Solo Woodwinds
What free VST host program (for live play, in Windows) do you prefer?

What free live program for Swam instruments do you prefer?

I currently use Komplete Kontrol, with an EWI USB controller on a modern win 10 64 bit laptop.

What free live program for Swam instruments do you prefer? I currently use Komplete Kontrol, with an EWI USB controller on a modern win 10 64 bit laptop.

AFAIK there is no free VST host program decently usable for Live playing.
-Michael

AFAIK there is no free VST host program decently usable for Live playing. -Michael

Why not?

It appears to work without issues on my end?

Why not? It appears to work without issues on my end?

Interesting ,,,,
By "decent" I meant features, not issues.
I built a complex setup for my 3 manual keyboard plus Breath controller plus controller surface interface device for playing SWAM, Kontakt, and other VSTis using Reaper and a ton of scripts.
Reaper is not free, but much value for a moderate price. (As I also use it for production/mixing it also could be considered "free" for this additional usage case smile .)
-Michael

Interesting ,,,, By "decent" I meant features, not issues. I built a complex setup for my 3 manual keyboard plus Breath controller plus controller surface interface device for playing SWAM, Kontakt, and other VSTis using Reaper and a ton of scripts. Reaper is not free, but much value for a moderate price. (As I also use it for production/mixing it also could be considered "free" for this additional usage case :) .) -Michael
edited Sep 17 at 6:52 am

True, I can only load up 1 instrument.

I could spend some time researching about 15 other programs that can load VST, that are free, but I don't have the time for it right now.

Multi instrument is something I can use in Kontrol, either for quicker switching between instruments, or layering.

I mostly use it for a single instrument, and hope I have time between tracks to select another wind instrument if I need to swap it.

From an SD card, the instrument loads within 2-4 seconds anyway.

I get that Reaper is better. The Evaluation version can be ran indefinitely (past the 60 days), but I'm not too keen on too much knobs on my desktop.

For live play, I prefer simplicity.

One program that is extremely simple, is the original Akai EWI USB Garritan software, with the advanced skin from ewiusb.com.
The skin worked well on netbooks, but devices nowadays have higher screen resolutions, resulting in the skin looking very tiny on my 1080p laptop screen.

True, I can only load up 1 instrument. I could spend some time researching about 15 other programs that can load VST, that are free, but I don't have the time for it right now. Multi instrument is something I can use in Kontrol, either for quicker switching between instruments, or layering. I mostly use it for a single instrument, and hope I have time between tracks to select another wind instrument if I need to swap it. From an SD card, the instrument loads within 2-4 seconds anyway. I get that Reaper is better. The Evaluation version can be ran indefinitely (past the 60 days), but I'm not too keen on too much knobs on my desktop. For live play, I prefer simplicity. One program that is extremely simple, is the original Akai EWI USB Garritan software, with the advanced skin from ewiusb.com. The skin worked well on netbooks, but devices nowadays have higher screen resolutions, resulting in the skin looking very tiny on my 1080p laptop screen.

I use a lot more than 10 plugins, and need a very sophisticated Midi scripting, hence Camelot is not an option, even though it seems very user friendly for a less complex setup / dedicated usage.
Where to find that it is free ?
-Michael

I use a lot more than 10 plugins, and need a very sophisticated Midi scripting, hence Camelot is not an option, even though it seems very user friendly for a less complex setup / dedicated usage. Where to find that it is free ? -Michael

Live playing simplicity:
My setup works "headless" (i.e. no Monitor / Mouse / computer-keyboard attached. Controlled only via the Control Surface device. (Before I had this, I used buttons on the masterkeyboard I used at that time) . This is only possible by scripting, which is perfectly supported in Reaper.
With a Wind Controller I wold suggest a food switch panel.
Moreover I need sound switching in a fraction of a second !
-Michael

Live playing simplicity: My setup works "headless" (i.e. no Monitor / Mouse / computer-keyboard attached. Controlled only via the Control Surface device. (Before I had this, I used buttons on the masterkeyboard I used at that time) . This is only possible by scripting, which is perfectly supported in Reaper. With a Wind Controller I wold suggest a food switch panel. Moreover I need sound switching in a fraction of a second ! -Michael
edited Oct 4 at 7:33 am

@mschnell the original question by ProDigit was "What free live program for Swam instruments do you prefer?"

I'm pretty confident that Camelot Free is the best option on the market for a live plugin host.

I understand that if you use more than 10 plugins you need Camelot Pro, or another application. Reaper was born as a DAW, not as an application for the live performance, anyway I understand that it can be adapted to live situations too.

Free version of Camelot is available here: https://camelotpro.com/try-and-buy/
(scroll down).

Moreover, Camelot 2.0 Beta is available for testing.

Best!

