So first off, Cantabile is definitely my lifesaver regarding these off/on broadway shows, and it gives me a very good reason not to get a Mac for Mainstage.
I run my Keyboard (Roland Juno DS88) to Cantabile, which is usually running Keyscape for great keyboards, Kontakt, Roland Cloud, and Hammond B-3 X from IK Multimedia. Sometimes if I don’t like the sounds I have from the program, I usually have my own performance set on my Keyboard, and Cantabile routes the midi data back to my keyboard to a specific channel that I choose to play (I don’t have a timpani patch on my computer? No worries. Route it back to my Keyboard!).
I also have a Behringer FCB 1010 foot pedal. I found so much use for this for turning pages using Cantabile and go to the next state of the song (yes, I have Cantabile Performer).
I tend to have the best quality possible when performing these shows. Thanks to Cantabile, it makes it much easier to program without putting my hands off my keyboard.
Edit: If you want to see my setup for these shows, I’ll post one below for you guys!
Here’s a look down view of my setup when I was recording my show for 25th annual putnamn spelling bee, The computer you see there is no longer my computer. I got a legion 5 pro computer. I’ll post another setup tomorrow when I set up my rig.
That show when I was using cantable, it was my first time. I used measure markings as songs which didn’t work out well because the sounds cut off when I switch to the next song. So I’ve learned how to use states!
I had to up my computer from 16gb ram to 32gb ram because of the amount of VST’s I’m putting on Cantable for preloading instruments. Keyscape is my favorite though. Sounds very real lol.
Yeah, I’ve got 32GB in my laptop too. I never use Keyscape live though, it puts too much load on the computer and you need to use a separate instance for each sound…
If you use a lot of piano for your live shows, check out Ravenscroft 275. For me, (and personal preferences are wildly varying) it’s a better, more playable piano than Keyscape’s. I also know that a lot of the guys round here are big fans of Pianoteq, the modelling piano plug in.
Glad you’re getting what you need out of Cantabile, it’s an awesome piece of software.
