Guide to VE Pro and Logic Part 1 & 2

[n6smith]

As several people have asked me how I set my Logic and VE Pro system up I decided to write a basic guide which I hope will be of use to people here, who are looking to expand their music making capabilities.

I will be writing and posting this up in several parts over the next few days so feel free to comment/ask questions etc as i do so and I'll update the various parts as i go along...

Disclaimer: I am not the greatest 'techie' person in the world! This guide outlines how I configure and use VE Pro. There may well be better/different ways to configure/use VE Pro with Logic. I may make mistakes in this text! If I do so and you notice them, please PM me with the errors of my ways and I'll correct them a.s.a.p. If you know of better/different/additional ways of configuring/using VE Pro then please post these in the thread as additional info. If I get it wrong then I apologize and I will correct my mistakes a.s.a.p but I will not and cannot, be held responsible for any harm/damage/confusion/loud laughter I might inadvertently cause by such mistakes. You follow and utilize this guide at your own risk. Thank you!!


Part 1 - Basic Setup

First off... the hardware I will be using in this guide.

A 2011 iMac 3.4Ghz i7 (Known hereafter as the Master computer)

A 2011 Mac Mini Server (Known hereafter as the Slave computer)

A Motu Ultralite (Any reliable Audio/Midi interface will do)

A 2011 Airport Extreme. Any decent Gigabit router (or Gigabit switch if you don't need outside connectivity) will do

Ethernet cables to connect up the system

One Steinberg Elicenser USB Key (Tip: A Steinberg key costs roughly half the price online, of an official Vienna License Key and is identical in both capabilities and use!)

A Midi keyboard or controller (In my case a Roland A90 EX)

A Glyph FW800 2TB External Hard Drive (For storing samples and Instruments)

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Next, the software....

Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 (known hereafter as VE Pro) - Cost: Roughly $280 including 3 activation codes.

Logic Pro 9.1.6 running in 64bit mode (You can use Logic in 32bit mode if you wish and older versions of Logic 9 (and 8 as far as i know) work just as well with VE Pro 5. (Known hereafter as Logic)

Omnisphere - Latest version (Known hereafter as Omni)

Kontakt 5

Assorted other 3rd party Instruments and FX plugins. (32bit and 64bit are usable)

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Brief Explanation of VE Pro

VE Pro allows you to connect other computers, known as slave computers... to your main or Master computer by means of a Gigabit network. VE Pro does not work with WiFi or the older/slower 100/10 networks.

VE Pro 5 allows you to use any Intel Mac or PC as a slave computer.

VE Pro is like a souped up version of Apples Logic Node. You run your DAW, in this case Logic, on the Master computer and you use the VE Pro Server to host AU/VST plugins on your Mac Slave or Windows VSTs on your PC Slave. You then use VE Pro's AU Plugin in Logic to access the Instruments/FX plugins hosted on your slave computer without any noticeable latency.

By doing this you are effectively capable of running far more instances of Instruments and FX Plugins on your Master computer than you could ever do so without the use of VE Pro.

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Basic Setup and Configuration

First steps....

Assuming you have already installed Logic on your Master computer...

Purchase VE Pro 5 from http://www.viennaensemblepro.com/

Download the Elicenser software from http://www.elicenser.net/en/

Install Elicenser on your Master or Slave computer

Insert your Elicenser USB Key into that computer

Run Elicenser

Add one of the three Activation Keys you got in an email when you purchased VE Pro, to that USB Key

Eject the key if you did this on your Master computer and insert key into your slave computer

Note: You get three activation codes with a purchase of VE Pro so you could purchase three USB keys and use them with three different slave computers at the same time.. You can even buy more activation codes from Vienna and buy more keys and add more slaves to your setup....expanding your system dramatically! For this example however, I am only going to use one key and one slave computer....

On the slave computer I installed both 32bit and 64bit versions of the VE Pro Server software.. You use the 32bit server to host 32bit instruments/plugins.. and the 64bit server to host 64 bit instruments/plugins.

