Cantabile Real-time VST Host

Started by germanicus, April 27, 2013, 01:50:22 PM

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bbob

Cantabile 3 Preview 6 is available now!   You can download it here and these guides explain how to use it.

http://www.cantabilesoftware.com/v3/?__s=kqsarwpwrrf8ep8kqrpd

http://www.cantabilesoftware.com/guides/?__s=kqsarwpwrrf8ep8kqrpd

Note that you can install Cantabile 2 and Cantabile 3 side-by-side. Installing version 3 won't impact your version 2 installation in any way.

What's New
Media Players - finally!
Support for touch screen devices
MIDI controller assignments for audio and MIDI routes
Significant performance improvements for multi-core machines
Improved the look of level meters and added a new clipped audio indicator
Improvements to the Insert Plugin window
New commands for sorting and re-assigning program numbers to set list songs and session states
Lots of other minor improvements and a handful of bug fixes.
You can find out more about all of these changes in this blog post which also includes a video walk through of the new media players and explains why some of version 2's media player functionality has been temporarily left out of version 3.

Get In Touch

If you've got any feedback or suggestions please get it touch.  Also, I'd love to see photos of your rig or hear some of the music you're making with Cantabile - it's always fun to see and hear Cantabile "in the wild" (so to speak).

You can reach me directly by replying to this email. You can also follow development on the Cantabile Trello Board or follow me - @CantabileApp - on Twitter for tips, development updates and other things of interest - like this video of the new media player support being load tested.

What's Next

Next I'll be working on recording functionality and improvements to media players. 

I'm also writing a eBook on tuning Windows for reliable real-time audio and I'm probably going to start releasing some walk-through videos on using Cantabile 3.

Lots happening - stay tuned!

Brad

alexmcginness

Art Teknica's Console is a great app for using inside of FX Teleport in your DAW as well.
VG-88V2, GR-50, GR-55, 4 X VG-99s,2 X FC-300,  2 X GP-10 AXON AX 100 MKII, FISHMAN TRIPLE PLAY,MIDX-10, MIDX-20, AVID 11 RACK, BEHRINGER FCB 1010, LIVID GUITAR WING, ROLAND US-20, 3 X GUYATONE TO-2. MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER, SERBIAN ELIMINATOR AMP. GR-33.

Vade

Touch screen implementation looks to be very user friendly.


Drachen; Fender FTP Strat w/internal GK-3, Godin xtSA w/FTP, Boss GP-10, VoiceLive 3, Scarlett 18i8, ZBox IQ01, On-Lap 1502i, D:fine 4088, 4E Dual Axis Exp Pedal, VoiceSolo FX-150, Yamaha DXR 10, Gem. M2 Flute, Special 20 Harmonicas. Fender Deluxe Reverb Mahogany Cane.

https://soundcloud.com/vadie

tonemaster

I've just begun working with the Fishman TP and trying to figure to use it live. Seems the midi implementation is very basic and only allows sequential access to patches with the controller. 

Is it possible to configure Cantabile to bring up a given patch in TP using midi messages. I know a little about midi but not a guru. I'd like to use Cantabile, via a midi pedal (like the FC300) to bring up a given TP patch as well as a given backing track. So, 50 + backing tracks can be triggered along with a given TP patch per track.

Thanks!


bbob

Hi Tonemaster,

I use Cantabile with the FTP and  FC-300 but I am an on again off again low lever user so if I miss speak here I hope someone else will correct me.

Cantabile will host the FTP software program.   You can save multiple Cantabile sessions and each session can contain the FTP software progam in a rack with a different FTP patch loaded.

Each Cantabile session can contain a different midi or audio file for playback that can be triggered to play with the FC-300.

What I don't think is possible is to select a specific session with the FC-300.  You can save a group of sessions in a set list and bank or scroll up or down thru the sessions.

I hope this helps.