@mschnell the original question by ProDigit was "What free live program for Swam instruments do you prefer?" I'm pretty confident that Camelot Free is the best option on the market for a live plugin host. I understand that if you use more than 10 plugins you need Camelot Pro, or another application. Reaper was born as a DAW, not as an application for the live performance, anyway I understand that it can be adapted to live situations too. Free version of Camelot is available here: https://camelotpro.com/try-and-buy/ (scroll down). Moreover, Camelot 2.0 Beta is available for testing. Best!

Can Camelot work in a "headless" system, completely controlled by Midi ?
-Michael

Can Camelot work in a "headless" system, completely controlled by Midi ? -Michael

As in reference to VST players, Reaper is a bit too complex for on stage.
And Kontakt Player, which used to be able to load VSTs, now no longer does. It only accepts NKI files.
Reaktor too, doesn't support VST, though their NKI files are like a Native instrument VST.
Native Instrument's only VST player is the Komplete Kontrol player. Which doesn't have much options at all, other than load a single VST, and load/save patches for it.

Next up: V-Player, and Camelot. I seem to have ran into issues downloading Camelot. Will try again later.

As in reference to VST players, Reaper is a bit too complex for on stage. And Kontakt Player, which used to be able to load VSTs, now no longer does. It only accepts NKI files. Reaktor too, doesn't support VST, though their NKI files are like a Native instrument VST. Native Instrument's only VST player is the Komplete Kontrol player. Which doesn't have much options at all, other than load a single VST, and load/save patches for it. Next up: V-Player, and Camelot. I seem to have ran into issues downloading Camelot. Will try again later.

Kontakt is a (very sophisticated) Sampler / sample player and never was a VST host.
Reaktor is a (very sophisticated) synthesizer and never was a VST host.
The "Player" versions of same are just the free versions, that allow for using pre-made (and licensed) libraries / sounds, but not creating such libraries, as the full versions can.
The thingy by NI that was a VST host (slightly similar to Camelot and predecessor to the supposedly less versatile Komplete Kontrol) was Kore.
Reaper of course is not created as a Live playing tool. But happily for me it's not (only) created as a DAW for recording and creating musical pieces, but also as an infrastructure tool for programming audio systems. That is why I was able to make it a versatile "instrument" that holds lots of VSTs, perfectly usable on stage.
Here -> https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=213568 you'll find information about how this can be done, and also a list of available VST host software.
-Michael

Kontakt is a (very sophisticated) Sampler / sample player and never was a VST host. Reaktor is a (very sophisticated) synthesizer and never was a VST host. The "Player" versions of same are just the free versions, that allow for using pre-made (and licensed) libraries / sounds, but not creating such libraries, as the full versions can. The thingy by NI that was a VST host (slightly similar to Camelot and predecessor to the supposedly less versatile Komplete Kontrol) was Kore. Reaper of course is not created as a Live playing tool. But happily for me it's not (only) created as a DAW for recording and creating musical pieces, but also as an infrastructure tool for programming audio systems. That is why I was able to make it a versatile "instrument" that holds lots of VSTs, perfectly usable on stage. Here -> https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=213568 you'll find information about how this can be done, and also a list of available VST host software. -Michael
edited Oct 4 at 6:20 am

The link doesn't translate.

Do you have any other suggestions for a live VST player like Kontakt, with slightly more options?

The link doesn't translate. Do you have any other suggestions for a live VST player like Kontakt, with slightly more options?

As said, Kontakt is not a VST player. (And the "Player" wording by NI has a completely other meaning: i.e. "free, limited version". )
AFAIK, the only currently available software by NI that can be used as a stand alone VST player is "Komplete Kontrol". I don't use same, hence I can't say much about it.
Seemingly Komplete Kontrol can invisibly load Kontakt to have same play sample based Kontakt libraries. Same with other VST instruments by NI. Obviously you can also have it load 3rd party plugins.
Sorry for incorrectly pasting the URL in the previous post. (Corrected now,)
I collected a list of "Alternative stand alone software for Live playing with plugins" in this forum post:
-> https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=213568#3
-Michael

As said, Kontakt is not a VST player. (And the "Player" wording by NI has a completely other meaning: i.e. "free, limited version". ) AFAIK, the only currently available software by NI that can be used as a stand alone VST player is "Komplete Kontrol". I don't use same, hence I can't say much about it. Seemingly Komplete Kontrol can invisibly load Kontakt to have same play sample based Kontakt libraries. Same with other VST instruments by NI. Obviously you can also have it load 3rd party plugins. Sorry for incorrectly pasting the URL in the previous post. (Corrected now,) I collected a list of "**Alternative stand alone software for Live playing with plugins**" in this forum post: -> https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=213568#3 -Michael
edited Oct 5 at 6:33 am
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