I am trialling the software at the moment so haven’t actually used it live but here are my thoughts.
I have been using Cubase loading 30+ songs in serial and using the arranger track to navigate between them. It works but I am constantly having to zoom in and out which is problematic. I am using midi program change to alter guitar sounds in guitar rig5 which again works but is a real pain to edit. VST live songs with parts that have their own stacks is excellent and solves all the main issues I had trying to use Cubase. I find the setting of the triggers for each part very easy to use.
I have found setting up projects ok but do seem to have managed to get myself in a mess trying to update existing projects (this may just be because I am still learning the process).
I was a little wary of purchasing a full licence because there are some bugs still but having found this forum and noting how active it is I will purchase a licence and look forward to future updates.
… welcome, @mike_dowey. Yes, please tell us every quirks, bugs, critics and requests. We are trying our best to get the tasks done and to release new versions very quickly.
See you,
Michael.
Been there 
You can actually export your Cubase project tracks, and when importing to VST Live, you have several options one of which is to create a Song from each arranger track entry. This helped me a lot.
Same here…
About what?
We Are very interested in the Backing track part of vst live.
We use Cubase Arranger track and do edits pre show for certain songs… changing of setlists.
We use a playaudio12 … so 12 stems/channels to foh.
The attraction is the ability to have each song as a seperate “song/project” for editing , rather than having one project with all songs being “arrangement markers”. And also the video/image to run allong each song for visual sync.
Putting Vst live to the test, All worked, Except for the fact that we have songs that Gapless play into the next… IS gapless playback between songs on the horizon ? Or Am i missing something and it is Already there?
It is, but not available yet. We’ll push it up in the list
Note however that the Song End function allows for continuous playback, though it’s not quite gapless. It is more or less though if you use the preload feature. Crossfading to the next Song is planned.
theres a feature to use the “end song marker” as a trigger into the next song instead of “end of song or last event”
But i cant find this specific marker … As i understand it , the Lyric track is now the marker track ? How is the “end song marker” function used ?
I have another project which will utilise dmx , video and backing tracks so this is looking like a perfect solution …. Cheers .
If I understand it correctly there is no way to loop a section of a song until you trigger it to move on. If that’s right:
How do you guys use VST Live despite this? I have a hard time imagining a live music set or a worship session without intros and vamps of undefined lengths?!
Thanks
Without that feature, VST Live is unuseable on stage for me and probably many others too. There has to be pattern sequencer like triggers for song parts.
Thanks for, as always, a quick reply @musicullum !
My main concern is stopping & starting the songs. How do you stop the song once it’s finished & talk to the audience once the lights have faded back in without having to constantly walk over to the laptop? You really need a remote app like Cubase IC Pro ASAP. Also, when are you planning to roll out the updated version with automation on the DMX channels? I can’t use the DMX track until I’m able to program in fades. Fades are vital for moving heads which use X & Y movement (horizontal & vertical). WE also need this update ASAP. Until you release the update I have no choice but to stick with Cubase as my live show software. We also need the ability to both colour & name the DMX tracks to make it easier to identify which channel corresponds to which command on the light fixture. I have 379 DMX channels in my light show! I need to see which channel is which very quickly to help speed up programming times. Also, we need to be able to set numeric values for the mixer track & send levels, like in Cubase. I’m guessing by sight at the moment.
… we are planing to add Transport Control to the MODS application.
… fades? Just tell me a bit more about your request. Let’s say you have added a DMX track and a clip from 2.1 to 3.1. The DMX editor is opened and you selected channel 256. You have added a DMX event to 2.1 (val=20) and an event to 2.4.1 (val=100). And now? Or do you expect a line-tool which helps you to add several events? Or do you expect a fade-in handle on the clip itself?
… that’s already possible. No?
Yes, that makes sense. We’ll add it.
/Michael.
Hi Michael,
In regard to automation, picture the automation lanes on a MIDI track in Cubase & how you’re able to not only add numeric values (0-127) to automation points, but you can use the draw tool to create a ramp up or down. This is vital for programming fade ins & outs & also to control the motors on lighting fixtures. They need ramps so you can determine the speed of the motor from one point to the other. That way you can set the speed to 1 bar or 4 bars etc.
