Using VST Live On Tour (2.8) - Things I find Tricky

VST Live
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I’m currently on a UK tour of 1K capacity venues as main support. I have been running tracks, click and live VSTs as well as DMX on VSTL for about 18 months now.

On tour we have VERY little down time, a very rushed soundcheck and a 15 min changeover after the opening band.

One of the things I find most frustrating is being in the van and discussing changes we need for that night, but not being able to make the edits safely. Often it is just shortening a section, or triggering strobes at a different point, or adjusting the octave of a VST. However if I try to do this when not plugged into my audio interface and the DMX box I run into a lot of trouble.

For example I made these kinds of changes in the van, saved as a different project and arrived at soundcheck. We got plugged in, but had to re-assign the correct audio interface, re-assign the USB DMX, and then our Actions & Shortcuts pre-assigned midi commands no-longer worked. We hadn’t made any changes in this area and have never had a problem with ‘save as new version’ before, but I’m careful to do this when plugged into everything I need externally.

Is there a way of having VSTL be in a ‘non-connected’ state for exactly this kind of ‘offline on-tour making edits in the back of the van’ situation? Where it doesn’t lose its connections and runs in a sort of dummy-load state?

Thanks

2 Likes
2

You should try a different approach. Instead of making the changes in the copied project, save it as archive and do the changes in the original project. So you can switch back when necessary and the connection, actions&shortcuts and everything else keeps unchanged.

1 Like
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Hi @birdmug ! First, you’re totally cool. Second: I do the same as you I guess:

  • Opening my project in the van, car
  • editing, save (or save with date “project-febr2”
  • Opening all connected, works everything like charm

No diff between V2 and V3. Let’s find why you need to re-do such settings

2 Likes
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Make sure that you select your interface before you open the project, it should all come good then.

5

this usuakky happens for some sort of “corruption” in remembered connecttions for different interfaces.

Solution is to erase all remembered devices for each port in connections, then connect and reassign each interface, saving inbetween.

  • go to connections
  • keep CNTR pressed and set all audio and midi dmx inputs outputs ports to (popup alert will tell you that all remembered connections will be erased).
  • proceed with the external interfaces connected: reassign all the ports to the correct devices.
  • save and close
  • disconnect all interfaces and reopen the project with internal audio
  • now go to connections and assign the needed ports to devices of the internal audio, leave to the ports that cannot have a device connected when not using external interfaces
  • save and close

Now when you switch the interfaces all ports will be remmembered and connected correctly.

Cheers, Ciro.

2 Likes
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Yes, I always,do. It seems to sometimes find connections and sometimes not.

1 Like
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Thanks for this, but I have done this process a few times, and it has helped, but not guaranteed.

Actually i have just seen there’s an extra step at the end that is new to me. I shall try that.

What about DMX?

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I had a new issue yesterday. I made a new version of the project with a new DMX track. However when I tried using it all my saved actions and shortcuts stopped working.

For example I have a note trigger on a midi device to start playback, and one for return to zero. I could see thry were assigned, I could see midi coming in, but it wasn’t function. I went back to the previous project and it worked.