Computers, Drives, and Hubs

Computers, Drives, and Hubs

Solid State Drives

Solid State Drives (SSD) are the preferred choice for using Omnisphere—especially during live performance. The transfer rate is much faster and it’s less likely you’ll encounter any glitches or CPU overloads.

It is also recommended that your STEAM folder resides on the computer’s internal drive.

USB Hubs

Simple setups with just a laptop and a USB keyboard (including a USB–C adapter for newer Mac laptops) are often all you need—in these cases, you will probably not need a USB hub.

Buss-powered USB hubs can work well for slightly larger setups that include hard drives and other devices that draw minimal power. They evenly spread the USB transfer bandwidth across all connected devices and the power from your plugged-in computer handles any necessary power requirements.

If your setup includes more devices, or ones that draw more power than the rest, you might need to employ a powered hub to keep things running smoothly. The power will be evenly distributed, along with the USB transfer bandwidth.

How to Secure Your Laptop

Unfortunately, when you take your laptop out into the world for live performance, there is always a risk of theft or that your data could be compromised. There are a variety of ways to secure your laptop and its files—preventing any invasion of privacy, theft of your data, or the theft of the computer, itself.

Access to your laptop’s data can be restricted by simple password protection and is always recommended.

Physical locks are also available and recommended. Some systems employ steel cables which attach the computer to a fixed table or rack and are unlocked with combinations, two-factor authentication, or even fingerprint readers. Others employ more robust mounting devices that secure your entire computer to a solid base, or a rack-mounted security drawer—making it difficult, if not impossible to remove without causing damage to the computer.

Using a Dedicated Live Computer

While it is not always feasible or affordable to have a separate computer that is dedicated to live performance, it can be the cornerstone of the most reliable live rig.

A dedicated live computer should remain streamlined and not be used for other things, like email or word-processing. It’s also not necessary to install all the VIs, DAWs, and sample libraries that you have on your studio computer.

Once your setup is complete and running smoothly, the computer’s operating system and the minimal number of installed apps needn’t be updated as frequently. The simplicity of the setup can keep the hardware and operating system clean and free of any corruption. It can also be a good idea to keep it disconnected from the internet as much as possible.

Keeping your performance computer lean and mean ensures worry-free performance.