The Live Audio VST Revolution: Game Changer or Giant Distraction?

The live audio industry is undergoing a revolution.

It is now easier than every to integrate almost any tool you want into your live mixing environment.

We’re not stuck with just Waves plugins on a SoundGrid server, but Fourier Audio has introduced the transform.engine enabling any VST you’d like in a stable, low-latency environment.

You don’t even have to invest in extra hardware - you can snag something like GigPerformer, Waves SuperRack Performer, or Live Professor and run everything right from your laptop.

Moore’s Law multiplied by the BK “Have It Your Way” mentality has democratized these tools for the everyday audio engineer, I wanted to slow down a bit and adopt a mindset from an unlikely place - the Amish. Yes, the slow, rural folks with beards, dresses, and funny hats.

It’s easy to pick on them and call them Luddites, but they’re actually not against technology - they’re incredibly picky about technology. They rely on the elders of their wisdom to intentionally and systematically bring in new technologies into their community, run it through a robust matrix of values, then decide as a community how they will engage with it.

With that in mind I want to:

• Start with a brief reality check
• Introduce some solid VST use cases (probably not what you think)
• Things to Watch Out For
• 6 VST Plugins Worth Investing In