DP Used Live On Stage - Need Guidance

[sonicflight]

Hi All...

First of all, I'm a newbie to DP, although I've been working with MIDI/sequencing since 1984 when it all came out. Been using Cakewalk live on stage with MIDI only that triggers my guitar patches, click track, all lighting, digital mixing board changes and presets, a vocal sampler, sound modules, and drum patches. I am moving to the Macbook and DP 7.2 and need advice/guidance on how to set this up and convert everything over. I've tried searching all the threads in this board and have gotten a bit on information, now looking for confirmation and any expert knowledge that will help me avoid starting off on the wrong foot.

Here's what I've been able to gather and my thoughts on moving forward:
- I want to print all my sound module tracks (may use VI's for better sounds).
- Print the click track
- Print all vocal samples and backing tracks
- Import all my other MIDI tracks (patch changes, lighting stuff, etc.. (I may be able to use the Clipping's window to establish a 'template' of MIDI tracks I use for every song)
- Use chunks for all setlist/playlists (not completely sure with this area)
- Have an 8 port MOTU MIDI interface for all MIDI data (equipment hooked up will be consistent - ie. guitar port #1 - channel 15, lighting port #2 - channel 10, etc.)
- Have a Audio Interface that have 8 outputs (hoping to CONSISTENTLY assign outputs to channels on the mixing board - ie. Samples/backup vocals on output 3&4, Click on output 8, extra percussion on output 6&7m etc.)
- And to keep things SIMPLE (no VI's used live, print all 'audio' type tracks, etc..)

Not sure around these areas:
- Working with chunks and how that would work with setlists.. going from one song to another or a 'cue' hold till something's pressed (spacebar or 'PLAY" through MIDI transport). What's the best option here.
- Will port assignment for MIDI and Audio always be consistent as each song is loaded..?
- Anyting anyone else can provide around using this tool LIVE would be great.

Thanks for your time for those that answer..!! Much appreciated..!

[kwiz]

You can set up DP to trigger chunks via MIDI notes. This is helpful in case you need to change your setlist on the fly. You can also set chunks to cue up but not play the next chunk after the prior chunk has ended. This is great if you have your setlist locked in and have the chunks arranged in the order of your set list. http://www.motu.com/products
MIDI port and audio outs will remain the same as long as you save them accordingly.

Either the 828 Hybrid or Ultralite Hybrid will do the job for you MIDI and audio wise!

Hope this helps!

[Shooshie]

In the manual, or the Help menu, look up Chunk Chaining. Chunk Chaining involves the buttons at the top of the Chunks window. One of them will cue the next song and wait for you to hit Play. The other one will just play the next song when the current song ends. It won't do so seamlessly -- there is always a gap as it loads the tracks of the next song.

To determine exactly when each song ENDS, you use the Chunks Mini-menu item "Auto-Manual End Time." Then you type in the bar/beat number of the end point.

If you need a fail-safe chunk, so that nothing happens if someone taps the spacebar on your keyboard while you are away, create an empty chunk with 3000 bars at quarter note = 20, or something like that. You can leave that as the active chunk when you have to be away from your computer for a moment.

Practice your moves. You think that sounds silly; it's a computer. But when you've got 5000 people out there, and they're all quiet, and the next thing they hear is whatever YOU do, you want to be sure that your next move is exactly right. I made a checklist and followed it religiously.

I used chunks to call lighting cues, setting up the stage lights for patter between songs, as well as the entire light plot during the music. My point is that some chunks were lighting-only. Others were music with a few lighting tracks.

There is a buffer between the time you hit a key and the time that DP actually plays. I minimized that buffer by hitting Pause (keypad [2]), then Play. Nothing would happen until I hit Pause again, but all the preliminary actions, like event chasing, would already have taken place. Releasing Pause is the fastest way to start a sequence.

The Chunks Window has a comments field beside each chunk. I used that to write the lines of patter that cued me that it was nearly time to start the next sequence. Then I'd UPPER CASE the exact words at which I would hit Play. Sometimes things change, but usually that will help get things going at exactly the right point. A half second may be a short amount of time, but it's an eternity when the leader/solo artist swings around and says "Hit it!" and you're waiting for that first note. Timing is everything.

There is much more, but I think the rest is pretty much obvious.

Shooshie

[sonicflight]

Thanks KWIZ and Shooshie for your replies and knowledge sharing. VERY helpful and I think I'm getting it. I will try working with that and testing it. I think one of the challenges for me is that this more of a DAW approach is very differnt and DP compared to Cakewalk/SONAR is also very different. I've got the tutorials and training that I've been reviewing, but I'm more of a hands-on approach kind of person where I pickup significantly as I'm working on it. Wish there were some classes or virtual/desktop sharing options that you could work one-on-one with someone to really just get 'jump started'. Maybe I'll shoot a post out and see if there might some option around that out there somewhere.

Thanks again..!!!

[daniel.sneed]

This has been discussed elsewhere in the forum, but, in my experience, a few things to do when using DP live:
- chose a buffer setting as high as you can accept in your project
- disable any unneeded plugins or V-rack
- disable auto-scrolling
- quit any unneeded app
- un-mount and shut down any unneeded hard drive

And, as Shooshie said, rehearse and... rehearse. More than any musician would do in such situation.

[kwiz]

Hey Dan,

Why disable auto scrolling? I run huge sessions with that engaged and never have a problem.

[daniel.sneed]

No definite reason, Kwiz. But auto-scrolling does eat some CPU on my system.
In my experience, and on my setup, crashes are mainly maxing out CPU related. But, of course, YMMV.
When it comes to DP live on stage, my strategy has always been *the lighter the better*.