QLab

What can I say... This is a fantastic piece of software. I have used this for our amateur theatre group for the last 3 years and it works flawlessly. The free version is great! I used this for ages but finally upgraded to the pro version just because I wanted to use the midi integration. The software not only plays back the sound file, but also sends midi commands to the desk to raise the fader and lower the fader when the sound has stopped playing. It never fails to impress. The only negative is some of the more simple commands can take a while to get your head around. For example cross fading tracks into each other. However they now have some great tutorials on the website, I would suggest watching these before you start using the software as it covers the basics well. The software is expensive, but is aimed at professionals and does much more than cheeper alternatives. The free version is great for amateur groups for simple audio playback. Just one final thing next time you go to the theatre have a look what software the sound engineer is using, if they have a mac it will have Qlab on it!

QLab is truly one of those "how did I ever get along without it" items. I am the production coordinator and sound designer for my wife's Pulitzer Prize-nominated solo show "Now That She's Gone," which we've been doing theatrically for the last 3 years all over the world. Since this was my first foray into theater (my primary field of expertise is music for film and TV), I was using my MacBook Pro and a portable sub-mixer (for added control) to run the sound cues via iTunes; with my other hand I was pushing the pause button on a DVD player. And I would be cueing the lighting operator at the same time, typically sitting next to me. It worked, I got by with it … but it was not an elegant solution. And if we were in a particularly cramped booth (aren't they all?) it was even more unwieldy. NOW… thanks to QLab? All I need is my MacBook Pro. Everything is handled through the software, we never see a little "play" or "pause" graphic on the screen (all DVD players do them), and I can hit visual and audio cues with laser-sharp accuracy… even down to a SYLLABLE inside a word my wife is saying! It's everything I always wanted, and didn't realize it. As we are about to do the show for a solid month, every day at 5:30 pm at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival — and I've already been informed the booth barely holds one person — you can see what a relief QLab is going to be. Having the greatest accuracy and flexibility imagineable, and at the same time the smallest equipment footprint I've ever had, is truly a lifesaver. I also told my wife, Ellen Snortland, that it is my desire to one day do a show with her that takes advantage of at least HALF of everything QLab can do. Right now we're running at about 1/4th! :-)

If you work as a sound designer in a theater. Stop looking! This is your perfect program. There is no better in this world ;-)

The intuitive interface makes getting started with QLab easy. The features in the free version are great. The features unlocked in the paid version are well worth it. If you need to build sound cues for any purpose (school, church, presentation, dance, theatre) QLab is the answer.

Bang on! No words for this. Try it for yourself. Five full stars for being free.

This app is fantastic. Even the free version is powerfull enough for a performance with loads of cues, overlapings and stuff (audio, video..). You can feed it with any file format supported by QuickTime. It is very stable (installed for me on a MacBook, never had a single problem). It's full of very usefull details but the interface is clear and uncluttered (and customizable). Can be entirely driven through the keyboard through personalized shortcuts. For more advanced features, the paying version will be needed. But for a small structure, a theater company with limited finances, the free version is more than enough. And if you go for the paying version, you pay only for the additional modules you actually need (pro audio, pro video or pro midi). You don't pay for tons of features you will never use. And if you have a very small budget, you can even rent those modules for a limited time for $3 a day each ! They also have discount for educational licensing. Intelligent, professional and classy. May the developpers of this app be blessed ! (ps: sorry for my poor english)

As the first paying customer for the pro version I can tell you nothing is as powerful as this app for sound playback on the mac. I have used it for years and countless productions and it has never failed - not once. Better than SFX, by far. Worth buying a Mac for if you don't already have one! From community theatre to broadway, QLab has made life much easier for countless audio engineers and sound designers.