Play your favourite VSTis live without* a computer?

[Drew Stephenson]

I've been wondering for a while why something like this didn't already exist.
https://songathletics.com/blogs/researc ... ompler-box

Will be watching with interest.

* Obviously there is a computer in the box but you know what I mean!

[Martin Walker]

Yes, I agree - a rather obvious device with hindsight, especially employing the nowadays rather ubiquitous Raspberry Pi.

If it can be marketed at £150 or less it ought to do well, otherwise someone is bound to pipe up that you could perform the same job only slightly less conveniently with a 2nd hand laptop.

[The Elf]

If it can be marketed at £150 or less it ought to do well, otherwise someone is bound to pipe up that you could perform the same job only slightly less conveniently with a 2nd hand laptop.

And likely with fewer compromises. Plus a cheap NUC is almost as small (at one time I considered velcro-ing one under my main keyboard) and can be run headless (I know of Cantabile users that do this).

Nice idea, though.

Anything of this ilk stands or falls on the power and flexibility of its host features. Simply accessing plug-ins is only the start. Hosts such as VST Live, Cantabile and Mainstage are mature and super-featured.

[Forum Admin]

I've been wondering for a while why something like this didn't already exist.

Muse Research's Receptor... see reviews here: https://www.soundonsound.com/search?ter ... h+Receptor

[Drew Stephenson]

I've been wondering for a while why something like this didn't already exist.

Muse Research's Receptor... see reviews here: https://www.soundonsound.com/search?ter ... h+Receptor

OK, same job, but size and price...

Something like the Orb will succeed on simplicity - both of set-up and instrument. It has to be something that is as easy as using a real instrument.

[Martin Walker]

I've been wondering for a while why something like this didn't already exist.

Muse Research's Receptor... see reviews here: https://www.soundonsound.com/search?ter ... h+Receptor

Well remembered Ian - while I was employed as mad scientist and sound designer by Camel Audio I helped put together a package of their Alchemy Player presets for this device, but couldn't remember its name

[Martin Walker]

Now my memory has been finally unlocked, I now finally recall the other standalone controller that had a special edition of Camel Audio Alchemy sounds created for it, to work more expressively with its breath controller - the Eigenlabs Eigenharp Pico:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/ei ... nharp-pico

I seem to remember handing over the final file versions direct to Eigenlabs at the 2011 Analogue to Digital Music Expo in Exeter.

[BJG145]

Unless I'm missing something, this plays samples...? Which is useful, but very different from playing VSTs...which you can also do on an RPi5 via Windows, to some extent.

https://youtu.be/6oosN8jxzvQ

For sample playback, I'm currently working with the Robertsonics offerings (right now in fact).

https://www.robertsonics.com/wav-trigger-pro

Orb looks more powerful though...

[Ben Asaro]

Neat idea for some very specific sounds I would like to have to hand, like Mellotron and Solina strings ... will be interesting to see where it ends up!

[BJG145]

The ORB utilises Yellow Noise Audio's open-source 'SampleBox', which allows for multisamples to be loaded onto a Raspberry Pi and performed. In this prototype, we've adapted our samples from Friends - a variety of core studio instruments - and housed them in a neat and desirable box.

It's just Samplerbox in a case at the moment. It's been around a while.

https://www.samplerbox.org/

The best software for converting VSTs to samples is SampleRobot. It's in a class of its own.

https://samplerobot.com/

[Drew Stephenson]

Unless I'm missing something, this plays samples...? Which is useful, but very different from playing VSTs...

Yes, I think you're right.

[The Elf]

Ugh! That's disappointing!

[Drew Stephenson]

This is not my area of expertise but it looks like it's just a sample player, "oped this small but powerful prototype with one job in mind: to house our multi-sampled virtual instruments so that you can plug in a MIDI keyboard and perform with them, without using a computer. This could be great for live scenarios, integrating into other hardware setups or just for general practise and amusement.
The ORB utilises Yellow Noise Audio's open-source 'SampleBox', which allows for multisamples to be loaded onto a Raspberry Pi and performed. "

[Arpangel]

You mean I've got to multi-sample all of my favourite VSTi's? what?????

[BigRedX]

I'm pretty sure that there have various devices that can do this ever since VSTs became a thing. The fact that non of them AFAICS are still around should say something about the potential of this "new" device.

