Gig Performer vs. MainStage vs. Cantabile vs. Camelot Pro

How Does Gig Performer® Compare?

Here’s a simple breakdown.

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Every audio plugin host has its strengths and weaknesses. In the table below – we try to compare Gig Performer® with the most common, comparable audio plugin hosts on macOS and Windows platforms.

This page is updated on 2023-10-04 per relevant product user manuals; if the user manual is not available for a host we used the Google search engine. If you think you have found a mistake, please write to @npudar in the community forum.

The Gig Performer User Manual is always up-to-date and accurate with all the screenshots and recent features. If you want to check out any implementation of the features listed in the table, please see our online user manual.

 


Feature/Benefit

User Manual

Cross platform

Host VST2, AU and VST3 plugins

Auto Sampler

Timeline

Advanced Timeline Actions

Patch persist

Plugin parameter learning

Dynamic plugin loading

Splits and layers

Global and local MIDI monitor

Built-in metronome

Audio file player

Streaming audio file player

MIDI file player

MIDI finger tap

OSC support

Multiple tap tempo algorithms

Visual control scaling display

Plugin connection

Plugin effects routing

Custom panels with widgets per patch

Radio button support

Scripting support

GPScript

Rig management (multiple configuration support)

Record audio and MIDI inputs

External synth control

Variations

Multi-instance synchronization

Built-in guitar tuner

Ableton Link integration

Latency measurement tool

ChordPro support

Probabilistic Sound Designer

Bi-Directional Global FX

Built-in plugin for advanced MIDI processing

Extensions and SDK support

Support for Cakewalk style instrument definition files

Chameleon plugin


Gig Performer®

4.7



Visual patch cables

Visual patch cables

MainStage

3.6



macOS only

AU only

Global 

Limited support

Channel strip

Mixer interface with aux buses 

Limited support

Limited support

Unidirectional only

Cantabile Performer 4



Outdated

Windows only

VST2 and VST3

Normal

Limited support

Global 

List style routing

List style routing

Limited support

Limited support

Unidirectional only

Camelot Pro
2.2



Normal 

Local 

List style routing

List style routing

Limited support

WordPress Pricing Table Plugin
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They Say

  • Gig Performer is known for its user-friendly interface and ability to easily manage multiple plugins and effects

    ChatGPT - https://chat.openai.com

  • Even more than my old DAW, Tracktion 7, Gig Performer is visually/conceptually intuitive, particularly using wire connectors in the racks. And things just plain work, including audio inputs and outputs (like my old Blackbird Onyx Firewire, even in combination with a Focusrite sound card. Low CPU usage means I can use a relatively cheap Mac Mini running High Sierra, which still works with my Mackie Blackbird Onyx Firewire sound board. I had to dumb down the Mini to work with High Sierra, but GP3 worked no matter what.

    Michael M

  • I have found Gig Performer to be a much more solid, performant product, and I love the ability to patch everything together and see it visually.

    Kirk A

  • GP 3 has allowed me to setup my live rig in a whole new way and it super reliable, thx!

    Ronny R

  • I’m coming from a receptor rig. Since receptor was discontinued, I was looking for a stable software alternative. I briefly looked at mainstage, but gig performer just ticked al the right boxes. I ‘m a keyboard player and an audio engineer. So the flexibility is a big plus. I can built complex chains with al my favorite plug-ins very easily. I also like that everything is controllable trough midi hardware. I do not like to look at a screen during a set. I know Gig Performer is running silently in the background, I have my set loaded in and everything just works.

    Jan H

  • GP has set us apart from everyone. Imagine 2 guys who are accomplished musicians (I don’t mean to brag), who can play a gig and sound like a 6-piece band with synchronized lighting and video, at a duo price, all due to GP.

    Stanley S

  • I tried a few others too (including Mainstage) but in all honesty, yours was miles ahead of the others. The sheer flexibility and customisation available suited me perfectly and allowed me to map my midi controllers with absolute ease. The quick and hassle free routing of audio and midi signals was also so easy and trouble free. Reliability was also a concern and GP3 has remained rock solid in use, even when switching connected devices off whilst GP3 is still running, it doesn’t completely crash your machine, it just clearly and effortlessly lets you know what’s happened!

    Sean B

  • I am a organ/keyboard player - so I have midi bass pedals, a piano controller, and a keyboard controller - a lot going on at the same time. Everything works well together and I can just play rather than fuss with the computer.

    Carmine F

  • I tried mainstage and it was complicated. I had a vision for my guitar sound to pass through plugins instead of my pedalboard for live music. Did some research and found Gig Performer. It was works like my pedal board....wires and devices. Truly amazed of the sounds that come out! Thanks for this dream come true!!!

    Eric B

  • In my experience Gigperformer is much more reliable Mainstage. Playing live music is my full time job and Mainstage has failed on me at gigs a number of times. Gigperformer is much more stable.

