Gig Performer – licenses, activation and moving to a new computer

13 Mar Gig Performer – licenses, activation and moving to a new computer

Posted at 05:09h in Knowledge Base Articles by

Each Gig Performer 4 license allows Gig Performer to be activated on up to three computers simultaneously belonging to the purchaser of that license. Activations may not be shared with others and doing so violates the terms of the license agreement.

The cost of Gig Performer is not based on the number of possible activations, it is based on a “per user” license. It is unfortunate but necessary to control how many times Gig Performer can be installed to reduce piracy, hence the requirement for activation.

The “up to three computers” activation is a courtesy for licensed users who might want to install Gig Performer on their studio machine to prepare their shows, on their laptop for a tour and then on a second laptop as a backup for their tour in case their main laptop breaks down. Our activation process is designed so that musicians do not have to be concerned about having to be online for a performance. As touring musicians, these are all factors that we would want for ourselves.

Some operating system upgrades/updates can cause the computer to “look” like it is a new or different computer, thereby requiring Gig Performer to be reactivated. Therefore it is critical to deactivate Gig Performer before performing any kind of system update or upgrade. We strongly encourage you to disable automatic updates on computers used for live performance to avoid problems should an update happen within a short period before you have a performance. Note that upgrades can require some plugins to be reactivated as well.  Restoring Gig Performer from a backup may also require reactivation. If you are planning to reformat your drive or reinstall your operating system you should first deactivate your Gig Performer license (see below on how to deactivate your license). Make sure you have your license code available so you can reactivate again after you have upgraded.

As long as you do not perform any updates or OS upgrade, you will not need to reactivate Gig Performer nor will you need an internet connection. We do not want performers to be concerned that Gig Performer will stop working in the middle of a live performance!

However, some plugins may still require online activation, something over which we have no control and so you should check the activation requirements for any third-party plugins you plan to use in a live situation.

If you sell one of your computers you should first deactivate Gig Performer on that computer so as to avoid losing one of your activations.

If you want to install and activate Gig Performer on a fourth computer (assuming they’re both running the same operating system) you will first need to deactivate Gig Performer on one of your other computers. You will then be able to reuse that activation on your fourth computer. Your computers must be connected to the internet for these operations.

On Gig Performer 3, simply click on the Help menu in Gig Performer and click the menu item “Your license is activated – Click to deactivate“:

How to deactivate your licence of Gig Performer

On Gig Performer 4, click on the Help menu, expand the Licensing… sub menu and click the menu item “Your license is activated – Click to deactivate“:

Gig Performer License Activation

This “releases” one of your activations and Gig Performer will no longer run on that computer. You can then install Gig Performer on another computer and use the activation code you received when you purchased Gig Performer to activate the new installation.

Note: we strongly advise you not to perform any updates, upgrades, changes or installations of any software if you have a show coming up shortly or you’re on tour

. This is not specifically a Gig Performer issue, just a general recommendation to ensure that you have time to ensure your changes do not break anything in general—for example, an updated third party plugin or a change to an anti-virus product may introduce issues.

Please see this article for more information about updating in general.

.

.Related topics:
– Licensing and support options (User Manual)
– Gig Performer Support
– Optimize macOS for your gig (blog)
– Optimize Windows for your gig (free e-book)
– Do I need an Internet connection to use Gig Performer (KB)

Print page
3 Likes


Scaling Curves

Scaling curves allow you to control the shape of the output of a widget or convert an incoming note velocity to a new velocity. Various predefined curves are available and they can be tweaked as necessary. You can also just draw your own curve as well to achieve the effect you require.

 

Dismiss ad

MIDI File Player Plugin

You can load up to 128 MIDI song files in a single plugin instance. Switch from one song to another, mute tracks and/or change their channel numbers. Tempo can be controlled by individual songs or you can use the global tempo and tap tempo to control the BPM interactively.

