3.5

508MainStage Instruments
From there, the signal is sent to an EQ-like module (BodyEQ, to the lower right of the
Material Pad), which globally simulates the spectral shape or body response of your
instrument. There are several body types to choose from.
The resulting signal is then fed to a Level/Limiter section (at the far right).
Tip: Feel free to experiment with all parameters—using the #default (or your vanilla)
setting file each time. This will give you a general feel for each parameter and its impact on
the sounds you hear.
All other parameters on the lower portions of the Sculpture interface (Modulation, Morph,
Envelope, and Controller Assignments) are not part of the core synthesis engine, although
they can affect it.
Explore MainStage Sculpture modulations
The modulation options can be very important for the emulation of acoustic instruments,
such as with the introduction of vibrato into a trumpet sound over time.
Many classic synthesizer sounds also rely as much on modulation as they do on the basic
sound source components—the VCO, VCF, and VCA.
Here are some quick modulation tips:
• Imagine that you want to modulate the timbre of Object2 with the LFO, for example.
To do so, click the LFO1 or 2 tab, click the 1 or 2button, choose a source and target
from the Source and Target pop-up menus, then drag the “amt” and “via” sliders to the
values you want.
• To control any modulation with an external controller, such as your keyboard modulation
wheel, open the “via” pop-up menu and choose CtrlA (1ModWhl) or CtrlB (4Foot)
respectively. By default, the Mod Wheel is set to CtrlA.
• The Bouncing damp type available to Object3 affects the sound in an interesting way,
but it cannot run synchronously with the project tempo. To create a similar effect to
the Bouncing Object—but in sync with the project tempo—you could use a Disturb
object type, and move it by modulating its vertical position (Timbre) with an LFO that is
synchronized with MainStage.
Breath control is available when you use Sculpture, even if you don’t own a breath
controller.
Use breath control without a breath controller in Sculpture
1. In MainStage, record breath controller modulations into the recordable envelopes by
using your keyboard modulation wheel or another controller.
2. Reassign the recorded modulation routing to either, or both, the CtrlEnv1 and CtrlEnv2
parameters.
3. Choose NoteOn from the Record Trigger pop-up menu.
Incoming note-on messages trigger the CtrlEnv1 and 2 parameters.