Note: You can host several instances of VE Pro server on your slave so you can, for example, use both VE Pro 32bit Server and VE Pro 64bit server at the same time to host both your 32 and 64bit plugins on the same slave computer.

On the Slave computer I also then installed the following software;

Omnisphere 64bit Au Plugin

Kontakt 5 64bit AU Plugin

Korg's Digital Workstation 32bit AU Plugin (Emulations of the M1,Wavestation etc..)

Note: Install whatever plugins/instruments you wish to use via VE Pro on your Slave computer bearing in mind you can also install and use these and other plugins/instruments as normal on your Master computer in Logic.

On my Master computer I installed the VE Pro AU Plugin. If you intend to run Logic in 64bit mode then install the 64bit version of the VE Pro Plugin. If you plan on running Logic in 32bit mode then install the 32bit version of VE Pro Au Plugin.

Note: The VE Pro 64bit AU Plugin can connect to both the VE Pro 32bit Server and the VE Pro 64bit Server on your host effectively removing the need to run the somewhat unstable Logic 32-64bit bridge!!

Connect the Master and the slave computer via ethernet cables to the Router or Gigabit switch. Again, note.. you must use Gigabit network... so a 100/10 switch will not work. You need a 1000/100/10 switch.

Also note that you must not have any 100/10 devices connected to the same network otherwise you lower the speed of the network down to 100/10 speed and VE Pro will not work correctly.

I configured my Airport Extreme to use it's DHCP Server to allocate IP addresses to the Master and Slave computers. You can, if you wish, use fixed IPs instead.

Note: It is better to turn off WiFi on the Master and Slave computers if possible. If you are planning on using an external controller such as an iPad over WiFi to control Logic.. then turn on WiFi on the Master computer and make a ad-hoc network just for the iPad and your Master computer. Doing it this way resolves and/or prevents a lot of issues people have had with multiple IPs for the same computer.. being present on a network.

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Part 2 - Basic usage with Logic

Okay, so now we have our VE Pro installed it's time to go through a very straight forward basic use within Logic

1) On the slave computer run VE Pro Server 32bit (or 64bit if you only have 64bit Instrument plugins installed on your Slave computer)

Important note : Make sure you run Vienna Ensemble Pro SERVER and not Vienna Ensemble Pro. They are two different programs with two different uses

2) Make sure that WiFi is turned off on both Master and slave for the time being. Once you have everything up and running and tested you can try turning WiFi back on and see if it affects your system.

3) When you open the 32bit version of VE Pro SERVER on your Slave you should be asked to give the server a name.. Use TEST or something similar for testing purposes.

4) The main VE Pro SERVER interface should then open.

5) Click on the "Add Instrument' button in the bottom left hand corner of the Interface and add any 32bit AU instrument

6) Now switch over to your Master computer with Logic running in 64bit mode. (Or 32bit mode if you cannot or do not wish to use Logic in 64bit mode)

7) Create an Instrument Track in Logic

8 ) Add the VE Pro 64bit AU Instrument (or 32bit AU if running Logic in 32bit Mode)

Note: You can run the server on the Slave in 32bit mode but the AU plugin on the Master in 64bit mode eliminating the need for the 32-64bit bridge in 64bit Logic!

9) When the AU Plugin opens it will show a list of the SERVERS available to you

10) Select whatever you named the instance of the SERVER on your Slave computer earlier..

11) Make sure the track with the VE Pro AU Plugin is armed for record as normal in Logic

12) Play notes on your Midi controller or keyboard and you should hear your Instrument on your Slave computer playing back to you.

You have now created a basic setup for use with Logic. Try recording something.. and play it back to confirm smooth playback without latency.

Have Fun!

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Part 3 will provide a more complicated use of VE Pro via FX Racks and Multiple Instruments / Multiple instances of VE Pro Server on the same Slave.