Bob

IanRamos

Quote from: Charles5150 on May 19, 2013, 05:37:42 PM
I tried a lot of VST hosts some time ago, and ended using Cantabile, it's very configurable and robust. Indeed, I did a pair of gigs using only my guitar through sound card through pc through FRFR monitors using FCB1010 as midi controller and THD Overloud as amp/effects.

But can't stand the unpredictability of Windows, it's a PITA seeing every five minutes a pop-up telling you to update the antivirus, or java, or whatever.

I began to try music-oriented linux distributions. They usually are build on top of a real-time kernel, which is the one used in time-critical industry processes and telecomunications.

Believe me, that's another league every musician should try. There's nothing you can't do, using Jack you can assing any possible input to any possible output, any kind of strange signal routing or midi assigment, it's like owning a huge and complex studio at your fingertips only limited by the CPU power available.

There's a lot of amazing effects and amp simulators nowadays out there. Even some freeware ones, for example the Poulin Hybrit is and impressive old Marshall emulator. There's a lot of high quality cab Impulse Responses out there, and you can go beyond and make your own IRs, or even copy exactly your favorite guitar tone using an espectrum analyzer and a deconvolver.

I ended using Kxstudio, a very powerful multimedia linux distribution, with a real time kernel. My latency is 1.3ms ( I never could go bellow 15ms in Windows). I can use any kind of linux native plugin but I can use VSTs too, and manage complex routing through Claudia ( kind of a VST host ), all in real time. I've almost stop using VG99

that's all very interesting , thanks for the info !

in the last 2 years i have been working too on replacing all my pedalboards with my laptop , but i also hate the innestability of windows , however , there's no other option for me , as i really NEED to use my VST's , and Linux can run VST's ...

how do you do it ? using Wine ? i heard Wine wasn't reliable , at least not yet ...

Elantric

#31
Updates for Cantabile 3
https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/cantabile3/



Cantabile 3 Whirlwind Tour
A quick walk-through of Cantabile's main features.

It's been a while in the making, but Cantabile has undergone a complete ground up rebuild. From
the audio engine to the user-interface and everything in between, the entire product has been
re-imagined, re-designed and re-engineered.

The best way to perform live is about to get a whole lot better!

Cantabile 3 ScreenHost
Not your typical music workstation
Cantabile is not your typical music workstation - it's designed specifically for live performing musicians and is perfect for performing on stage, practicing in your garage or anything in between.

Play VSTs, trigger media clips, instantly switch between songs, integrate with your existing hardware, control it all via MIDI and simply perform better.

Multi-Core Audio Engine
Cantabile's new audio engine has been re-engineered from the ground up with a focus on performance and stability, faster audio mixing and more flexible audio and MIDI routing.

Real-time audio performance and stability has always been, and always will be the primary goal of Cantabile.

Shiny New User Interface
The new user-interface is the first thing you'll notice with Cantabile 3. Gone is the tired old ribbon, gone is the clutter and gone are many of the unnecessary icons.

Instead, a clean new minimal, functional and easy to use user interface.

But it's more than just a pretty face: Light and Dark themes, support for high-resolution displays, support for touch screens, re-scalable while retaining crisp, clear text and images, customizable shortcut keys, customizable theme, a new Quick Controller for fast data entry and control and more...

Shared Racks
Shared racks let you save pre-configured instrument or effect racks and re-use them across multiple songs. Not only that, but racks shared between two songs remain loaded and running - so switching between songs is fast. You can even continue playing instruments while switching songs!

Racks include all the features of what was previously called a "session" including plugins, media players, bindings, triggers etc...

Faster Song Switching
You can now switch songs almost instantaneously with set list pre-loading. When enabled, every song, rack and plugin used by the set list is loaded ready to go.

While this might sound demanding on memory, if you've configured your songs to use shared racks those racks and any contained plugins only need to be loaded once - no matter how many songs use them.

Controller Bar
Cantabile's Controller Bar includes large buttons for sending program changes, tapping a tempo, loading next or previous songs and/or song parts and transpose changes.

Also, you can add your own buttons to send just about any MIDI event or invoke any of Cantabile's built in commands.

