use, so l don’t use it everywhere, but for specialized, well known intros, it’s much faster and easier to me than figuring out how to build it all on synths, which l don’t have a lot of experience doing. I record them in Reaper, edit them the way l want them, then play from a media player in Cantabile.
Like many of you, I’ve played for many years but took time off when I had kids, and am now starting to play more (and more). There is a lack of keyboard players out there; many pianists, but not nearly as many people who can play more than one part or sound at a time.
In truth, the challenge that drives me forward isn’t in the actual playing; it’s getting the sounds and putting them together that drives me forward.
