Hi, so I’ve started using Ableton as a host, with the Rytm and A4 plug-ins for sound design only.
I’m wondering if anyone can recommend a stand-alone host, which would host the plug-ins, without the over-head of a full DAW like Ableton?
Any thoughts?
Edit: I’m on OSX El Capitan at the minute on my main workstation.
I have found Reaper to be unbelievably conservative on CPU and RAM utilization. You can run a fully functional demo mode for free before committing to a purchase. It is a DAW of course but it is exceptionally efficient in my experience.
I guess since I already own Ableton and Cubase, there’s no real point in buying Reaper.
Tbh, it would be really great if Elektron came up with a pure, stand-alone editor. Those screens are too small for my ageing eyes. 
Reaper is basically free if you want it to be. After demo period runs out if you open Reaper you just have to wait a varied amount of time before the program will start. Generally no longer than a few seconds. Guess it could get annoying if you’re opening and closing it often but if only opening it the once per session its not a big deal at all…
Hi Purusha - a while back I found a vst host so I could run overbridge without using a DAW.
I’m not sure if this is still in beta or further development but check out Imageline’s Minihost Modular:
http://www.image-line.com/documents/news.php?tag=minihost+modular
I was just about to recommend that too.
I’d been using one (Savihost) for a while just to run the Overbridge VSTs, but it stopped working a few OS updates back; so I’ll be very interested to check out Minihost Modular too. Ta for the pointer.
Curious what the advantage of a vst host is over super slim daw like reaper? Genuine question as I’ve never looked at vst host software before.
PC : https://www.cantabilesoftware.com
PC : http://www.livefactory.com/products/rack-performer
PC-MAC : http://ifoundasound.com/Index.php/?page_id=8
PC-MAC : http://www.plogue.com/products/bidule/
MAC (not sure compatible with El Capitan) : https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audio-plugin-player/id489844081?mt=12
Verify before compatibility with your OS and platform. But i guess it’s the last updated host for now
Thanks for the suggestions!
Less ‘clutter’ in the UI is one thing - with the image line one you basically get a blank screen with a header. The screen just lets you make/see plugin connections.
I use Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol as my VST host when all I want to use is a stand alone instrument plug.
Works really well. Some people think you need the NI hardware to use it but that’s not the case.
The only catch is it only hosts one plug at a time. No chaining whatsoever so you can’t apply effects to you Elektron synths for example.
There are instantly two products that come to my mind:
Forte 4 by Brainspawn: http://www.brainspawn.com/
and
Cantabile: https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/
I use Forte 4 myself … it’s like an instrument rack. Put everything in, what your CPU can digest … and there you go. There are many others too.
Edit: just saw it, that cantabile has been named already …
There’s also AU Lab from Apple, for, well, AUs, quite handy and surprisingly flexible for a minimal footprint (no windows, no VST obviously)
I like to make a bespoke minimal host in Max/MSP, that way you can add your own bells and whistles to taste specific to your gear/tastes/plugs/needs
Strange no one suggested Mainstage yet. It is dirt cheap but it is an extremely powerful and flexible tool. The routing and control mapping possibilities that it has almost put Max/Msp to shame. And everything can be changed and rearranged on the fly.
AU Lab sounds interesting I’ll look into that. Thanks!
Wowow, a lot of bang-for-buck there (leaving aside the zero interest loops) , I have logic/mainstage on an otherwise out of sight battery-less older mbp, so familiarity has waned, but as this is pretty much focussed on live playing it has more legs especially with the big UI and a nominal fee to be fair
There are hints to this flexibility, but little on the apple blurb … I was a frequenter of Logic’s environment, it’d be good to hear about the obvious restrictions (besides no vsts/timeline)
Are all the plugins inc alchemy fully tweakable and saveable or does it have a preset/restricted flavour ? In what way is the flexibility so praiseworthy ?
Ordinarily £23 would not be an obstacle, but the space (disk and head) and time drain could be a reason for prudent mindfulness … I’ve migrated to a Max only Mac Mini, so having the simplicity of a few extra sources to explore could be fun and I am actively looking for a cheap zoom bass amp fx pedal, this would be about 1/2>1/3 the cost though less spontaneous …tempting
I used to use mainstage as the hub of my live looping rig before I got an OT. It’s a remarkably good deal considering you get all the plugins from logic, and yes, they are fully tweakable. You don’t have a timeline because it’s all about performing live. What you get is a customizable screen view that you create from a bank of controls that can be placed and sized and then midi mapped to outboard gear. You can also map under the hood with no specific screen control. You can use the screen controls to supply visual feedback of your settings, and set it up so you only see what you need to know. There’s a performance mode where you only see your customized screen and the mixer/channel strip view disappears. As opposed to Logic’s environment, you get to specify midi by ports, and not just channels, making it much more flexible to map gear with. Logic’s midi plugins are available too wich you can use with au’s or outboard gear. Since it’s built for playing live, you create patches with as many channel strips, plugins, routing, whatever you want, and it loads them into ram. In an instant by changing patches you have a whole new set of channel strips, routing,etc, immediately available with no switch over time, I believe you can even set the time that the trails and sounds from your last patch last. There’s also several tiers so If you want a certain channel strip on every patch, you put it on the first tier, etc. You can make aliases of channel strips to conserve ram. I haven’t used it since getting an OT, but lately I’ve been thinking about busting it out again to see what a mainstage/OT/other hardware rig can pull off, plus it’s had a few updates since I last used it, and the updates are usually significant, adding nice features, squashing lists of bugs, and adding little tweak options making it even more and more flexible… Honestly for what you get it is probably the best deal out there in the software world by far and probably the most overlooked…
It is a while ago that i used Mainstage, but i was heavily into it. You can stack up synths and FX racks easily and you can change these stacks and routings instantly with the concert/set/instrument structure. You can create your own custom interface and each control on it can be multi mapped and each mapping can have its own custom interpolation which also can be changed instantly with your FX/instrument racks. And you get Alchemy (and I believe all other Logic synths) on top of it. For the price it is really powerful.
Of course it doesn’t have a sequencer timeline. It is build as a live tool for key players mainly. But I guess it could also do a great job for ambient performances and such things. It does have a clocking system so you can absolutely run synths that have built in sequencers or arps.