    Francis M

  • I have been keyboardist for over 30 years and it is very obvious that Mainstage is not a professional solution. CPU usage is unacceptable, Mainstage is unstable and unreliable due to CPU problems (even on most powerful computers). Gig Performer does provide the power, the optimal CPU usage, the versatility to allow me for the first time to switch from complex workstation based keyboards to live rigs with a Mac computer.

    Thomas B

  • We tried MainStage and frankly the deeper we got into it the more frightened we became. We simply were not able to build a stable show and when looking for tech support got nowhere. Fast forward to now and the deeper we get into GP the more excited we get frankly. VERY stable and a terrific community for brainstorming. Where MainStage always felt like it was boxing us into a corner we feel like there are multiple options now for anything we try to set up using Gig Performer!

    Peter D

  • Gig Performer was so easy to get to grips with and I found I had a usable setup within a short time during my first use of the program. I love the way it is customizable and relates to both hardware and software instruments and effects.

    Martin S

  • GP makes it possible to completely trust the software and its integration with my MIDI-controllers so I can focus on playing in the “here and now”.

    Jacob K

  • I’ve been using GP since March 2020, it’s the only app I’ve used that is stable and versatile

    Steve O

  • I love the way Gig Performer let me do anything I can imagine.

    Christophe P

  • This program is so crazy useful. It has a huge future as more people discover it. You get huge value in your first 60 seconds using it and it just ramps up from there.

    Kevin F

  • After 13 years with Mainstage and Ableton Live, GigPerformer gives an actual peace of mind when it comes to stability.

    Mikko P - https://www.mikkopatama.com

  • Man oh man did you guys get this right!!!!! No more Mainstage for me - best change I've ever made switching over. I was able to create over 100 patches in the space of an afternoon. I won't say how long it took when I first started using Mainstage

    winip (via YouTube)

  • GP has absolutely changed how I run my guitar rig and has finally allowed me to run it how I want to rather than how the software wants to.

    Mark Braithwaite

  • After more than 20 years of using a PC to run my keyboards on stage, I finally don’t live in fear of the next patch or song change.

    Andy Myers

  • Yay finally someone with brains developed the vst host from heaven I purchased Gig Performer and OMG. This is by far the best live VST host for live work. Thumbs up big time. Look forward to gigging with this beasty vst host from heaven. Yay.

    Paul Patto - https://www.facebook.com/paul.patto

  • It’s actually CHANGED my studio by giving me the ability to have “physical” control of virtual instruments on the fly without the need for the GEAR.

    Michael Whalen (two-time Emmy award winning composer) - http://michaelwhalen.com

  • I love it when I get a new instrument or tool to use it gives me a fresh outlook and Gig Performer has done exactly that. I now find I am creating more complex sounds for my stage performances and being confident that they will work. Gig Performer was created for musicians who want reliability and a familiar way to create and recreate their sounds on stage it is not just another way to use your plugins for me it has become another instrument. Thank you Gig Performer you are a Great Performer.

    Blue Weaver (The Bee Gees, The Strawbs)

  • Thank you guys for creating a "Musician's Tool" instead of another Engineering Tool

    Bill H

  • Very impressed with Gig Performer. It is so intuitive that probably it doesn't need a manual

    Chris

  • Gig Performer has liberated my best audio plug-ins from the confines of the studio and finally made it practical to bring multiple instances of them to the performance stage. Simultaneous MIDI processing makes a versatile system. I now have one very compact live setup!

    Jim Meyer - http://www.jimmeyer.ca/stick/jimmeyer.html

  • Gig Performer is like a breath of fresh air for laptop performers. Stable, efficient and without all the extra unnecessary features that increase cpu and distract from a smooth playing experience. It’s a lean, mean performing machine and will find a home with many players looking to augment, or completely replace their hardware rigs. P.S. I just made a gig with 50 instances of Uhe Diva in it. Resting cpu = 2%. wow!

    Simeon H. - http://www.simeonharris.co.uk/Simeon_Harris/Home.html

  • Finally, a plugin host that truly addresses the needs of live performers

    Trey Gunn (King Crimson, Robert Fripp, David Sylvan, The Trey Gunn Band) - http://www.treygunn.com/

  • Gig Performer is a game changer for me. Not only can I create any combination of sounds with this but also perform them live with seamless switching. The only limitation with Gig Performer is your imagination.

    Michael Cozzi (Shriekback, Sky Cries Mary)

  • Gig Performer is an amazing tool for my unconventional set up. Allowing me to access the full power of my laptops into my system. It is quickly becoming an incredible asset to my live shows.

    Robert Frazza (Crimson ProjeKCt, Stick Men, Todd Rundgren, Lindsey Webster, U.K., Orleans, Joe Jackson)

  • I was also impressed that it handled midi fx, I wasn't expecting that 🙂

    Mark H.

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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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MIDI Message Helper

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

 

  

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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.

 

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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

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

  

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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.

 

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