Instantly Playing Music Cues In Os X Options

[AlanAudio]

In OS 9, I used to use a very nice feature of Bias Peak, which allowed me to have ten open windows with music tracks and to fire one of them instantly and without warning by pressing a numeric key. I used it to play music cues within unpredictable live TV programmes.

I'd like to do something similar on OS X. I'm sure that Bias Peak still has that feature, but would be interested to know of any alternatives, maybe ways to achieve the same functionality in Logic Express.

The requirement is to be able to load in anything up to 30 music selections and to have the means to rapidly set a number of them up so that they are available to be played on demand. From time to time it might be appropriate to re-select which cues are available for instant use.

If there were also the option of being able to play more than one feed at once and fade between them, that would be excellent.

It would also be desirable to opt for a second track to stop the preceding one and then play in it's place.

What I'm looking for could possibly be achieved by a music app, a sampler, a cart machine emulator or a DJ app.

What would you suggest ?

[lushbudget]

I would reccomend Ableton's Live software. Version 2 would suffice for your purposes. Live allows for exactly what you are talking about, as well as some other on point features such as clip audtioning (so you can hear it before they do!) and setting up several clips in sequence to play in any particular order. The most amazing thing about Live is it's ability to play back and record in real time, which means that you can play your clips and even alter them on the fly without having to stop any other clips from playing. This is perfect for DJs and live musicians, and it would be even more than perfect for you. Ableton will let you download a demo for free to try it. Just go to Ableton.com and download the Live demo. Then, if you decide you don't need all the features available in the latest incarnation (version 4) go to a retailer or ebay to purchase live 2 or 3, which has all the features you would need for on the fly clip triggering and editing.
Good luck!

lushbudget (PS I use Live myself and I absolutely love it! In tandem with ProTools LE and Reason 2.5 I have a complete recording studio AND live rig for playing shows!)