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Deskew Technologies Gig Performer

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Deskew Technologies Gig Performer

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5.0 (2)

1 Critic Review

2 Reviews

Find out who is using Deskew Technologies Gig Performer

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Page last updated May 20, 2026

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Description

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Unlock the full potential of your live performances with Deskew Technologies' Gig Performer, an innovative DAW software designed specifically for gigging musicians. Whether you're a solo artist or part of a band, this powerful software provides you with the flexibility to manage your entire setup seamlessly. Gig Performer is compatible with both Windows and macOS, offering intuitive control over your virtual instruments and effects through an easy-to-use interface.

Designed to eliminate the technical hassles of live performance, Gig Performer allows you to create custom rackspaces that house your instruments and plugins. This enables you to switch between complex setups in an instant, ensuring smooth transitions between songs or even sections of a song. The software's robust MIDI capabilities allow you to map controls to your hardware, providing tactile control over your performance.

One of Gig Performer's standout features is its predictive loading technology, which pre-loads parts of your set to reduce latency and ensure that you can deliver a flawless performance without any hiccups. With its powerful scripting language, you can customize the behavior of your setup, making it as unique as your musical style. Gig Performer also supports VST, VST3, and AU plugins, giving you access to a vast universe of sounds and effects.

Key Features:

Customizable rackspaces for seamless transitions
Predictive loading technology for reduced latency
Comprehensive MIDI control and mapping
Supports VST, VST3, and AU plugins
Cross-platform compatibility with Windows and macOS
Built-in scripting language for advanced customization

Owner's manual

Deskew Technologies Gig Performer User Manual

Product specs

Operating Systems

Mac, Windows

Videos

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Gig Performer

Build It With Gig Performer - Making The Most Out Of Simple Sounds, Layers, And Splits

Gig Performer

Backstage With Gig Performer - How To Use Setlist View

Gig Performer

Deskew Technologies Gig Performer Grundlegende Bedienung

RECORDING.de

Deskew Technologies Gig Performer Audio File Player

RECORDING.de

Top 10 Reasons To Build Your Live Guitar Rig In Gig Performer

Gig Performer

Deskew Technologies Gig Performer 3 - NAMM 2019

Sound On Sound magazine

Deskew Technologies Gig Performer Mehrere Keyboards und Splits

RECORDING.de

How to Make a Keyboard Split using Gig Performer

Gig Performer

Reviews

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Critic Reviews

Deskew Technologies Gig Performer 3.8 Review - Synth and Software

synthandsoftware.com

Deskew Technologies Gig Performer 3.8 is a powerful live performance tool that elegantly fills the gap between DAWs and on-stage plug-in management. Its multi-instance capabilities and efficient resource usage make it a reliable choice for any ensemble. However, while the visual interface is user-friendly, some users may find the requirement for manual parameter mapping cumbersome and the absence of bundled instruments a drawback. The potential for crashes is minimal, but compatibility with older plug-ins can be hit-or-miss. Overall, it's a solid option for musicians seeking seamless performance integration, with a few quirks that may necessitate a learning curve.

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5.0 out of 5

Based on 2 Reviews and 2 Ratings

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1 star

pianopaul

over 1 year ago

Absolute Game Changer for Live Musicians (but not only)

I am using Gig Performer since 2018 and would never go back to my previous solution. Coming from only hardware, then using Ableton Live for backing tracks and light control, then using MainStage I discovered Gig Performer.

The flexibility in building signal chains is outstanding. Outstanding - and that is very important - is the support from Deskew and the community. The developers are listening to their users and feature requests are taken seriously.

Sure some concepts you can find in other solutions, but the overall design is superior. Scripting, OSC-Support, Multi-Instances you will not find so clever in other solutions.

What also is very flexible is the Rig Manager. Just a few clicks and you can use a total different controller without the need to adjust complex MIDI mappings.

By the way: With Gig Performer and OSC I can integrate the display of the NI S88 to show the name of the current rackspace on the display of S88. And I can use the Knobs on the S88 to control widgets in Gig Performer and vice versa. This way I can use the S88 to completely control Ableton Live with integrated informations and control from Gig Performer.