 

Dismiss ad

Favorites and Presets

Create a sound by placing and interconnecting your desired plugins, such as a synth, some effects and perhaps a mixer. Select them all and then save the selection as a named favorite. The favorite will subsequently show up in all plugin insert menus, making it easy for you to recreate that configuration whenever you need it again. This feature is also very powerful for creating your needed sounds on your studio computer and then transferring them to your touring laptop.

 

Dismiss ad

Probabilistic Sound Designer

Parameters you select in an open plugin are captured into the Probabilistic Sound Designer dialog window. When you click Randomize, you're only adjusting those selected parameters. Each entry in the PSD dialog has a curve but unlike widgets where the curve controls scaling, in the PSD the curves are used to define the probability of particular values being selected. Make sure the filter cutoff never gets too slow so as to block all sound. Perhaps adjust the max range of the VCA attack parameter so that the sound doesn't have too much delay. Constrain the octave ranges of the oscillators, perhaps ensuring that 1/3rd of the time we select 8' and 2/3rds of the time we select 4'. The possibilities are endless.

 

Dismiss ad

More Widgets

Numerous new widgets are included in Gig Performer - a new sustain pedal, plastic knobs, drum pads and more colored sliders. Shapes can be colored with different borders and fill colors and morphed from rectangular to circular. Your creativity is now the limit to creating fabulous front panels in Gig Performer.

 

Dismiss ad

MIDI Message Helper

Select MIDI devices by name. Choose the MIDI message type and adjust the appropriate parameters for the specific type

 

  

Dismiss ad

Layout management

Gig Performer supports arbitrary resizing. Layout your widgets the way you want - resize the main window and the widgets will grow or shrink as necessary to maintain the same interrelationships. No matter what size screen you have, your front panels will still be neat and usable.

 

Dismiss ad

Undo Support

If you move your widgets around and/or resize them, or even delete them by mistake, the Undo facility will correct your mistake. Minor moves to a widget by mistake will no longer spoil your design

 

Dismiss ad

Plugin Channel Count

Some plugins support a large number of outputs and they depend on the traditional channel strip to control how many ports should be available.   When you only need a stereo pair, it is convenient not to have a large horizontal block. In Gig Performer, the number of available ports  is controlled by the channel count override, which can be applied to individual plugins and will be remembered when the gigfile is reloaded or if the plugin is saved as a favorite.

 

Dismiss ad

Input muting and output fading

Rather than a single audio length tail, Gig Performer 4 gives you the ability to control input muting and output fading separately. Input muting controls how much time it takes for audio input to be silenced when you leave the rackspace. Output fading controls how much time will be taken for audio to fade out when you leave the rackspace.

 

Dismiss ad

Faster Plugin Finder

Instead of searching through menus of perhaps hundreds of plugins (you know who you are!), the Quick Plugin Finder makes it easy to find the plugin you need by simply typing partial strings. For example, as shown here, to find the Modartt Pianoteq 7 plugins, it's enough to type pia mod 7 (in any order, by the way)  to restrict the list of available plugins to those matching your query. The Quick Plugin Finder also knows about manufacturers, presets and favorites.

 

  

Dismiss ad

Touch Friendly Input

Any entry field can be changed by either dragging your mouse (or finger) up or down, or by using the large popup touchpad where you can just tap on the squares to enter a value. The large popup keypad also does validation so you can't enter an invalid value. You can also just tap the BPM field to pop up a larger view where you can quickly change tempo, tranpose, trigger Tap Tempo and enable Ableton Link, the last allowing you to synchronize Gig Performer with any other application that also supports Ableton Link.

 

Dismiss ad

New Tuner Display

The tuner view makes it easy for guitarists to quickly check and adjust their tuning. You can toggle into the tuner view from any other view and toggle right back as soon as you're done. All output will be silenced automatically while you're in tuning mode. You can adjust the concert reference pitch from its default of 440 Hz to suit your own needs. The tuner view fills the entire screen so you can easily see it from a distance.

 

Dismiss ad