How to use an Intel PC stick as a standalone VST host / VST player / synthesizer

Intel Compute Stick music production - how to use an Intel PC stick as a standalone VST host / VST player /synthesizer. Table of contents below! Intel PC sticks are USB-stick-sized X86 PCs running Windows Home Edition. In this video, I'm installing a DAW and some popular VST plugins on one of them, seeing if there's enough performance to create a track with multiple virtual instruments. Also: using this as a monitor-less device booting your favourite software synth or plugin, playable with an external MIDI controller.

Table of contents:

00:00 Demo 1 (TAL Noizemaker)
01:27 Introduction
02:57 Hardware overview - what you need
03:39 Update the WLAN driver
03:58 creating a track in Reaper w/ Audio Modeling Clarinet, SYNTH1, TR-910, DEXED and Valhalla Shimmer
05:22 recording a synth pad...
06:00 drum track (TR-910)
06:45 E-Piano (DEXED)
07:58 Modeling Clarinet & finished track
09:00 VST host standalone setup (TAL Noizemaker)
09:38 Clarinet standalone setup with Bluetooth speaker
10:10 conclusion

VST download links:

Want to buy some of the stuff in this video? Please use the followings links and support me:

[mr_floydst]

Any questions or suggestions what I should try next with this setup? Leave it in the comments... EDIT: added VST plugin links.

[XavierRadix]

I'm suprised to see how powerful these things can be! Very nice vid :)

[FaOut]

at first I thought it the music was like in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey =)
nice video my friend

[LanthanOIde]

Very cool concept!
Also, great demo song! Makes me a little nostalgic, as the style reminds me a bit of Amie Waters earlier works. :)

[camelCased]

Thank you for sharing your experiences. Wow, it's even able to run SWAM instruments for EWI. Exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the amazon link is dead, but there are many similar sticks available, and if your video shows it correctly, an Atom 1.33 GHz with 2GB RAM should be enough to start with for a single instrument scenario.
Some time ago I considered using a Linux-based single-board computer (similar to Raspberry Pi but more powerful) because there are more options for those. However, Linux does not support the majority of the best soft synths. So, I guess, Intel-based sticks and NUCs are our best option for a portable headless audio studio.

[philipcoombes]

Interesting video. Please say what video capture software you used as it must have used very little cpu etc power. Thanks.

[miekwavesoundlab]

How do a build an array of these with MIDI IN and LR out in standalone mode without monitor?

Basically I want a mini nuk for my Lounge EP presets one for Korg plugins etc.

All accessible via MIDI din and audio LR out

[Jahgoncom]

Are you still using this nowadays? Am looking for a way to have a portable vst box to use in a dawless setup and stumbled on your video.

[dodecafono]

Hello! What about the integrated audio output? It is noisy? Thanks for you videos

[daredad]

Great video! I have been using a cn62 chrome box i7 with 512gb solid state 16gb ram but needs a power brick. This seems like a great mobile alternative!

[erikdijkhuizen]

Which patch in TAL Noizemaker are you using in Demo 1? Sounds great!

[SzymonWeiss]

Hi, do you think I could build a drum-step-sequencer somehow with my old APC20 to control this device?

[Garflips]

Cool stuff! I may have missed this in your video, but can you run a standalone synth (or VST in lightweight host) from the Windows Startup folder without ever connecting a monitor? Most standaone synth apps and VST hosts will remember the last saved config and then you could change presets with your controller. Cheers.

[vedranart]

Hi,
what latency could I get with lets say Focusrite 8i6 audio interface using microphone and filtering via VST and outputing it directly back to headphones?
Would latency be noticeable?
Or would JACK on Linux perform better?
Thanks! 😊

[Diego_Occhipinti]

Hi! Thanks for sharing! I´ve been thinking on getting a RP4 or (better but more expensive) zynthian as a choice of playing my vsts live and getting rid of my laptop. Do you reccomend me this option? I only need to run a pair of really light VSTs as Pianoteq and TAL plugins, perhaps TAL Bassline, TAL Reverb 4 and TAL U-No-Lx.

Thanks!

[sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Can it handle "Audio Modeling" "SWAM" physically modelled instruments?

[brianmason]

Hey Floyd. Am fascinated by what you are doing. My mission is to create a simple VST file player with MIDI intereaction. It will be for Electronic Wind Instruments, specifically the Akai. I have been looking at the Dyna Sample Expresso which is stand-alone and simple. They, however, are not producing at the moment, or possible may not in the future. The YouTube clips show great interaction with the breath controll CC's from the Wind Instrument. Can you suggest an approach or architecture that might work with the mini-stick computer? Am not looking for huge numbers of wild sounds, just ten good voices, well sampled and as authentic to the original instrument.

[georgecelestino]

Hey Floyd, I recently had the idea to put a touchscreen and pc stick inside of my Launchkey midi keyboard to turn it into a stand alone instrument. For no other reason than I think it would be extremely cool. You are the only person on YouTube that seems to have had a similar idea to me and I really appreciate the information you laid out here. My question to you is if I get a stick pc with 8gb of ram and a 2.4-2.9ghz cpu, what would be my limitations as far as plugins go? I’m not looking to run multiple plugins at one time but I’m wondering if you have tried running some more intensive plugins like the Arturia V collection 7 through your stick pc setup. I see you are using the Synth-1 plug-in which I also own but I would like to be able to run plugins with a higher sound quality like the arturia ones. Thanks In advance for any advice!

[lebinolivier]

Very interesting. An "alternative to the Raspberry ?". Without screen, mouse and PC keyboard, would it be possible to prepare presets and use only the Midi Keyboard Controller plugged in USB ?

[krystofsplichal]

What a great idea! Also great music and video production on your side! :) Do you notice any audio artifacts as the CPU usage increases? I'm thinking of using this as a host for EQ + IR vst plugins for my headphones/speakers. Paired with a USB to toslink/spdif converter, I could send the digital stream from my sound card to this, process all sound and send it back... The 15ms latency you mentioned is fine for playback... So my main concern is with stability. Thanks!