You have to see https://youtu.be/Ib3SSDJkl0I

Roles:

Keyboardist

Genres:

Rock Pop

nemanja

1926

over 2 years ago

Premium VST host for live performance

For me, the best features are:

it allows me to switch sounds and presets instantly. For example, when you switch some Neural DSP or S-Gear presets, you can hear a noticeable delay. With Gig Performer's 'rackspace' mechanism, all changes are zero latency.
It allows me to configure audio tails so when I change the preset, so the sound doesn't cut off immediately.
When I practice, I play different songs with different tunings. I use plugins to change tunings and the changes between tunings are instant and glitch free.
It doesn't tax my computer resources. One of my computers is a laptop from 2009 and I can use my favorite guitar plugins there (plus the installer is bundled with the Overould TH-U Essentials plugin).
I can easily record my dry or wet sound (or both at the same time) in mono or stereo. Additionally, I can record any sound for any signal chain. Very good for practicing and see where I make mistakes.

Roles:

Guitarist

Genres:

Metal

pkennethk

26907

2 years ago over 2 years ago

Good writeup! Re: #3, I don't understand how the plugin helps you switch between tunings. I'm not a guitarist, so I'm ignorant. Is the app pitch-shifting your standard-tuning input into drop-D and whatnot?

nemanja

1926

2 years ago over 2 years ago

@pkennethk Gig Performer is a live VST host and by itself cannot do pitch shifting; it hosts plugins that either have pitch-shifting capabilities, such as NeuralDSP Archetype Gojira or plugins that do pitch shifting such as Aegean Music's Pitch Proof. Gig Performer's 'rackspace' mechanism allows change of the tunings on the fly. For example, in this video there is a comparison between hardware (Digitech Drop Pedal) and the Petrucci plugin hosted on Gig Performer: https://www.youtube.com/live/AvfCb-38KeU?si=xCWc_lF4Vr3ks4xg&t=2916

pkennethk

26907

2 years ago over 2 years ago

So the rackspace mechanism allows for seamless switching between groups of hosted plugins, some of which can be sophisticaed stuff like NeuralDSP Archetype that can digitally alter the tuning of live standard-tuning input... do I have that right?

nemanja

1926

2 years ago over 2 years ago

@pkennethk Yes, conceptually true. Since you are interested in this concept, here is an example that shows how instantly the sounds change. Here are 3 rackspaces (Clean, Overdrive and Made 4 TV) and this Youtuber is changing them instantly with his MIDI pedalboard: https://youtu.be/DbxEraU-sN0?si=dt5Z9YtI9JzY5y_X&t=250

As for the tunings, if you have a dedicated pitch-shifting plugin (such as PitchProof) the best practice (according to my testing) is to put it immediately after the audio input and before any effects (distortion, reverb, delay, etc). Gig Performer includes the 'Wiring view' where you simply wire different plugin blocks, so it is easy to see how the plugin chain looks like. With one guitar I can instantly re-tune it from say D to standard E tuning. This is really great for me as a hobby guitarist, because I can easily play a bunch of songs without needing to have either two or more different guitars with different tunings or buy a 7-string guitar. I can go lower, for example to C tuning instantly. All with the same guitar.

pkennethk

26907

2 years ago over 2 years ago

@nemanja many thanks for the tips!

Artist usage

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Jens Skwirblies

Keyboardist

The Magic of Santana

Verified via YouTube

Having played with musicians such as Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Bobby Kimball, Ian Cussick and many more, Jens’ credentials are indeed impressive. In this YouTube interview, Jens talks about his live rig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DFnmN0_FOQ

More photos and videos: https://community.gigperformer.com/t/jens-skwirblies/8455

Jacob Karlzon

Keyboardist, Music Producer

Verified via Photo

Swedish jazz pianist and composer Jacob Karlzon has been compared to luminaries such as Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Sweden’s own legendary Jan Johansson. On many places of this concert, e.g. 7:40 you can see a laptop with Gig Performer: https://www.konserthuset.se/play/jacob-karlzon-trio/

More information and a couple of stills: https://community.gigperformer.com/t/jacob-karlzon/8433

Aki Himanen

Music Producer

Verified via IT SOUNDS FUTURE

In this article, Aki Himanen stated: "My trumpet signal processing is quite complex and nowadays I use Gig Performer with different plugins, Universal Audio Twin and Ableton for that chain. In the mixing stage, our tools are products from Izotope."

