Sound f/x Cue Playback Software

Myself and the Community College Theatre I work in us QLab.

The student/staff (myself and friends) as well as the staff (if/when they use QLab) all use MacBooks/MacBook Pros. The college has a PreSonus FireStudio which is used as a DAC to input into our sound board. (Use of the built in DAC and line amps in the laptops produces a terrible sound.)

I personally own and use a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 interface.

QLab (Mac OSX)
Figure53.com
Price ~ $1-500 (dependent on license type: Daily-Full non expiring license.)

PreSonus FireStudio
Presonus.com
Price ~ $500

Focusrite Saffire Pro 24
focusrite.com
Price ~ $299

This setup has been 100% reliable, can run multimedia as well.

The audio interface doubles as a unit to capture and record live sound and playback audio.
 
Hi all,

Cant believe noone has mentioned SOUNDPLANT.

Ive been using it for years. The latest release is PC and Mac compatible.

Basically you allocate files to keys, and press to play.
I use it regularly for sfx on a wide range of productions and its never let me down.
The new release has a trial period in which you can use pretty much any file format, after that it drops to .wav only but you can reinstate all types by purchasing a registration code.

Seriously, give it a look. I love it.

http://www.soundplant.org/
 
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Hi all,

Cant believe noone has mentioned SOUNDPLANT.

Ive been using it for years. The latest release is PC and Mac compatible.

Basically you allocate files to keys, and press to play.
I use it regularly for sfx on a wide range of productions and its never let me down.
The new release has a trial period in which you can use pretty much any file format, after that it drops to .wav only but you can reinstate all types by purchasing a registration code.

Seriously, give it a look. I love it.

Soundplant by Marcel Blum home page

Just curious, would you be a vendor or someone with a vested interest in Soundplant?
 
I would like to apologize in advance for the sporadic nature of the post.

I've been using Ableton Live in combination with an external Firewire Interface. If set up with an internal MIDI loop, you can fire sounds off in Session View to multiple outputs with the MIDI automating the volume fades. As the clips are individual, and you're running from inside the DAW itself, you can edit clips on the fly - Changing volume, pitch and effect envelopes with ease - these too can be automated.

Another plus to this is that you can control your loops on the spot and sound design with music in mind. By that I mean that you can have a section of clips with a musical build, let's say, where there are Low Strings playing a rhythm with some timpani. You want to add the next layer of the song which is a melodic part. Instead of worrying for an actor to work with the time of the piece, you can ensure that the piece will play, without going out of sync - Individual clips can be quantized to play.

The built in MIDI instrumentation capabilities are made user friendly, again, because the program was created to serve a more DJing range of clientele. The program encompasses "Elastic Audio" which allows you to change the tempo of parts to fit specific timing simply by placing beat markers and stretching or compressing the waveform.

I'll post some pictures soon or maybe do up a video for a quick demo. :)

I'd just like to second these remarks, I use this same system with the addition of an AKAI APC hardware interface. I'm an old timer and love the feel of real buttons and faders. My whole system packs into a large laptop case (including the laptop) and all my production on it as well. An additional toy I find useful when creating SFX from scatch is a Roland R-05 recorder. Peace - DrBell
 
Another Decent program that I am using is DMXControl and it is free.

It is mostly a DMX Lighting programing, but it also allows sound cues so you can control all your lighting and sound cues together with one program. Works great if you have sound effects tied to lighting such as a cannon firing.
 
I have recently been using QLab on a Mac mini, firewired to a Presonus Studiolive and it is working great. You need to follow a boot order to make sure QLab recognizes the mixer as an available out, but once you get that down, things work fine. Keep in mind that the cheap (formerly free) version only allows 2 channels for output, but you can snag a third using your computer's 3.5mm out, if you need it.
 
Since this seems to be a recurring topic for discussion, I'd like to make a sticky thread in this forum to describe the various applications out there for sound cue playback. Please post a short description of a cue playback program if you are familiar with it, as well as requirements (platform, interfaces, etc) so that folks unfamiliar with the options available can decide what program(s) best fits their needs.

I'll start:

QLab (Mac Only)
QLab :: Live Show Control for Mac OS X
Free; Advanced licenses available (>2 channel playback; MIDI; Video)
QLab is a Mac-based cue playback system that can play back audio files, video files, MIDI cues, and many other things. It features the ability to use up to 8 channels of output in the free version, as well as advanced cueing features. There is a large user base for QLab, and an active mailing list dedicated to user support.

i do always use qlab, but it has failed me a couple times, idk what happens exactly but it has randomly started the cues over from the top of the list. Instead of a phone ring i got a doorknock. If anyone knows any cueing program for mac thats better, shoot it at me, but thats what i normally use.
 
i do always use qlab, but it has failed me a couple times, idk what happens exactly but it has randomly started the cues over from the top of the list. Instead of a phone ring i got a doorknock. If anyone knows any cueing program for mac thats better, shoot it at me, but thats what i normally use.

Not to doubt, but are you sure you didn't hit any extraneous keys? I've never seen the playhead move by itself, but I'm sure the QLab developers would like a call if it has...
 
Anyone else who has had experiences with Sound Cue System feel free to add to this. Given the cost for the full professional license, it's a system I personally would endorse in a PC environment, with Q-Lab being my Mac favorite.

Richard Sprecker

I have been using Sound Cue / Show Cue for about 5 years. For the cost, I think it's a great program. Knock on wood, my biggest fear has never been met of the program crashing during a show. The only major issue I have had with the program were trying to run simultaneous video and audio cues (the audio played but the video did not) or issues with audio files not auto-starting properly. Both of these came down to once a show was built, I went back into the show and made changes to the audio files and/or video files and for some reason it wonked up the entire show and I had to rebuild it - which in most cases was done in a matter of 10 minutes or so.

I have contacted their support team for numerous things and they have been more than great. Even down to allowing me to update my software because of an old bug that was fixed even when I didn't have a valid support contract.

With every show I am finding more and more useful features with the program. For community theatre I definitely recommend checking it out!
 
I use Logic Pro with a cheap 49 key midi keyboard. It works great for all sounds. It gives me limitless (and I do mean limitless) options for editing sounds. Logic Pro is about $200 and for MAC only. I use it for making music as well so it is worth every penny. But you could probably use GarageBand and that comes free with Mac I believe. And if it doesn't then it is very affordable.

As far as I know, using Logic Pro in theatre is pretty unconventional but it has made everything about my sound effects much better.

If anyone wants some more details just send me a message and I'd be glad to help.
 
I use Qlab a lot, it's powerful and easy-worked when I need to run video and light together with sound, Qlab 3 adds lots of useful features. But my favorite for sound only is Ableton Live (in session view), it lets me work and experiment with my sounds during rehearsals. And allows advanced live control (and improvisation) of all parameters in both sound clips and effects during show. The new Push controller for Ableton is also very nice to use for running the show.
 
we have been using an Ipad app, called Cue sound... loads any itunes file... can store a background music playlist (we use it for pre/post/intermission music) it comes in real handy, as our music director will record base tracks then play live with them backstage... we give her a submix and jack her into the PA... with the right speakers and placement, it sounds like an entire orchestra from the wings...
 

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