Why is Deskew Technologies leaving the Plugin Alliance?
Why is Deskew Technologies leaving the Plugin Alliance?
We have decided to pursue other avenues to manage sales and marketing of Gig Performer.
What does this change mean for Plugin Alliance users?
Plugin Alliance users can continue to use the current version of Gig Performer PA Edition that they have purchased or to which they subscribe. However, there will be no new updates available for those products.
Can I still download the PA versions of Gig Performer?
Plugin Alliance has kindly provided us with a list of links through which you can download legacy PA versions of Gig Performer. Click here to access that list.
I use the Plugin Alliance Locked edition of Gig Performer. Can I cross-grade to the full version of Gig Performer from Deskew Technologies?
There are no cross-grade plans available for users of Plugin Alliance Locked edition. Customers using this edition will have to purchase new licenses directly from Deskew Technologies. Please visit the Gig Performer Store page for pricing information and ordering.
I use the Plugin Alliance Unlocked edition of Gig Performer version 4. Can I cross-grade to the full version of Gig Performer from Deskew Technologies?
Cross-grades will be available. Click here to see the pricing. The cross-grade price will depend on the price the customer actually paid for this edition after all discounts and vouchers have been applied.
I use the Plugin Alliance Unlocked edition of Gig Performer version 3. Can I cross-grade to the full version of Gig Performer from Deskew Technologies?
Deskew Technologies announced Gig Performer 4 on March 1st 2021 and released it on June 1st, 2021. Customers who purchased Gig Performer 3 from Deskew Technologies on or after March 1st 2021 were entitled to upgrade to Gig Performer 4 without any upgrade fees. Consequently, the same rules apply to PA customers who purchased GP3 on or after March 1st, 2021, i.e, they will simply pay the difference between what they paid for GP3 and the retail non-discounted price at which Deskew Technologies sells GP4. See the previous FAQ for details on this process.
PA customers who purchased GP3 before March 1st 2021 are not eligible for this offer and will find it less expensive to simply purchase a new GP4 license.
Does Deskew Technologies offer sales and any discounts?
As a matter of policy, Deskew Technologies does not participate in any temporary discounted sales during the year. See why here. We do, however, offer a 50% discount to students and full-time teachers at accredited schools and universities. To check eligibility for this special discount, please visit this page for more information.
What are the differences between the official Deskew edition and Plugin Alliance Unlocked edition of Gig Performer?
The last available release of the PA Unlocked edition of Gig Performer was version 4.58. In mid-August 2023, Deskew Technologies released Gig Performer 4.7 which has many new features. However, as previously mentioned, releases of Gig Performer will after 4.58 will be available only from Deskew Technologies and the Plugin Alliance editions will not be updated.
How does Deskew Technologies licensing work?
A single Gig Performer® 4 license allows you to activate up to three computers for your desired platform (Windows or macOS). So buying a macOS license lets you run Gig Performer® on three Mac computers simultaneously and buying a Windows license lets you run Gig Performer® on three Windows computers simultaneously. We also offer a bundle consisting of both macOS and Windows license, which provides you with 6 activations (up to three macOS and up to three Windows activations). If you need to run Gig Performer® on a fourth computer, you can deactivate your license on one of your other computers and then activate it on the fourth computer.
Can I use the same gig file on both a Mac computer and a Windows computer?
Sure – our gig files can be opened on either platform and as long as compatible VST plugins exist on both platforms, you will be able to use, edit, save and transfer gigs between the two platforms.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.