Source: https://www.itsoundsfuture.com/aki-himanen-aleksi-kinnunen-dawn-drops-jazz-o-tech-jot015-interview/

Alistair Begg

Bassist

Verified via YouTube

Alistair Begg, a professional bass and Chapman stick player described in this YouTube interview how he uses Gig Performer as the part of his rig. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftk6U3WXbAA&t=1720s Another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J29aCsxA-DE Here's is Alistair's written article on how he emulates guitar pedalboards in Gig Performer: https://community.gigperformer.com/t/the-virtual-pedalboard-hits-the-stage/7563

Andy Burton

Singer, Keyboardist

Verified via YouTube

Andy Burton was interviewed in the Backstage with Gig Performer show. Here is the video of that interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB_O_6OTIOU

Additionally, in this video Andy discusses his live rig, where Gig Performer can be seen at 4:43 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUvSqzeDiyw

Mark Dandridge

Keyboardist

BOCA

Verified via Gig Performer Community

Mark Dandridge, the keyboardist for BOCA - Band of Consenting Adults, uses Deskew Technologies Gig Performer to supplement his hardware setup. Following a hardware failure with his Fantom 07, he is transitioning to using Gig Performer exclusively. This information is confirmed in a community thread on the Gig Performer Community forum, where he showcases his complete live rig.

Frode Berg

Bassist

Verified via YouTube

Frode Berg performed with stars as diverse as Paul McCartney, Phil Woods, Bugge Wesseltoft, Nils Petter Molvær, Anne Sohie Mutter, Luciano Pavarotti, Donna Summer as well as hundreds of other international and national artists. Gig Performer can be seen on 1:11 of this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuGFB7FbVTY More details about Frode's setup: https://community.gigperformer.com/t/frode-agedal-berg/12130

Harvey Jones

Keyboardist, Music Producer

Verified via YouTube

Harvey Jones has been working closely with such musicians as Donna Lewis, Robbie Dupree and Chris Botti. And performing on recordings with Jerry Marotta, Robert Fripp, Sting, Paul Buchanen, Tony Levin and Carla Bley. In this YouTube interview he discusses how he uses Gig Performer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvXhgJryvLo

Panu Rauhala

Keyboardist

Verified via Photo

Panu Rauhala is a composer, musician, and producer from Finland. On Panu's homepage can be found this image: https://www.panurauhala.com/

Dedicated thread: https://community.gigperformer.com/t/panu-rauhala/8806

Michael Whalen

Keyboardist, Music Producer

Verified via Mixonline

Whalen stated: “I’m starting to use Gig Performer in the studio. It’s really clean and simple and has a nice workflow. I’m in the middle of doing a new ambient record, and instead of doing most of the stuff in a DAW, I’m doing about 30 to 40 percent of the processing in Gig Performer.”

Source: https://www.mixonline.com/the-wire/gig-performer-revolutionizes-michael-whalens-musical-world

Sayid Rezić

Keyboardist

Hari Mata Hari

Verified via Gig Performer Community

Sayid Rezić uses Deskew Technologies Gig Performer for his custom keyboard setup, as detailed in the Gig Performer Community forum thread about his "Trans Avenger" setup.

Ken Matson

Keyboardist

Verified via YouTube

In a YouTube interview titled "Downsizing to One Keyboard in a Keyboard Heavy Band with Gig Performer," keyboardist Ken Matson discusses how he streamlined his setup by using Deskew Technologies Gig Performer. Ken explains that he condensed multiple keyboards and heavy gear into a single setup through the use of multiple keyboard splits, demonstrating the practical application of the software for live performances.