Topic by Jake Johnson

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  • Jake Johnson
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Topic: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

I know the obvious answer: use a conventional sequencer such as Cubase, which is made to do just that.

But I don't need ten tracks and all of the rest. My hope is that there is a VST host that could have the advantages of the cleaner interface, the much faster loading time, and the ability to create, call up, and move around racks and splits very easily.

The goal is just to simultaneously record vocals and keyboard live. One input would come from a piano VSTI that we often speak of here and the other would go directly from the mic to a wave file, or maybe through a basic effects vst such as a light reverb.

I've thought of using two instances of Cantabile, which may work, but even that means loading the program twice and keeping separate set ups on each instance, etc. Would be nice to do what I do now--press Ctl-Alt-C to load the program, but have both tracks for both the piano and vocal automatically set up, with Record turned on.

Last edited by Jake Johnson (12-03-2008 19:11)

Reply by Luc Henrion

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Re: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

you can start with a very simple project in Cubase... just choose "empty" and insert only the 2 tracks you need. You can do it in most other DAW's also, like Reaper, Logic and so on. There are also "lite" versions of Cubase that could do the job...

And you could save your project as a template for future use..

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Reply by Jake Johnson

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Re: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

Thanks, but I already use that set-up in Cubase and Reaper. I'm looking for a vst host with the pared down interface and much faster loading time that they provide.

Reply by azrael4

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Re: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

Hi Jake!
Found a new software for life use. Have not tested it because I´´m waiting on the VST-Plugin version. There is a testversion downloadable.
Try it. looks interesting to me.

http://www.sensomusic.com

heinke

http://www.heinke-aussenegg.com/

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Reply by Jake Johnson

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Re: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

I like what Usine can do--seems to let you create all kinds of chains of effects and instruments and then create a simple interface for them. Not sure about the load time and all of that, though.

(I wrote the developer of Cantabile, and he told me that Cantabile will eventually support two or more tracks, but not in the next version.)

Last edited by Jake Johnson (13-03-2008 19:36)

Reply by thorgal

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Re: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

use Audacity. Simple, fast and efficient for quick / small to medium projects.

audacity.sourceforge.net

it is multiplatform and open-source. I don't know if it is VST compatible though. Coming from the linux world, I am not that much into VST stuff.

Of course, if you were using linux, I would recommend the little wonders "Ardour + Jack". I use pianoteq on linux through wine-asio. I can redirect it thanks to the Jack audio server to any software that is Jack-aware (like you would jack up instruments and gears for real).  I have no clue if Windows offers such a versatile environment. If windows users knew what they're missing ...

Reply by pcournoyer

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Re: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

Hi Jake,

If you have not found what you are looking for yet, may I suggest the host Bidule from the Plogue Art and Technology. This is truly an amazing environment for live use. I too came initially from the Cubase world but could not even consider using it live: too many bugs and crashes, very slow load time, not enough control on MIDI and audio routing, etc...

Forget all this with Bidule, it loads very fast (until you throw maga projects into it!!), is completely flexible in its routing (modular environment), has a lot of built-in "bidules" which are basically building blocks that you wire together.

I have been using it for more than 6 months and it is very solid.

For recording, you simply use an Audio File Recorder Bidule, available from 1 channel to 32 channels!! You can record to multi-channel WAV files or as a bunch of separate mono files. You can control record on/off from keyboar or from MIDI.

Check out their web site: http://www.plogue.com/index.php?option=...;Itemid=35

At the beginning, it can look overwhelming because this software has more than 100 bidules to choose from, MIDI / Audio / spectral bidules. Also the documentation is their weakness. But, the forum is very dynamic and you get an answer to your questions pretty much the next day always.

The license is not expensive and you can try the demo version for periods of 3 months.

Patrick

Reply by Jake Johnson

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Re: Anyone know of a VST host that can record two tracks at a time?

I like Cantabile so much, and really just want its features along with two-track recording, because it lets you automate so much, lets you create splits for multiple instances of a vsti, and it loads so fast:

Takes about 3 seconds to load with PianoTeq set to go, with Autorecord and Autosave turned on for either midi or audio. I can literally press Ctl-Atl-C (after creating the shortcut you set up for any windows application), take a sip of coffee, and start playing and recording using whatever PianoTeq fxp I've set as my default. Takes a little longer if I have multiple instances of an instrument set to four splits: about 6 seconds.

Choosing another instrument or "rack" with a different set of spits or instruments takes two clicks, since you can set up favorites just by putting them in a folder. Hard not to love it.

But, yeah, Bidule and Usine and the full sequencers can do a lot. Get thee behind me, satan.