Information for Plugin Alliance Customers

05 Jun Information for Plugin Alliance Customers

Posted at 06:52h in Knowledge Base Articles, MS Windows, OS X by

Background

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Plugin Alliance sells two customized versions of Gig Performer licensed from Deskew Technologies:

  • Locked: This version is included with the Megabundle and the Musician Bundle and only works with Plugin Alliance plugins
  • Unlocked: This version is sold as a separate product and will work with 3rd party plugins

. The unlocked version of Gig Performer sold by Plugin Alliance is substantially the same as the version sold by Deskew Technologies except for the following:

  • The Plugin Alliance version uses the Plugin Alliance licensing system whereas the version from Deskew Technologies uses its own proprietary system.
    If you are a PA customer, you must get your updates through PA. The Deskew version of Gig Performer cannot be used with PA licenses.
  • The optional Startup Templates that are included with the Plugin Alliance version are designed for use with Plugin Alliance plugins.
  • The optional startup templates included with the Deskew Technologies version are designed for plugins included with the Deskew Technologies version.
  • User support for the Plugin Alliance version of Gig Performer is provided by Plugin Alliance.
  • Plugin Alliance versions of “release-ready” executables are created and delivered to Plugin Alliance at the same time as the Deskew versions are created and there is typically a one month delay to allow final testing before release. However Plugin Alliance may perform their own tests and they determine their own release dates.
    .

Pricing

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Plugin Alliance has their own pricing structure which may be different than the price from Deskew Technologies. Deskew Technologies does not discount Gig Performer nor does it ever have sales (see why here). Consequently, while there is an agreement between Plugin Alliance and Deskew technologies, customers who purchased older versions of Gig Performer from Plugin Alliance will need to update or upgrade through Plugin Alliance. We cannot cross-grade PA licenses to Deskew as Plugin Alliance is reasonably entitled to upgrade fees from customers who discovered Gig Performer through Plugin Alliance. Should the agreement between Plugin Alliance and Deskew Technologies be terminated, Plugin Alliance customers wishing to cross-grade to the same major version of Gig Performer sold by Deskew Technologies will be able to do so in line with our no-discount policy as follows:

  1. An admin fee of $15 to cover verification of customer eligibility and price determination.
  2. An upgrade fee equal to the difference between the price actually paid by the customer for the PA version and the price at which Deskew Technologies sells Gig Performer.
  3. If a new major version of Gig Performer is released by Deskew Technologies, the applicable upgrade fees for the new major version will also be applied.

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Issues with Plugin Alliance plugins and Apple Silicon processors

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In early 2021, Apple released a new line of computers using their new ARM based processors, also known as Apple Silicon.

The macOS version of Gig Performer supports both Intel and Apple Silicon processors.

Unfortunately, as of the time of writing (June 5th, 2021), the plugins installed by Plugin Alliance were still Intel-only. If you are running Gig Performer 4 natively on the new processors, you will not be able to access the Plugin Alliance plugins. This is particularly an issue if you are using the Plugin Alliance locked edition of Gig Performer as it is only able to use Plugin Alliance plugins.

Please see this KB article for how to solve this problem.

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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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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.

 

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GP Script Enhancements

GP Script adds new language improvements such as multiple initialization sections, initialization with declarations and enhanced callbacks. The WidgetValueChanged callback now supports multiple widgets. Sysex messages are now built-in with numerous supporting functions. String array handling is much faster. Integer bit manipulation is now built-in. A new global GigScript allows incoming MIDI messages to be modified and redirected on the fly. It also allows you to define keyboard macros for your computer keyboard to control Gig Performer itself. For complete information, please review the GP Script Language Manual available through the Help menu.

 

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Scriptlets

Scriptlets make creating custom MIDI processors easy. You don't have to be a programmer to use them - you can just download scriptlets from our ever-growing collection on our website and drop them right into your rackspaces to use them. Use scriptlets for simple operations such as turning your single notes into chords, modifying, duplicating or converting one kind of message into another, automatic chord latching (AutoSustain), threshold detection, sysex manipulation... imagination is the limit.

 

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Other Improvements

  • System Actions plugin
  • MIDI Out to OSC converter
  • Comment plugin
  • New GUI dialog to define MIDI events to send on song part change
  • MIDI Out blocks can automatically send multiple MIDI events
  • Open/close a plugin editor from a widget
  • Choose default startup view
  • Quick find for plugin parameters
  • Large collection of startup hints
  • OSC Patchbay mode
  • Plugins now default to stereo I/O
  • Dragging presets into the wiring view will automatically create the required plugin
  • Numerous other minor (but nice) usability and workflow enhancements

Numerous other enhancements and optimizations serve to make Gig Performer 4 a superb platform for performing artists.

 

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Songs and Setlists

You can organize your rackspaces into songs and your songs into setlists and then just select the setlist you need for a show. Then simply cycle down through the parts, or use your control surface or a MIDI Guitar pedal controller to select individual parts directly.

 

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Predictive Loading

Predictive Loading™ is an advanced feature that reduces your RAM and CPU resources by only loading rackspaces (or songs) as needed.

 

 

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The Global Rackspace

The Global Rackspace can receive audio from whatever rackspace is currently active. Instead of inserting effects in every rackspace, simply insert them once in the Global Rackspace and all your local rackspaces will have access to them. The Global Rackspace can also send audio to the currently active rackspace. So you can insert a looper that receives audio directly from your guitar (say) and then send the looped audio to different effects in different rackspaces. If a particular instrument such as a piano or organ is needed everywhere (or almost everywhere), put it in the Global Rackspace.

 

   

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Zoomable Wiring View

Gig Performer 4 provides a virtual view allowing you to spread out your blocks and connections to make them easier to see and manage, even if you have a very small screen. You can zoom in or out and you can use the Auto-Fit option to position your blocks to fit in the available space.

 

 

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What's new in Gig Performer 4.5

  1. Record what you play, complete with all effects - multiple channels of mono or stereo wave files
  2. The Follow Hardware feature lets widgets update automatically to match your controller values when you switch rackspaces
  3. Plugin blocks can now be easily dragged to insert them between other plugin blocks
  4. Widgets can be hidden when not in edit mode.
  5. Widgets support various CC relative modes
  6. The MIDI Thru option lets widgets respond to messages while allowing them to pass through to plugin blocks
  7. The Global MIDI Monitor now displays outgoing MIDI messages
  8. Audio options can now be exported and reimported to make it easier to support multiple audio configurations
  9. OSC now supports named targets
  10. Song Part OC assignments can now be globally changed and applied
  11. GP Script has a new Timeline callback, a MIDI connect/disconnect callback and many new system functions
  12. New parameters in the System Actions plugin now provides even more global control of Gig Performer

Click here to see the complete list of release notes for Gig Performer 4.5

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