Ticker Bar
The ticker bar shows your set list and song parts as a horizontal scrolling list. You can see at an instant where you are in the gig and what's coming up next.

Live Mode
Live Mode switches Cantabile's main window layout to an alternate layout optimized for live performance hiding all the unnecessary editing tools and showing just what you need for the gig.

New Show Notes
Use show notes to show reminders, ascii guitar tabs, lyrics, chord progressions, images or any other information you might find handy during the show.

Show notes are integrated with Cantabile's song and part management and can automatically update when you switch songs or even song parts. eg: show different notes for each verse of a song.

Hardware Abstraction
Your sessions no longer directly reference physical hardware. Instead, you create abstract device ports like "Main Keyboard", "Front Speakers" which are mapped to your hardware and your sessions reference these ports.

If you need to swap out a keyboard, sound card or external sound module just install the new device, update your port mappings and away you go. All your saved sessions will continue to work.

Flexible Routing System
Cantabile's new audio engine provides an extremely flexible system of audio and MIDI routing.

All objects have ports which are wired together using routes. Audio routes have adjustable gain settings for partial sends and level adjustments. MIDI ports have source and target channel selectors, transpose settings, MIDI filters and more.

Also, the new MIDI routing system was designed to handle real-time changes so you don't end up with stuck notes. Changing the target of a route while notes are held will route the release events to the original target.

Global Rack
The global rack acts like a song that's always running in the background.

It's typically used for global bindings, but you can also load plugins, media players and triggers that will be available across all songs.

(Bindings is the new name for MIDI Assignments)

Media Players
Media players now support play lists to manage multiple files, and each file can have multiple play ranges defined (great for looping sections for practice). Loop mode now supports a loop count and we've simplified and improved the synchronization modes.

There's also a new timeline view that gives a much clearer, easier to use view on the contents of media files.

Easy Automatic Recording
Cantabile can automatically start and stop recording when it detects either MIDI or audio input. Capture inspiration when it strikes - just start playing and Cantabile will record it.

You can now record multi-track audio and MIDI by simply selecting which input and output ports you want to record.

Bindings
Bindings let you control just about any setting from an external MIDI device.

The new bindings editor provides a simple way to quickly and easily your bindings, or there's a learn mode to easily work out the events your device is sending.

Plus, there's vast range of bindable settings, it supports bindings from 14-bit "fine" controllers and other complex event types and range mapping so you can precisely align your hardware to the response you need.

States
Cantabile lets you save the state of all objects in a song or rack as a named state for fast recall. Tweak the gain of a plugin, turn plugins on and off, enable bindings in some configurations and disable them in others, dynamically change the target of MIDI routes and more...

States provide for super-fast sound switching since the same set of plugins can be used in multiple songs in slightly different configurations without having to reload everything.

Triggers
Triggers are typically used to setup external gear for the current song.

On loading a song you can, for example, send program change events to an external sound module, send MIDI commands to a lighting rig, invoke a script to control your score reader and more.

MIDI Filters
MIDI filters let you perform various transformations on MIDI data as it passes through the processing pipeline.

Change MIDI channels, transpose, apply a velocity curve, control a VST parameter, convert between event types, suppress some events and more...

Much, much more...
Resizable (and multi-touch capable) on-screen keyboard
Automatic detection and reconnection to USB MIDI devices
Robust plugin scanning (no more crashes during scan)
Set List and State sorting and program number reassignment
New look level meters with clip indicators
Metronome
Set Lists
All Notes Off button (Panic mode)
Plugin slot colors
Global transpose setting
MIDI clock support (master and slave supported)
New MIDI monitoring capabilities
jBridge support
Partial screen-reader support

And there's still more coming!





jassy


I was hoping for a more graphical and intuitive approach (maybe a la mainstage?) but its the opposite and I find it a bit too much complex for a Live app (who with the pressure of the live would navigate between embedded/not embedded racks, etc?).
Add to this a strong price increase (it was 139 and now its 239 I think) its really justified? don't know but now I'm much less conviced about this app...
Sure it now allows for much more complex setups and configurations, but its for performing live and, at least me, I want a simple, easy and intuitive app.
I only tried the beta for several days, maybe not hard enough.
Well its at least IMHO, what do other people think about this update/new app?

