Playing live

On stage, nothing should cut the sound by accident, and the next tune should be one gesture away. Here is how a set runs.

Before the set

• Load the setlist in the console (from the workshop, LOAD IN THE CONSOLE, or by opening the .dubset file).
• Check the warnings. When the setlist opens, and each time you come back to the app, it looks for every tune’s stems and plugins. A tune with a problem is marked ⚠; its tooltip says what is missing. A disk not plugged in? Plug it, come back to the app: the marks update.
• Stems moved? LOCATE MISSING STEMS… takes one folder for the whole setlist and finds the stems by name in it and its subfolders.
• Set the buffer to 128 or 256 samples in Settings for a tight response.
• Press SEND ALL on the console.

Chain the tunes

While a tune plays:

1. Arm the next one: N (or P for the previous one, or a click on any line of the setlist). It blinks on the waveform. Nothing is cut, the tune plays on.
2. Drop it, when you are ready:
   • Space: the current tune stops dead, the armed one starts from the top. The effect tails keep ringing over the change.
   • R: pull-up into it. Tape brake on the current tune, then the next one starts.

Changed your mind? Press N / P again to arm another tune, or click the current one to cancel.

Stopped, N / P simply load the tune, at the top, ready to play.

See the end coming

• The time left shows next to the clock.
• The waveform turns orange in the last 30 seconds: time to arm the next tune.
• Next to each strip’s meter, a thin grey bar shows what its stems are playing before the fader and the mute. Vocal muted, you still see when the singer comes in, to open on time.

A request in the middle of the set

The + at the top of the setlist opens the library with a search. The song you pick goes in just after the one playing, without touching the music.

Reorder on the fly with a right-click (Move up / Move down) or by dragging.

A tune played for 30 seconds or more is greyed with a ✓, still clickable. This mark is forgotten when the app quits; nothing is written in the setlist.

Nothing cuts by mistake

While playing, anything that would stop the engine or leave a gap is refused, with a word in the top bar:

• loading or removing a plugin;
• putting a stem on a strip, or taking one off.

And also:

• A plain click on the waveform does not jump; double-click or ⌥-click does.
• Quitting, closing the window, NEW or opening another project ask first.
• Switching plate ↔ spring or phaser ↔ flanger happens without a gap: the new effect takes over, the old one rings out its tail.
• Re-patching the buses (the Send to menus) is live too.
• The screen stays on while playing, even when you only touch the console.

One exception: going to a tune whose insert plugin differs on a strip cuts the effect tails for a moment. The armed tune warns you. The same plugin on the same strip in both tunes stays plugged in.

When it goes wrong

• An echo howls: Esc, or BANK LEFT + BANK RIGHT on the console. PANIC empties all the effects, the tune plays on.
• The output clips: keep LIMITER ON under the master fader.
• Crackles: see Settings and help.