After accepting a few flying gigs, I re-learned the valuable lesson of traveling lighter. I found most of the guitar pedals and patch cables I was traveling with were too heavy and bulky. The inner-nerd in me began wondering how I could squeeze all my gear into a single foot pedal and laptop configuration. If there's an inner-nerd in you, read on.
MainStage
The first thing to sort out with a digital rig is what application you want to use live. MainStage is an Apple-specific application which takes the best of Logic and refines it for live performances. In my case, this app allows for the multiple inputs and outputs necessary for my live layering of violins, guitars, and vocals.
MainStage allows for multiple inserts and sends. This means you can make each instrument sound amazing with eq, compression, delay, reverb etc. It also means you can create a sub-mix of all the instruments and send them to your in-ears or powered stage monitor. Having this separate sub-mix can be pretty cool if you want to shave down your regular sound check times.
The two plug-ins that caught my eye initially were "Loopback" and a non-native plugin called "GuitarRig."
Loopback
Loopback is a native looper plugin within MainStage. Its similar to DigiTech's re-release of the JamMan. And although it looks really sexy, as a looper, its pretty basic. I decided (at least for now) that it wouldn't work for my layering performances. SuperLooper and Abelton Live are two other great looper options.
GuitarRig
MainStage, provides two plugins "Pedal Board" and "Amp Designer" to shape guitar tone however I found the algorithms less-than-musical. I spent a significant amount of time with amp models and could never find something I liked. I started digging online and discovered Native Instrument's GuitarRig. The tones GuitarRig produces are amazing.
GuitarRig Kontrol vs Apogee GiO
To control your laptop-based rig, you need some sort of midi controller. It can be overwhelming mentally and financially trying to figure out which controller to purchase. For my genre I needed a good foot controller (as opposed to a keyboard-type midi controller). I narrowed in on two specific foot controllers.
The first Kontrol is made by Native Instruments. It's a sturdy, Bradshaw-like pedal with multiple inputs/outputs as well as level meters. As far as stage use, it's probably my favorite of the two. The negative with this pedal is that although it advertises itself as a flexible midi-controller, it's really meant to work as a GuitarRig-specific controller. That means several of the functions within MainStage are not mappable or controllable when GuitarRig is activated as a MainStage plug in.
Apogee, known for high-end recording equipment, created a midi foot controller specifically for MainStage called GiO. This product works far better as a flexible midi controller. The downside of GiO is that the pedal doesn't tour as well. It feels like it was meant more for the studio than the stage. Several of the buttons seem fragile. The aluminum casing scuffs easily. The usb port on the back seems fragile as well.
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Digital rigs can really open up the possibilities of live performances. If you do it right you may even be able to travel lighter and with more confidence than when you travel with all your "analog" gear. Your goal should be to take all the complex possibilities offered to you by the digital platform and design something that works bullet-proof every time. Keep in mind the handful of trade offs you'll be juggling when and if you move to a digital rig. Here's to your inner-nerd child!
Get even more nerdy about your digital rig - Email me directly.