I’m currently using Cubase Pro 12 as my live show software, with ENTTEC’s DMXIS as an instrument plugin & assigning its parameters (DMX channels) to automation lanes. Then using automation points & the draw tool, I’m able to create a very complex light show. Although you can’t name automation tracks in Cubase, you can colour them, so as with most LED fixtures, I colour them accordingly (RGBW & grey for other features like motors). With 379 DMX channels, this enables me to seek out the DMX channel I need very quickly. Butno, at present we can’t change either the names or colours of the DMX tracks in VST Live.
Andrew
Ah, apologies. I meant the numbered DMX channels themselves within the DMX track.
Andrew
… ah, you would like to name channel 256 to “My DMX Channel 256”? And to give the Channel a color? I see … We’ll add it to our list. Good thinking. Thank you.
/Michael.
Yes, being able to name the DMX channels to whatever that channel is assigned to (red, green, master dimmer, horizontal motor etc) & colour them accordingly would be a massive help, as would being able to draw automation. That’s about all that’s missing from the major upgrade essentials. You’ve pretty much nailed the audio & MIDI side of it. Great work!
Andrew
What are your experiences?
So far after two days of playing around and testing very positive - I am impressed, especially given the price. Looks like a flexible VST host for live performance, just what I need.
What worked and what didn’t?
Did some basic setup - couple of songs from my current setlist, most with one part as I usually split the sounds on the keyboard for all song parts, except for one song with two parts where I need a massive change and completely different sounds for a Dub section. Could figure all this out without a real need for the manual, very intuitive.
Great to have smooth transitions across songs. Pre-load seems to work very well, performance is good, rock solid so far.
No problem with resources to far, but I have only five songs in the setlist. To avoid future problems I am investigating the use of global parts / layers and shared instrument layers …
The Notes tab for the songs works fine for text, if I paste or drag & drop a picture it is displayed fine but replace by a tiny icon when restarting VST Live, still trying to figure that out.
What do you control with VST Live?
Same VST instruments I normally use in Cubase - Steinberg Absolute, Native Instruments Komplete, Arturia V Collection, couple of U-He plugins. No external synths, I am playing live with VSTs only since quite a while,
How could VST Live improve your performance?
Use of backing tracks (mainly for rehearsals, for example to a have a matching drum track ready in case we need to rehearse without the drummer).
Very easy setup of complex soundscapes, more dynamic and easy to change setup.
Benefit from other users’ experience and input and Steinberg’s further developments compared to the home-brew solution I used so far.
Try-out the iPad / iPhone integration capabilities and benefits.
What did you use before VST Live?
The same VST instruments hosted in Cubase 12 plus a self-programmed custom front end for live performance with some setlist, split/layer, notes support. Worked fine for me, but is harder to use and far less flexible than what I have seen in VST Live.
What are your tips & tricks?
To early for that in terms of VST Live, but some general advice from more than 10 years of VST instrument live usage:
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Use a dedicated laptop for live performance (or at least a dedicated system installation on its own disk) with only the software absolutely required - no office, games, all unnecessary features disabled, all unnecessary devices disabled.
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After any setup change (Windows update, new software versions, major reconfigurations) always use the new setup for a couple of weeks in rehearsals and/or at home before taking it to a live gig. If this test phase is not possible, postpone the updates for later and work with the tested setup.
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After any updates, use a tool like LatencyMon or DPC Latency Checker to verify that the system is still running rock solid from an audio latency perspective, this often helped me to identify a problematic driver update from Windows very early.
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Do not use the absolutely lowest latency your audio interface can give you, its nice and impressive if the 64 byte buffers works 99,9% of time with a 2 ms latency. But I’d rather take a 128 byte buffer with a 4 ms latency working 100% of the time.
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If possible, do only enable network connections on the music laptop if you need to make update to avoid “silent” updates done in the background or “forced” updates because you can no longer extend the grace period Windows gives you for avoiding system updates.
Served me well so far - not a single “live” crash in more than 10 years of live VST use and that’s exactly how I will proceed with VST Live.
So far I tested on a second system and after today’s gig I will set everything up for VST Live on my live system, configure the main setlist and some basic sound setups I use for jamming and then use it in all band rehearsals and for practicing at home.
If all works fine, I will play the next gig in January with VST Live. If there are any problems I will revert to my previous setup latest 2 weeks before the gig. But I am optimistic 
.