Nah. Seems like a different beast – and fewer features for VSTi playback overall. And after using Cantabile for 6-7 years, I’m not anxious to redo all of my songs. Without a trial to even check it out for curiosity’s sake, I’m not interested at all. Cantabile is “cantabile.”
As for the licensing issues, I don’t have any problems as long as I keep track of everything – and as of late I’ve had to do a fresh reinstall on a dying laptop and then on a new laptop. No major licensing problems. At first I didn’t like them, but now it’s no big deal for me – and I own a LOT of VSTs from all the major companies. I do get tired of having to install so many download/licensing programs, but that’s the way the industry is going now. iLok isn’t a problem for me, but Waves can be a pain. No problems at all with Roland. Yes, annual licensing is getting pricey, but even Cantabile has that (for upgrades). As for Cakewalk/Sonar, I had been using Cakewalk on an 8088 DOS lunchbox in the 80’s, so they’ll always have a place in my heart. Sad to see them go, but I still have access to all their software through the Command Center installation software – and I still use Rapture, D-Pro, etc. Rapture crashes sometimes, but at least I still have access and it all works… for now…
I think it’s so cool that I can play software versions of Roland, Korg, and all the knockoffs from UVI, Arturia, NI, Omnisphere etc. Now if Yamaha would just get in the game…without Steinberg.
Steinberg support told me that the demo of VST Live will be available at the end of August.
I am interested in the macOS version, in an experimental rig where it is always Cantabile that controls everything. The Mac is connected as a slave to the PC via MIDI. It’s a hybrid way I’m trying to split the VSTi load.
I Fully agree on this. Even Steinberg VST Live 2 is a toy, if compared to Cantabile Performer. I enjoy a lot other Steinberg products (such as Cubase and Spectra Layers) but VST Live has too a rigid architecture, useless for my purposes. I also was attracted for the DMX control embedded, but at the end I came back to the same solution described in many comments of this community,
I had a VERY bad experience with VST live 2. Very buggy and support is just awfull. The dev teams didn’t even believed what I experienced. The worst thing: the windows file system is locked at some level after a plugin scan! I had paid for the full version but I just can’t deal with that. (it took countless week to get my MOTU MIDI Express 128 to be usable with vst live…). I received so many ridiculous answers (why do you have so many midi ports etc..)
I’m redesigning my studio and have already dropped in a mioXL albeit I am only using it as a basic interface so far. I did purchase it for my Gig Rack which I have just rebuilt (I need to post on that) but realised my Gig Rack needs would be easily met by my MIDISPORT 128 and the mioXL would serve me better in the studio.
But when I fully upgrade my studio, I am planning on getting another mioXL in my “vintage rack” (all DIN MIDI Only) and I can vastly simplify the studio wiring down to one CAT5 cable between the mioXLs.
