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  • I'm looking for the best software for music performing. This would run on my Windows laptop and interface to my keyboard and drum machine through MIDI. I'm looking for flexible software that also does some tablature; making charts and transposing chords, etc. I'd like to keep it under $500.


  • Hi - Thanks very much for your reply. I checked out Cubasis and it looks like a valuable tool, however it seems to be geared more towards recording. That's a nice feature, but my interest is more in the real-time performance side. I'm essentially trying to create a drummer and bass player for my combo using a good drum machine. I'm looking for a flexible way to program it for various songs and a convenient way to access those programs during a live performance situation. As a bonus, it would be nice to have the software organize our charts (lead sheets) and be able to transpose and/or transcribe music into different keys, etc. (Full notation is not necessary, just chords or guitar tablature.) BTW, my keyboard is a Roland A-90 Expandable Controller; very MIDI flexible and yet it has no on-board sequencer. I have a couple of drum machines (both with sequencers); the most programmable one is the Boss DR-3 (Dr. Rhythm). Can you suggest anything that might better suit my needs?


  • I am an educator at an audio school and here is my advice. I think the best program on the PC for midi sequencing is Cubasis by Steinberg. You can get it in many different version, the one that only does midi sequencing is less than $500. You can get a midi and audio pro version called Cubase VST which is more expensive but allows you to do some very professional things. One thing to consider. Most professional musicians I work with use their keyboards built in sequencer instead of the laptop route. This allows for less setup and everything is on the keyboard. If you have a keyboard that can handle this I would probably go that route.


  • I'm hoping to use my old Toshiba Tecra 740CDT laptop which runs on a Pentium MMX processor, but I'm prepared to upgrade if I need to.


  • You know Cubase SX is actually really good for this if you have a good sound card you can use it to simulate a bigger room / etc. M-audio makes some excellent hardware for this. We used to use an older version of Cubase on the old Atari ST hardware for playing music live. Have you checked out Cakewalk? Its good for Midi Sequencing and interfacing stuff with your pc, but I really think Cubase is much better, you've got to learn a lot to use it though. Maybe you would be interested in a "Band in the Box" combo? I'm not sure, can you describe how much of the pc side of hardware you have is?


  • I worked extensively in a group where we performed live using Creator on a Atari computer (just me on sax and a keyboard player). He ran midi out to his D50 and a drum machine and then mixed the outs of those instruments in an 8 channel board. This crashed rarely, and my only fear was a lack of backup (we didnt carry a second computer). Now, I am trying to do the same, but with just me performing. I have Cubase SL and Echo Layla and am trying to get everything up for performance. I am very frightened of using midi during a live performance with the laptop since so many things can go wrong (bad commands, patch changes, channel screw up, etc.). I am thinking of taking all the midi tracks and converting them to wav. and then using that. Is that nuts or prudent? Thanks.







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