Elantric

#33
Perhaps Germanicus can report on his current thoughts on Cantabile

i understand it runs his live show.
Quote
Im using Cantabile Solo as a vst host. Just about any parameter of the program can be assigned to a foot controller. Im using an fc300 as my controller. Within Cantabile you can load up multiple vst soft synths and samplers and save these as a song setup. Then on my foot controller I am able to mute each one with no delay involved, and also scroll through the songs with two pedals. I also have a global panic mapped to one foot pedal in case of any issues. Cantabile is a pretty great program. Its made by a guy who continues to add features (the latest build was released in March). http://www.cantabilesoftware.com/blog/

Cantabile has a learn function that makes setting up a foot controller extremely quick and easy. If I get some free time later this week I'll make a video demoing the setup.

Elantric


It's been just over a month since Cantabile 3 was released and I wanted to give you a quick update.

Feedback on the new version has been overwhelmingly positive. Having spent so long on this project it was very encouraging to hear how much people are enjoying this new version of Cantabile.

New Features and Improvements

Cantabile 3 may have been released but development continues! Here's a quick summary of what's been added over the past few weeks.

Set List Breaks - insert dividers into the set list so you can group songs and better organize your set lists.
MIDI Velocity Curve Improvements - setup per-state and per-route velocity curves. The existing MIDI filter velocity curve has also been improved so you can now apply curves to other controller types such as CCs, Pitch Bend, Channel Pressure, (N)RPNs and more...
Variables in Show Notes - more easily create dynamic show notes.
Suppressing and Blocking Bindings provide more control over how MIDI events are routed once they've been matched to a binding.
WASAPI Audio Driver Improvements - run audio devices in shared mode so you can run Cantabile at the same time as other audio programs. WASAPI support has also been improved to work with more audio devices.
Improvements to MIDI Clock Synchronization - more stable tempo detection and a new setting controls its sensitivity.
Other Minor Improvements - new display formats for program and program bank numbers, octave display modes, learn mode in MIDI Route Settings and the ability to suppress metronome measure sounds.
Digitally Signed Installation Packages - ensures the software hasn't been tampered with since it was built.
Training Videos

I've started a series of training videos that will eventually cover all aspects of working with Cantabile. The first three of these are available now:

"Getting Started" covers all the basics of installing Cantabile, installing plugins, loading plugins into Cantabile and some other tips and tricks
"Ports and Routes" are key concepts in Cantabile and this video covers these in detail.
"Recording" explains how to setup Cantabile for recording. Covers audio and MIDI recording, auto recording and how to playback your recordings.
You can watch the videos here. Prefer reading? The written guides have also been updated and are now available as a downloadable PDF file.

Need more help? Join the Community Discussion Forum to chat with other Cantabile users or you can contact me directly by replying to this email.

Explaining Subscriptions

There's been some confusion over Cantabile's update subscriptions. This article explains the subscription model in detail and why I decided on this approach.

(Note, the subscription is for updates only - the software will continue to run if you don't renew the subscription.)

Get In Touch

If you're using Cantabile I'd love to hear from you. How's it working out for you? What do you like? What do you dislike and what could be improved? I really do rely on feedback to improve Cantabile so if you've got something to say just hit reply and let me know.

That's all for now and I hope you continue to enjoy making music with Cantabile.

Brad


tonemaster

Looks like a lot of guys here are using Cantabile with the FTP (Germanicus and others). I'm considering using it for my live gig as well and wondering if you are hosting the TP in Cantabile or not and your thoughts/experiences are regarding best practices.

I'll be using FTP to drive some Native Instruments stuff (Guitar Rig, synths, etc...) and Sample Modeling saxes, trumpets, etc... I'll be using backing tracks and it looks like I can set up my sets (songs, VST's, effects, etc...) to all be managed with Cantabile.