UPDATE: Nov 2012

Due to a sudden and unexpected increase in my current workload early in 2012 I have been unable to proceed with my use of VEP at this time and therefore I have been unable to write the next part of this tutorial/guide. As Winter rolls around this year, i may find my workload reduces substantially which will allow me to spend much more time with my VEP setup, at which point I will then be able to continue on with this Guide as originally planned. My apologies for this long wait....

[David]

Nigel, thanks a lot for providing this article. I'm going to leave it here for a bit then I'll move it to the Tips and Tricks section!

[Steve_DC]

Nigel --

Great step by step explanation which I have found easy to follow. I have mine set up right so far, except for the need to turn off Wi-Fi.

Perhaps this could be made a sticky so others can benefit from it.

Looking forward to Part 2, and thanks for your work.

Steve

[DrewMusic007]

love this - thank you!

[dsilvercoin]

Thank you so much Nigel!

I have a post in this forum looking for answers about running a similar setup. I'd LOVE your thoughts on my situation.

As per your setup:

1) How much RAM do you have installed on the machines?
2) What kind of drives are connected to the Master & Slave?

thx again!

ds.

[n6smith]

My iMac has 16 GB installed and my MMS has 8GB installed. The iMac cost me $72 to upgrade from 4 to 16GB and the MMS cost $40 to upgrade from 4-8GB via Amazon and Crucial Memory.

I use Glyph FW800 External HDs... Most of them are either 1TB or 2TB drives.. The price of these (and basically all HDs) has risen dramatically over the last few months due to the floods in Thailand however.... so now isn't the best time to buy a external HD..

I only buy Glyphs these days... for use with audio and streaming... I find them to be the most reliable drives out there for such use and their 3 year warranty that comes free with the drives.. which includes 1 year of full data retrieval and 2 years of basic retrieval.. makes the total prices of their HDs worth it imho, for the piece of mind it gives me.

I also use Seagate GoFlex HDs for backups... (either USB2 or FW800) I bought a bunch of the USB2/3 2TB GoFlexes this summer when they only cost $79 each at Walmart and added the FW800 adaptor for them for $20 each later.. For backup purposes these are a good and cheap method though again, they now cost around $150 each so it might be better to wait until the prices drop again.. hopefully in a few months... when supplies and therefore costs return to normal!

[n6smith]

Update: I have added Part 2 to this guide. Part 3 coming hopefully before Christmas if I have time to write it all up and test!

[Oceanviewstudio]

Great write up, thanks a lot Nigel!

[dslim]

Hi Nigel, at this point your tutorial, you put this:
Connect the Master and the slave computer via ethernet cable to the router or switch Gigabyte. Again, note .. Must you use Gigabyte network ... Will switch to 100/10 so not work. You need to switch 1000/100/10.

Also note That You Must Have not Any devices connected to 100/10 network the Same Otherwise you lower the speed of the network down to 100/10 speed and VE Pro Will not work CORRECTLY.

In my setup I have a switch like this:
http://www.dlink.co.uk/cs/Satellite?c=P ... FDLWrapper


I have connected the 2 units of mc mc mix and transport, may have problems with the VE Pro

Pd: in the other thread that you helped me and saw my pictures, if I can help you set up a new table for your study, you have more to say, and what you can or dare I'll help any way how.

Again, a big thank you for sharing your Know-how.
thank you very much Nigel.

Greetings.
Dave

[n6smith]

Hi dlim,

The router itself looks ok. It is a 1000/100/10 router so that's fine.

However, what do you have connected to the router?

Every device connected to the router, must have a Gigabit (1000Mb/sec) Ethernet Interface otherwise if you have a 100Mb device connected, the whole network drops down to 100Mb/sec and VE Pro will not work correctly.

In your case I believe the MC equipment are 100/10 devices and so that will drop down the network speed to 100Mb/sec.. hence your problems with VE Pro..

If you have a Mac Pro as your Master, you can install a second Ethernet card inside it and then have two networks.. One for your VE Pro and Router.. and one for your MC equipment and that way your VE pro and Router network will remain at 1000Mb/sec and your MC gear can connect to the other card and that will remain at 100Mb/sec..

