Laptop Live Rig

[Tango616]

So I was just curious as to a super small, super simple live rig idea, I plan and or hope to get an Axe Fx. but I was wondering if this set up would work in the mean time.

I use a Focusrite 4i2 as an interface into my laptop with TSE x50 or whatever amp sim I feel like using, and I've heard of people running a laptop rig before, but would the latency be a problem (it isn't right now) but if I ran the output from that to a powered monitor on the floor and or into the front of house as you would with an Axe fx?

So the setup would be:
guitar > interface > laptop > program > Powered Pa/ Front of house.

Would this actually work?

 

[Grindspine]

Yeah, running direct to PA can work as long as you are happy with the sound and latency isn't an issue.

Some of the Keith Merrow videos with JamUpPro have a pretty good sound; a POD direct to PA can work. There is no reason a laptop-based emulator cannot work.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Michael from The Faceless was running a laptop rig when I saw them last year and it seemed to work just fine for him

 

[GunpointMetal]

Just don't expect your recording tones to sound good live. It will definitely work and if you have multiple outputs you can route you can run other sounds off the computer and have the guitar separate

 

[Leuchty]

Just do your homework regarding the laptops specs.

Im no expert, but things like SS drive, etc. are important.

Do some searching around the site, there is TONNES of info on this very topic.

Read my sig for search tips

 

[Tango616]

Wow the faceless used a laptop rig? That's crazy, I didn't know that. And thanks for the replies. I will go down to my music shop tomorrow and try it out with a powered PA, fingers crossed, money's tight.

 

[Devyn Eclipse Nav]

CYBERSYN mentioned it, but I'm emphasize it - a solid state hard drive is a MUST if you're gigging with it in any sort of a metal context. Otherwise, stage vibrations might make the the drive skip, and you definitely don't want that. You also want it to run as smoothly as possible, so plenty of ram is a good idea, and ideally, you'd have a computer dedicated entirely to this sort of thing.

 

[Tango616]

So an SSD is an ABSOLUTE must? Even if I had like, foam padding or something for the laptop on a stand? like studio monitors? I'd imagine 4-8g of ram should be enough for just an Amp sim with nothing else going on right?

 

[JPhoenix19]

I've gigged with a few different laptops, and none of them had SSD's. The main benefit to an SSD is the durability over time. I've never heard of a hard drive "skipping" like a CD would.

However for the long run it is a very good idea since SSD's do not suffer the same mechanical failures as HDD's. Also, low-latency live audio is heavily dependent on your processor- not the ram. I dare say that with a laptop dedicated to your live rig and nothing else, 2 Gb should be more than enough.

The absolute most important thing is your configuration, as there are processes that run in the background unseen that can cause spikes in processing power- causing audio glitches or drop outs. There's some good info out there to help you with that, and it's worth looking at. A poorly configured ultrabook could still lack in performance at low latency.

As an example of what you can do, I've ran Guitar Rig 5 at 48k with my Rig Kontrol 3 for the interface, getting a *total* round-trip latency of around 7ms on a Lenovo G530 (goes for real cheap on eBay) with 2gb ram and an intel pentium dual-core processor.

 

[Tango616]

mhmm, maybe I'll look at a cheap used macbook if an SSD is kinda manditory. Can't really find too many laptops with SSD's around here. But I'll report back with findings once I try out the pa/cab from my laptop and see how it goes down.

 

[Albionic]

just replace the existing hard drive with an ssd its easy and not mega expensive. use a hard drive/usb adapter to clone the existing hard drive then swap them over.

 

[ZeroS1gnol]

Just out of sheer curiosity: why would one choose a laptop rig to gig with? Portability? Why not just use something like a POD bean if portability is an issue? Way easier to adjust to different live settings.

 

[Jax_X]

I also use a laptop for live performances. Using a Focusrite 2i4. Usually I also pack a DI box in order to provide XLR to the front of house guy. However most venues have DI boxes themselves, but I like to be on the safe side^^

I have also programmed in all the patch changes and running 3 instances of Revalver and some reverb, delay etc plugins I get like 20ms latency, with my crap 5 years old laptop. With this old machine I cannot get the latency lower. However, the same setup with the same interface, on my studio PC gets me a latency of like 10ms.

