The Fastest Way to Perform live with VSTs
Gig Performer Essentials gives you real-time control over virtual instruments, effects, MIDI gear, and backing tracks in a streamlined fashion. Built for musicians who want a streamlined path to building their live performance rig.
Gig Performer Essentials is a streamlined version of Gig Performer, our flagship Live Performance software.
Why Choose Gig Performer Essentials?
We built Gig Performer Essentials to make preparing and performing your shows intuitive and fast.
Build Songs Faster
Connect plugins with wires and leave the channel strip model behind
Seamlessly Integrate Hardware
Mix hardware synths and plugins any way you want
Rock-Solid Reliability
Developed by musicians for musicians, with reliability as the primary focus
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Seamless Integration with MacOS and Windows
Gig Performer Essentials is designed to work flawlessly on both Windows and macOS, ensuring you have the freedom to perform on your preferred platform without compromise.
For Keyboardists
Built-in Sounds, Ready To Play
Gig Performer Essentials is bundled with a special version of KV331’s SynthMaster Player with 1,000 professionally crafted preset sounds so you can start playing immediately.
We’ve also included templates to help you explore and perform with these preset sounds instantly.
For Guitarists
Effects and Amps Included
Get professional guitar tones with a special version of the Overloud TH-U plugin included with Essentials.
Templates are included so you can plug in your guitar, and start playing immediately.
Visual Layout
Faster sound creation
Design your perfect sound faster by connecting plugins with wires.
Save precious time in preparation and make last minute changes without breaking a sweat.
Front Panels
Personalized Workflow
Create unique MIDI controllable visual interfaces to adjust specific elements of your plugins without needing to open their editor windows.
Stay aware of your important controls with your own custom-built, always-visible, user-friendly design.
Organize your set
Organize sounds into songs, and songs into setlists
Sounds
Create your sounds quickly using a visual layout
Songs
Put your sounds in performance order
Setlists
Organize multiple performances with setlists
Seamless Integration
Powerfully Blend External Instruments and Software
Play and control hardware and virtual instruments together seamlessly so you can keep all elements of your live performance in sync.
Synchronized control
Automate your performance
Focus on performing and let Gig Performer Essentials handle the technical details for you. Essentials can change sounds, tempo, metronome status and more from the timeline.
Unparalleled Support
We’ve got your back
Get the help you need, when you need it. The Gig Performer community forums are highly active, providing quick solutions to your questions. Whether you’re just starting out or have an advanced setup, our community and team are here to keep you playing. The forums are a rich resource for tutorials and help along with our comprehensive videos, documentation and articles.
What the Pros Say About Us
“Gig Performer is the entire part of the soft synth equation. One button push and it’s all there with all the effects dialled in just right. Mapped and layered exactly the way I want it.”
“With Gig Performer, I can program the show in three days instead of three months. It’s completely changed my life. I used to spend months trying to create the right sounds on one keyboard to emulate a DX7 or a Jupiter 8. Now, I can do it in minutes.”
“I was blown away how easily I could set it up to use one plugin for one sound and switch to another without any audio gap.”
“Gig Performer for me as a traditional kind of keyboard player just is such a great tool for bringing your keyboard rig into the future by making it smaller, and also to be able to be very flexible with what you do with it. The routing possibilities—that’s unmatched. I haven’t seen anything like it.”
“With Gig Performer, I can streamline my entire setup in one place. It’s the best tool for building sounds—more controllable, more editable, more visual. Unlike other software, Gig Performer combines all the features I need without hassle. Now, I just open Gig Performer, and everything’s ready with one click. It’s incredible.”
“With Gig Performer, I’m able to achieve studio-level control on a live mixing board. Every show, every song, can have its unique, record-quality mix, which artists have even said sounds better than their recordings. That continuity and flexibility are irreplaceable.”
“I just didn’t want to carry around the weight anymore… I wanted something I could set up quick, was easy to play, and could tear down quick. Gig Performer has made that possible. The transition was smooth, and I was able to eliminate the heavy hardware without sacrificing any of the sound or control I was used to.”
Trusted by pro musicians like…
Rubén Valtierra
Keyboardist
Al Yankovic, Santana, Aretha Franklin, Elton John
Andy Burton
Keyboardist
John Mayer, Cyndi Lauper, Rufus Wainwright
Michael Whalen
Composer
2x Emmy wins
8x Emmy nominated
Chris Broderick
Guitarist
Megadeth, Act of Defiance, In Flames
Compare our features
Gig Performer® Essentials 5.1
MainStage 3.6
Cantabile Performer 4
Camelot Pro 2.2
User Manual
Fully documented User Manual that describes every program feature.
Cross Platform
macOS only
Windows only
Previous Sounds Sustain While Switching
Route Audio/MIDI Visually
Easily connect instruments and effects using an intuitive visual wiring interface. Gain a clear overview of MIDI and audio signal flow, and create complex routing setups that are difficult or impossible in traditional channel strip models.
Visual patch cables
Channel strip
List style routing
List style routing
Plugin Parameter Learning
Access Sounds and Effects Globally
Streaming Audio File Player
Stream thousands of audio files directly from your disk, with minimal RAM usage.
Create and Display ChordPro Charts
Display ChordPro charts with lyrics and chords directly within Gig Performer.
Automatic Lyrics Scrolling
Chord Maker
Chord Maker lets you create complex chords using different sounds or block unwanted notes in a performance simply by playing with a single finger on your keyboard or pad controller.
Splits and Layers
Plugin Formats
VST2 / VST3 / AU
VST2 / VST3 / AU
VST2 / VST3
VST2 / VST3 / AU
MIDI File Player
The MIDI File Player allows playback of MIDI sequences within Gig Performer, with per-track routing options.
Built-in Guitar Tuner
Custom Panels with Widgets per Patch
Widgets are objects in Gig Performer such as a knob, slider, button, or meter used to control and/or display plugin parameters. Widgets can be controlled with your laptop’s mouse, remotely from a MIDI controller or through variations.
Limited
Choose The Right Tool For Your Performance
Gig Performer comes in two versions – Gig Performer Essentials and Gig Performer – so you can choose the right tool for your setup.
Gig Performer
Complete feature set for professional live performance
Gig Performer Essentials
Essential features for streamlined live performance
BUY GIG PERFORMER ESSENTIALS
macOS + Windows
$59.00
requires macOS 10.9*+/Windows 7+ 64bit
prices in USD