Testify Software's Emcee Pro Software

Welcome to the second installment of "Tech Talk." This monthly feature will hopefully help you understand about certain sound and musical gadgets that everyone sees but are just not sure how they operate in the real world.

This month we will be talking about another piece of equipment/software that is being used by Southern Gospel groups--Emcee Pro by Testify Software.

Emcee Pro is live playback software. Many groups are already using it and it is GREAT! If you have a Windows® based computer and have around $250.00 to invest this is the ticket.

It's very simple to use.

Designed to fill a need for the performing artist working with recorded background music. Not only can you store and access all your material directly on your computer, but also can manage your performance with incredible ease!

Testify Software is the brainchild of retired business analyst/programmer/music minister Ted Watson. The idea for Emcee Pro was born after a visit to the Great Western Quartet Convention in Sacremento, Ca., where Ted and his wife paid special attention to how the different groups managed their performance tracks. After questioning several groups about a particular device they were using (Instant Replay) they decided Emcee Pro (yet undeveloped) would be a great "first" for Testify Software.

You can click here and see Emcee Pro. You can also download a full version as well as the owners manual. Tutorials (.avi files) are also available for download.

Before I close let me mention this: I use Emcee Pro at our church as well as having it as a backup for our tracks with the McKameys. After we had already purchased our Instant Replay, I found out about Emcee Pro. If our Instant Replay ever happens to go on the fritz, I know that I can switch seamlessly to Emcee Pro and no one will know the difference.

Til next time,

Roger Fortner

TECH TALK FAQ

How many songs will Emcee Pro hold?

You can have up to 100 separate programs of 26 tracks each for a total of 2600 tracks!

What if I want to "encore" a song?

You can set an "encore point" for any track, without creating a new track.

Is there any "special" features that Emcee Pro has that other playback devices don't have?

It has an integrated prompter that can scroll lyrics on the top of the screen as well as having the capability to send it to a second monitor that you could place on stage. Never forget the words to a song again.