StageBox and Gig Performer are both plugin hosts designed for live performance use. The main differences are in the ease of use and overall feature set. StageBox has been designed to be very easy to use, require virtually no setup time to get going, and allow easy management of Setlists and Songs. Gig Performer has got some features that StageBox doesn't, but it also requires considerably more setup time and programming knowledge to get going.

Yes, you can use Stagebox to host any VST or Audio Units virtual instrument, such as Spectrasonics Keyscape, Modartt Pianoteq, and collections from Spitfire Audio. In fact, with StageBox, you can use multiple instances of all these plugins at once, and build them into your dream keyboard rig.

StageBox and MainStage are both plugin hosts designed for live performance use. Areas like Setlist management and MIDI mapping are generally easier in StageBox, whereas deeply complicated setups requiring backing tracks and lyric sheets might be better served in MainStage. StageBox has been designed to be very easy to use, require virtually no setup time to get going, and allow easy management of Setlists and Songs. MainStage has got some features that StageBox doesn't, but it also requires more setup time and programming knowledge to get going.

There are no limitations on the number of plugins you can host with StageBox, though there are practical limitations in the way you build your songs and sets. Eventually, your computer processor speed, hard drive capacity and amount of RAM —plus your choice of which plugins to use — will determine how many plugins you can run. (But it’s a lot!)

Yes, you can route different sections and songs to different outputs of your connected multi-channel audio interfaces.

Yes, StageBox has a MIDI Map for creating custom control setups. Click MIDI Map, and link hardware MIDI controls to parameters in StageBox and in the VST and AU plugins you’re using.

Each sound can have a total of 15 different AU/VST plugin effects: up to three pre-send AU / VST plugin effects; three plugins each for Send 1 and Send 2; three plugins post-send; and another three plugins that effect the whole song. If that’s not enough, let us know!

There are many DAWs and all of them support VST and / or AU plugins. However, their performance is often not optimised for live use, and from an organisational point of view, they are usually not setup to quickly move from one set of sounds to another and be able to have seamless transitions between sounds, let alone organise different setlists. It's not impossible to do this with some DAWS, but the knowledge and setup required is substantial, and that's why StageBox exists!

StageBox will run on all current Apple and Windows laptops. In general RAM is the most important factor, and then processing speed. But all modem Apple computers have ample processing power to run reasonably complicated setups. The limitations have more to do with the plugins that you choose to host inside StageBox. For example, multiple instances of large sample-based plugins will require more SSD space to store them, and more RAM to run them.

For a simple setup requiring just a stereo out, you could use the headphone jack of the computer, and not have an audio interface at all. However, for live shows, the noise from a headphone jack can sometimes be a problem, and a dedicated audio interface with balanced outputs is a more reliable choice. For a more complicated setup where multiple Outputs are needed — let's say you want to send a piano sound to one output and an organ sound to another output connected to a rotary speaker — a larger interface with several stereo outputs would be needed. Also consider that some audio interfaces have built-in MIDI ports, which might be useful for a larger setup.

Yes, MIDI mapping is a very powerful feature of StageBox. You can map hardware MIDI controls to the Stagebox interface, like send levels or volume, and also map parameters within the hosted plugins. To create a MIDI mapping, simply press the MIDI Map button in StageBox to open the MIDI mapping pane. Then turn the knob or fader on the physical controller you want to use, then turn the parameter in StageBox or a plugin that you want to map, and press ‘Add Mapping’. The mapping will appear in the list, and now you have some options to adjust such as the minimum and maximum limits of that controller, and if a particular value for that control is always recalled when the Song is selected.

Depending on the size of your setup, you may need a USB hub to increase the number of ports available on your computer. Powered hubs are recommended as they tend not to draw additional power from the computer in order to power attached peripherals like MIDI controllers, and this can sometimes help with overall stability of a system.

Generally speaking, higher-gauge USB cables designed for higher data rates (which are usually the most expensive) will perform better than thin, cheap cables. The best rule of thumb is to use the cable that comes with your equipment, as it will have been specified by the manufacturer to provide suitable performance.

StageBox is compatible with any and all Audio Units and VST plugins, which are the most popular plugin formats. (StageBox does not work with AAX plugins, but most AAX plugins are available in Audio Units and/or VST format.)

Some plugins have tempo-based features like a filter with a synced LFO or a ducking compressor that follows the beat. The actual tempo is set in the Song tempo window at the bottom of the StageBox interface, but in order for those processes to start 'on a beat' there needs to be a way to tell StageBox where the beat is! This is the Play button.