[N i g e l]

Yes, I remember seeing hardware VST hosts in the past.
Mini PCs would be the main competitor ?

like this one @ £119.99

Fusion5 FMP4 Mini PC Windows 11 Home Mini Computer, 128GB Storage and 8GB RAM - Small & Portable Desktop Computer with Dual Band WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro SD Card Slot

[Martin Walker]

Yes, I remember seeing hardware VST hosts in the past.
Mini PCs would be the main competitor ?

like this one @ £119.99

Fusion5 FMP4 Mini PC Windows 11 Home Mini Computer, 128GB Storage and 8GB RAM - Small & Portable Desktop Computer with Dual Band WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro SD Card Slot

Here's a link to save others tracking this down for more details

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fusion5-FMP4-M ... B0BF13QYDG

[N i g e l]

That processor is a 4 core Intel Celeron N4120 @ 1.10GHz

Multithread Rating
2461
Single Thread Rating
1070

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cp ... Hz&id=3651

[Matt Houghton]

Yes, I remember seeing hardware VST hosts in the past...

Many years ago, as well as the Muse Receptor linked to above, there was the SM Pro Audio V-Machine. They were bought out by Harman a decade ago and most of their products disappeared (though a few of their utility things were rebadged as dbx, as I recall, and the main reason for the purchase was the IP that they wanted to use in a range of mixers...).

There are the Mod Devices boxes too, though they host LV2 (ie Linux) plug-ins rather than VST.

[Drew Stephenson]

Yes, I remember seeing hardware VST hosts in the past.
Mini PCs would be the main competitor ?

like this one @ £119.99

Fusion5 FMP4 Mini PC Windows 11 Home Mini Computer, 128GB Storage and 8GB RAM - Small & Portable Desktop Computer with Dual Band WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro SD Card Slot

Thing is, then you need a screen and a mouse / keyboard. At which point you're better off with a laptop.

[James Perrett]

Thing is, then you need a screen and a mouse / keyboard. At which point you're better off with a laptop.

You could control it from a tablet or phone via VNC/RDP or just set things up so that everything is controlled via Midi. If you want a stand-alone system then you are probably someone who is prepared to forego some of the versatility offered by a conventional mouse/keyboard/screen combination.

[Drew Stephenson]

You could control it from a tablet or phone via VNC/RDP or just set things up so that everything is controlled via Midi.

That's a good point - I really don't tend to think of my phone as a useful control device because I tend to hate doing anything serious on a small screen. But if all I'd be doing was scrolling down to a different preset and hitting 'load' that would be ok.

If you want a stand-alone system then you are probably someone who is prepared to forego some of the versatility offered by a conventional mouse/keyboard/screen combination.

For me the appeal of a device like this is the simplicity. I plug my midi controller in and dial in my one piano sound, then scroll down to my one organ sound, etc.
Which I think is what the prototype is suggesting but only for a limited set of sample types. Conceptually I still find it an interesting idea.
But I am very simple...

[James Perrett]

For me the appeal of a device like this is the simplicity. I plug my midi controller in and dial in my one piano sound, then scroll down to my one organ sound, etc.

In which case you could do all that from your controller. No need for any display, keyboard or mouse. Of course you would need to set everything up in the first place but there are millions of similar Windows systems around the world running a well defined set of software without a conventional keyboard/mouse/display.

[The Elf]

Yes, I remember seeing hardware VST hosts in the past.
Mini PCs would be the main competitor ?

like this one @ £119.99

Fusion5 FMP4 Mini PC Windows 11 Home Mini Computer, 128GB Storage and 8GB RAM - Small & Portable Desktop Computer with Dual Band WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro SD Card Slot

Thing is, then you need a screen and a mouse / keyboard. At which point you're better off with a laptop.

Not necessarily. As I said above, some Cantabile users run their PCs headless. Something like that machine and a few carefully chosen VSTis and you have a live multi-keyboard rig in the palm of your hand, ready to go from power up.

Personally I'd want a small screen to be sure everything is behaving, but it can certainly be done without.

[BJG145]

Muse Research's Receptor

One of these just appeared on eBay with a £10 start, so it'll be interesting to see what the market think it's worth now.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/mu ... h-receptor