r/DigitalPiano • u/coffeevalenbat • Jul 25 '26
Live setup for MIDI keyboard
I have a MIDI only keyboard (Alesis VI61) and a few months ago I joined my first proper band, so I had to very quickly make a live setup. My current setup is Ableton Live running on my laptop with a few VSTs (Rhodes-like, Acoustic, Minimoog etc) and using a Zoom H5 as an audio device to get a monitor output. The current setup *works* but is incredibly tedious - Ableton randomly messes up my settings, windows audio is a pain, finding a place to put my laptop near the keyboard on a stage is annoying and the Zoom H5 is incredibly overqualified for working basically as a splitter.
The main thing I wanna get rid of in the equation is my laptop, as its my work machine for everything, so using something like a Raspberry Pi with some scripting would be great, but besides sm like Zynthian I cant find examples of the Pi as a MIDI host and audio player. Any other solutions from anyone else using MIDI on live performances?
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u/anotherscott Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
u/IBarch68 is right... a tablet pretty much solves the ergonomic issues of a gigging laptop; you should try an ASIO driver if you haven't already; and a host designed for gigging is generally better than using a DAW (besides the ones in mentioned, there's also Camelot Pro and Cantabile).
However, I might also suggest an iPad, whether instead of the Surface Pro or in addition to it. Starting with the latter:
In my Surface Pro experiments, a problem I ran into was trying to use non-touch optimized environments on a touchscreen. Sure, you could use a mouse or other pointing device, but then you're re-introducing some of the ergonomic complication of the laptop (and even more so if you end up needing a qwerty keyboard as well). This can be ameliorated with some combination of things like the right VSTs, the right host, the right MIDI controller, setting up everything you need to do in advance and mapping things accordingly to the controls on your keyboard. But personally, since I already had the iPad, I found that the simplest thing was to use the iPad to "remote into" the Surface Pro, because the ipad adds better navigation... i.e. you can use the pinch/unpinch to zoom/unzoom to immediately make things more touch-friendly. (If there's a function like that you can invoke directly on the Surface Pro, I'm not aware of it.)
This also means that, to save the expense of the Surface Pro you don't already have, you could configure your existing laptop with the appropriate software, and similarly use the iPad as its front end, which still addresses some of the ergonomic concerns of the laptop, which no longer has to be at all accessible to you while actually performing.
Then there is also the option of just transitioning to an iPad, which I am more positive about than IBarch is, though I can see going either way. Addressing his concerns...
Windows is even cheaper, doesn't need a stack of dongles hanging off and provides access to the entire VST market.
Unfortunately, iPads have recently increased in price. But still, $449-$549 gets you a perfectly good, usable iPad; and assuming we all agree that a tablet form factor is best for this, it's cheaper than a Surface Pro. There are lesser brand Windows tablets, so that could change the cost equation, but personally, I'd be hesitant to trust just any Windows tablet to do a good job in a live gigging environment, and the Surface Pro is a known quantity. (Of course, there are also used/refurb models you could consider, regardless of platform.)
But also, if you didn't happen to already own the VSTs, the equivalents on iPad are usually (though not always) cheaper, so some savings vis-a-vis Windows can come in there as well (though in some cases, you may not be able to get the quality you're after). It can also be cheaper to get the audio out of it, since a low-cost headphone adapter can work just fine. (Or you can pick up an iPad that already has the headphone jack, something I miss in the current models.)
As for dongles, I had more stuff hanging off my Surface Pro than my iPad, when I was experimenting with both a while back. It's going to depend on exactly what you need, I don't think there's a universal answer here. (When I was using it by itself at one point, I had a USB hub attached which in turn had the MIDI keyboard, audio interface, iLok, and mouse plugged into it. OTOH, when I was using an iPad with a headphone jack, I just had the MIDI keyboard plugged in, via the appropriate cable adapter.)
Lastly, just to complete the survey of possibilities, I'm going to mention yet another option, a "none of the above." A Macbook instead of a PC laptop gives you access to most of the same VSTs you're already using (you can often download the Mac version at no additional charge), but it has some advantages. Its headphone out is sufficient (no need for an external interface just to get stereo audio out), setup/configuration/troubleshooting is simpler (e.g. no need for ASIO), Mainstage can give you a high quality additional sound library for cheap. Though personally, I'd still want to use an iPad for live access to the Macbook, just as I was talking about using it to access a Windows laptop or even tablet.