If you don't have a Mac Pro as the Master then I'm not sure what you can do. There are Ethernet to USB interfaces you could use to connect your MC gear to.. that would leave the main Ethernet port free for just your VE Pro and Router connections... but I have no idea how well they work and/or if that would cause issues with your MC gear.

Hope this helps..

[n6smith]

Updated top post to correct my improper use of the term Gigabyte for the correct term.. Gigabit.. when referring to 1000Mb/sec ethernet network connections..

Sorry for the oversight!

[garfinkle]

Thanks Nigel

Great stuff - looking forward to Pt 3.

Here’s a question. If you have a slave setup and, say, an orch perc instance all nicely laid out as a VE profile and you’re working on a totally separate Logic session and you decide to use that profile, is there a simpler way to do it rather than having to set up all the relevant environment profiles in Logic....again? Or do you create a relevant LP environment specifically tailor made for that VE Pro instance and then import that into your new session?

[n6smith]

garfinkle,

All you do is open the VE Pro AU plugin in a track in Logic and connect it to the instance of VE Pro Server setup on your slave...

Nothing else to set up in Logic in that case...

Example:
I have saved several different VE Pro setups such as a Full Orchestra 'preset' made up of several different instruments via multiple instances of Kontakt.... as a single instance of VE Pro Server on my slave. When I wish to use this "Full Orch" setup again in Logic, I simply open the saved instance of VE Pro Server on my slave computer whicb in turn opens up all the different instances of Kontakt with each set of samples that I saved earlier...and then in Logic create a new track and open the VE Pro AU Plugin in that and point it to the VE Pro Server setup on my slave. Done!

Note: Part 3 will probably appear in the next couple of weeks, once I have mastered and fully understood a few more things related to VE Pro!

[bonsaiphilhamonic]

I'm going to humble myself and ask a really stupid question. I'm just trying to create beautiful music--a relative newcomer to the current digital music scene. I bought Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 to use with Logic--but only for the cheaper/starter included Epic Orchestra sounds. I'm impressed but overwhelmed at all VE Pro does, but I just want to open up and use the sounds! This my question: Can somebody answer this very basic question for me? What is an "instance" and how do I create one in Vienna Ensemble Pro? Additionally, is there a link/tutorial to the BASICS of both VE Pro and Logic somewhere? Even the VE Pro tutorials assume I already know far more than I do!

[Steve_DC]

You poor soul! As between Logic and VE Pro 5, VE Pro 5 is easier to use, if that helps.

To get started, first start VE Pro Server from your OSX applications folder. You should start it running before you start Logic. Next start Logic and open a new project To the far left of the Arrange window (the main window) and toward the bottom you will see "I/O". Click and HOLD one of the square blank bars underneath "I/O", and a menu will open up. Drag your mouse down the menu until you reach "AU Instruments" toward the bottom. A sub-menu will open up to the right, slide over to VSL, then another sub-menu where you will see VE Pro. Click on that. The "Server Interface" will open up. (Almost done!) Click on "Connect" at the bottom of the Server Interface window and you will see something like "127.0.0.1 localhost [64] (NEW)". Click on that and then click "Connect" again. The VE Pro Mixer will then open up! This is where you add your VSL Instruments and other instruments, such as Kontakt. To add your first instrument in the VE Pro Mixer, click on the VI Pro or VI icon at the bottom left, and one will open up.

This will get you started. You should also view the several videos available on the VSL website. You have already found the best forum for Logic questions, and the main author of this forum has written a helpful book on Logic which you should also probably buy, although you are mainly going to work with instrument samples, so you might wait a bit on the book purchase.

Good luck. It's a STEEP, difficult learning curve ahead, but you will get there, and you are in the right place for help.

Steve

[AC55]

Thinking of adding VePro to my setup. Just curious - do you actually need to use a gigabit router/switch? Can you run an ethernet cable directly from the master to the slave if you only plan on needing and using just those 2 machines?

[n6smith]

Yes.. that would work too... and is actually what I recommend when working with just two computers... as it is the fastest and most latency free connection if truth be known.