I would not say that a SSD is a requirement audio performance wise, but wtf a SSD makes your whole system so much faster, smoother and more comfortable to operate, it's so worth it.

 

[JPhoenix19]

Just out of sheer curiosity: why would one choose a laptop rig to gig with? Portability? Why not just use something like a POD bean if portability is an issue? Way easier to adjust to different live settings.

Because portability really isn't an issue. Also the quality of the various modelers available on PC/MAC surpasses anything the POD (or just about any other modeler, IMO) can offer.

The biggest drawback to a laptop-based rig is the learning curve of configuring it. But compare that with any learning curve one would experience with making good patches on, say an Axe-Fx, it's not really that big of an issue.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

CYBERSYN mentioned it, but I'm emphasize it - a solid state hard drive is a MUST if you're gigging with it in any sort of a metal context. Otherwise, stage vibrations might make the the drive skip, and you definitely don't want that. You also want it to run as smoothly as possible, so plenty of ram is a good idea, and ideally, you'd have a computer dedicated entirely to this sort of thing.

Not true at all... I'm a computer tech. Some decent padding will be fine to isolate from vibrations. The extended, repeated read/write on the SSD will cause it to wear out ultra fast. SSD's are great for programs to be installed to, but archives of sounds and sound samples is a bad idea. Traditional media is much better for this. I've used my MacBook Pro and Mac Mini for gigs at very high volume, many times without issue. Just find a way to isolate from vibration and max out your RAM. An Auralex Gramma Amp Decoupler will work perfectly. The fact that DJ's use computers without SSD's on a regular basis should be evidence enough of this.

Also, I don't understand the need for this. I ran an AFX direct to PA for years. You're a slave to the PA. If you don't have monitors, you don't hear yourself. If your monitors or engineer suck (almost always the case), you can't hear what you need to hear. If the PA sucks, your tone sucks. For smallish gigs, I'd always recommend going into a sound source you are familiar with, that you brought with you. FRFR's, power amp and cab, whatever. Just don't trust the venue or promoter to provide what you need. It won't happen, unless you're big enough that you can get a writer and a guarantee.

 

[Trainwreck1446]

I use the Axe FX II, but I use a laptop live as well to run clicks and patch changes. Could easily be modified to use VST in Logic to do this.

 

[G_3_3_k_]

I use the Axe FX II, but I use a laptop live as well to run clicks and patch changes. Could easily be modified to use VST in Logic to do this.

I've done it.

 

[ExultationJeff]

I'm looking to do the same thing with my rig, would a Macbook Pro like this one work well? Also, what processors should I be looking for to get minimal latency?
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop, 13.3", 2.5GHz Intel Core i5, 500GB HDD, 4GB DDR3 RAM | Staples®

This is also more in my price range + all the programs i use now are windows so it'd make things easier to get this one. Would it be reliable enough for live use?
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/lenovo/y-series/y510p/#features

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I know of a couple of bands that used to go all d.i. with pods, into their own mixer to route all of their eim's, then they sent a stereo mix to FOH and that's all FOH did. Their mix was handled by automation once their soundcheck revealed what room eq'ing their system had to reconcile to. They used a pair of programmable 31 band eq's, and once they played a venue once, that venue's name became its preset name. They had the quickest soundchecks ever of any band I had ever gigged with, and their load it, tear down for the change ups was extremently fast. Any band that played after them was always grateful as it allowed them to set up with a few more minutes than usual.

 

[Murmel]

I'm looking to do the same thing with my rig, would a Macbook Pro like this one work well? Also, what processors should I be looking for to get minimal latency?
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop, 13.3", 2.5GHz Intel Core i5, 500GB HDD, 4GB DDR3 RAM | Staples®

This is also more in my price range + all the programs i use now are windows so it'd make things easier to get this one. Would it be reliable enough for live use?
Lenovo Y510p | High-Performance 15.6" Multimedia Laptop from Lenovo | Lenovo (US)

I would choose a Mac every day over a PC for live use, macbooks are generally built like tanks and very reliable from my experience.

A good friend of mine has got a Lenovo, and from all the troubles he's having with it I can't recommend it.
I understand a PC is more attractive due to the price, but consider getting a macbook used. "13 especially go for cheap.