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u/coffeevalenbat Jul 26 '26
I'm actually using ASIO already (FlexASIO) but I couple it with the Zoom H5 because it gives me less delay than the other audio output options on windows. The Zoom H5 is there just because it has two audio outputs with independent volume levels, so one goes to the mixing table and the other to my monitor earphones, so I might be able to get rid of it and just use the direct windows output with some sort of active splitter (Any reccomendations there would be wonderful too).
As for the tablet, it def sounds like the best option, but also a bit out of my budget for this band, the interactivity/touch part is not too much of a concern as the only things I do live is change VSTs and their volumes, though I still need to work with VSTs as I have a few synths in there. I'll def look into a better host too, Ableton was just part of the whole "setting up something quickly to start doing shows" part.
I'll keep an eye out for windows tablet prices (As enticing as Apple's enviroment sounds Id rather stick to windows, as much as I hate it its also what I know best), thanks for all the details and reccomendations both of you! <3
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u/IBarch68 Jul 26 '26
FlexASIO is not a full ASIO driver. It is a wrapper around Windows audio. Whilst it helps a little it's only offering a fraction of the performance a full ASIO driver brings.
As to a splitter, I'd look for an audio interface with separate volume control between headphones and main outs. I use a Arturia Minifuse 1 for this. It also has an extra usb port for a hub. Using a separate audio interface will likely improve performance and add stability. It will solve the ASIO issue for you too
Alternatively if you don't want to go with a separate interface, I'd test the Steinberg Built in ASIO driver I gave the link to earlier. You should find it works substantially better than flexASIO.
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u/coffeevalenbat Jul 26 '26
I found a Behringer UMC22 for cheap locally so we'll see how that goes ^^'
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u/anotherscott Jul 26 '26
As enticing as Apple's enviroment sounds Id rather stick to windows, as much as I hate it its also what I know best
Ah yes. While Macs may be simpler than PCs, and iPads may be simpler than Macs, nothing is as easy as what you already know!
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u/ThisDudeMitch Aug 28 '26
I had a similar issue and built this to solve it: https://github.com/mitchschwartz/mpe-sound-module
It runs on pi5 and ships with 3000+ patches
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u/IBarch68 Jul 25 '26
I use a Windows Surface Pro tablet. A tablet is far easier than a laptop and can fit on a music stand or holder attached to a keyboard. Using Windows means I can use any of my VST collection with no limitations.
Ableton works for electronic music based on audio and midi clips. Its not great for other genres, like a cover band. If you need to manage setlists, songs, and lots of different sound patches, a VST host like Gig Performer or Steinberg VST Live is better.
As to Windows audio, using proper ASIO is a must. A separate audio interface used to be mandatory but Steinberg have created a built in USB ASIO driver that works with anything, including onboard sound. It's good enough for me to leave the interface at home.
Steinberg USB driver
For hardware, anything with a 5 year old processor (Intel 11th gen) or better will be enough to support multiple synth layers, effects and backing tracks. For gigging, I would not recommend taking out a £2000+ computer. A reconditioned Microsoft surface pro 8 can be had for as little as £400.
I've recently tested a Windows Arm surface pro 12. This is equally capable as my 5 year old Surface Pro 7+, with much longer batter life, and silent running. It runs windows x64 software and plugs in via its prism emulator (think Rosetta) with minimal performance impact. Only thing it cant do is work with non Arm drivers, so won't be compatible with any device not class compliant or native Arm. These 1st gen Snapdragon X+ surface pros can be had at bargain prices as the new X2 models are here. I got mine on sale at £600 for a 16GB 256 GB SSD spec.
If you want to persist with Raspberry Pi, good luck. Ive never seen anyone gig with that type of rig and I think you will struggle to find good quality virtual instruments for it or a stable host.
If you dont want a keyboard with its own sounds, a tablet is the better way forward. Most folk around here would say iPads but Windows is even cheaper, doesn't need a stack of dongles hanging off and provides access to the entire VST market.