Just looking for your insights, experiences, etc...

Thanks much!

germanicus

Tonemaster Howdy,

Unfortunately I haven't yet picked up the newest version, working on studio stuff now.
When using Cantabile and TP live I would typically create 4 racks in a session, each hosting a VSTi, and assign footswitches to mute/unmute different racks. One of the racks can host the TP app if you desire.

It worked great. Given how simple it is to assign functions to external midi controllers, I never touched the laptop except to initially turn on the software. Everything was controlled via footswitches (muting sounds/volume control/changing sessions between songs etc).


My albums done with modeling/guitar synth at http://music.steamtheory.com

JTV69/59P/Godin LGXT/Multiac ACS/Variax 700 AC
Helix/FTP/GP10/VG99/SY1000
Traynor k4

jassy

Cantabile 3 has reduced the initial price to 199$ and its on sale now 165$.

germanicus

Anyone use Cantabile 3?
Im still using 2 solo.

Going to be doing a lot more live tripleplay soon with my band and wondering what people think of 3.

Just ordered a new laptop to run everything (7th gen quad core i7, 16gig ram, m2 512gb ssd).
Currently using a Focusrite Forte, but may try and just use my Helix as the audio interface instead (if the drivers are sufficient).

Does anyone use Performer version? It has universal racks which looks enticing. Currently each song session has to reload each rack, and universal racks would cut down on load times between songs (I think).




My albums done with modeling/guitar synth at http://music.steamtheory.com

JTV69/59P/Godin LGXT/Multiac ACS/Variax 700 AC
Helix/FTP/GP10/VG99/SY1000
Traynor k4

jassy

You could try Cantabile 3 solo to see if the new approach fits your needs, its free, like the version you are using.
I tried and not liked it very much.


germanicus

Quote from: jassy on October 17, 2017, 12:40:34 PM
You could try Cantabile 3 solo to see if the new approach fits your needs, its free, like the version you are using.
I tried and not liked it very much.

Solo is the mid tier. Lite is the free version.

But I do believe they have trial versions.
My albums done with modeling/guitar synth at http://music.steamtheory.com

JTV69/59P/Godin LGXT/Multiac ACS/Variax 700 AC
Helix/FTP/GP10/VG99/SY1000
Traynor k4

germanicus

Pulled the trigger on Cantabile Performer.
Working on using the helix as the hub, and using the Command center to assign cc's to control racks in Cantabile. So far so good.

May no longer need my FC300, just use Helix for everything (guitar/amp modeling, sound interface for laptop, and midi controller for sounds. Doing so means I need to use less switches for overdrives/chorus/delays etc per patch, but may work.

Would mean a super small footprint live.
JT Variax with tripleplay VDI into Helix.
Laptop USB with Helix.
Tripleplay receiver into Laptop.
m2 SSD drive running OS and Cantabile, which runs Kontakt libraries and various other soft synths. No need for external hd to hold samples.

If I get this all working well I may make a video on the setup.
My albums done with modeling/guitar synth at http://music.steamtheory.com

JTV69/59P/Godin LGXT/Multiac ACS/Variax 700 AC
Helix/FTP/GP10/VG99/SY1000
Traynor k4

bbob

Hi Germanicus,

I'm just a low level on / off again Cantabile 3 solo user but found the transition from C2 to C3 easy and I really like C3.

There are several professional musician power users of Cantabile 3 doing amazing things that are frequently on the Cantabile community forum and have been very helpful to users like me with quick replies to my newbie questions. 

Check it out.

http://community.cantabilesoftware.com/

Bob


admin

#43
Many updates since we last spoke of this app
https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/

What Can You Do With Cantabile?
Play VST virtual instruments and effects live
Create re-usable instrument and effect racks
Instantly switch between songs
Per-song keyboard splits and transpose
Trigger audio and MIDI clips on the fly
Control everything via MIDI
Remember where you're up to with show notes
Automatically record your performances