3
Table Of Contents
- MainStage 3 User Manual
- Contents
- Chapter 1: Introducing MainStage
- Chapter 2: Set up your system
- Chapter 3: The MainStage interface
- Chapter 4: Get started with MainStage
- Chapter 5: Work in Edit mode
- Edit mode overview
- Work with patches in Edit mode
- Select items in the Patch List
- Copy, paste, and delete patches
- Reorder and move patches in the Patch List
- Create a patch from several patches
- Set the time signature for patches
- Change the tempo when you select a patch
- Set program change and bank numbers
- Defer patch changes
- Instantly silence the previous patch
- Change patch icons
- Change the tuning for a patch
- Work with channel strips in Edit mode
- Channel strips overview
- Show signal flow channel strips
- Show the metronome channel strip
- Create an alias of a channel strip
- Add a patch bus
- Channel Strip Inspector
- Choose channel strip settings
- Rename channel strips
- Change channel strip colors
- Change channel strip icons
- Use feedback protection with channel strips
- Work with software instrument channel strips
- Use the EXS24 mkII Instrument Editor in MainStage
- Use multiple instrument outputs
- Use external MIDI instruments in MainStage
- Delete channel strips
- Create keyboard layers and splits
- Work with graphs
- Create controller transforms
- Work with plug-ins in Edit mode
- Map screen controls
- Screen controls overview
- Map screen controls to channel strip and plug-in parameters
- Map screen controls to actions
- Map a screen control to multiple parameters
- Edit the saved value for a mapped parameter
- Set drum pads or buttons to use note velocity
- Use parameter mapping graphs
- Map screen controls to all channel strips in a patch
- Undo screen control parameter mappings
- Remove screen control mappings
- Work in the Assignments and Mappings tab
- Edit screen control parameters in Edit mode
- Screen control parameters in Edit mode overview
- Replace parameter labels
- Choose custom colors for screen controls
- Change the appearance of a background or grouped screen control
- Set screen controls to show the hardware value
- Set parameter change behavior for screen controls
- Set hardware matching behavior for screen controls
- Reset and compare changes to a patch
- Override concert- and set-level mappings
- Work with sets in Edit mode
- Share patches and sets between concerts
- Record the audio output of a concert
- Chapter 6: Work with concerts
- Open and close concerts
- Save concerts
- How saving affects parameter values
- Set the time signature for a concert
- Use tempo in a MainStage concert
- Define the source for program change messages
- Set the pan law for a concert
- Change the tuning for a concert
- Silence MIDI notes
- Mute audio output
- Work at the concert level
- Control the metronome
- Chapter 7: Work in Layout mode
- Layout mode overview
- Work with screen controls in Layout mode
- Assign hardware controls to screen controls
- Edit screen control parameters
- Screen control parameter editing overview
- Lift and stamp screen control parameters
- Common screen control parameters
- Keyboard screen control parameters
- MIDI activity screen control parameters
- Drum pad screen control parameters
- Waveform screen control parameters
- Selector screen control parameters
- Text screen control parameters
- Background screen control parameters
- How MainStage passes through MIDI messages
- Export layouts
- Import a layout
- Change the aspect ratio of a layout
- Chapter 8: Perform live with MainStage
- Before the performance
- Use Perform mode
- Select patches in performance
- Screen controls in performance
- Tempo changes in performance
- Tips for performing with keyboard controllers
- Tips for performing with guitars and other instruments
- Tune guitars and other instruments with the Tuner
- The Playback plug-in in performance
- Record your performances
- After the performance
- Tips for complex hardware setups
- Appendix A: The Playback plug-in
- Playback plug-in overview
- The Playback interface
- Use the Playback waveform display
- Playback transport and function buttons
- Playback information display
- Playback Sync, Snap To, and Play From parameters
- Use the Playback group functions
- Use the Playback Action menu and File field
- Use markers with the Playback plug-in
- Use the Playback plug-in in a concert
- Appendix B: The Loopback plug-in
- Appendix C: MainStage preferences
- Appendix D: Key commands
- Appendix E: MainStage actions
Appendix C MainStage preferences 150
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Alert me: Displays an alert when a device is hot-plugged. The alert includes buttons allowing
you to use or ignore the device.
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Automatically Use Device: Switches the audio drivers to allow immediate use of the hot-
plugged device for audio input and output.
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Do Nothing: Does not switch the audio drivers.
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Display audio engine overload message checkbox: When selected, an alert appears when the
audio engine overloads.
•
Enable ReWire Host Support: When selected, MainStage functions as a ReWire host. MainStage
must be reopened in order to detect ReWire slave applications.
Advanced Settings
•
I/O Buer Size pop-up menu: Choose the size of the buer for audio input and output in
samples. Smaller buer sizes reduce the amount of latency, but also require more work from
the CPU and may result in playback artifacts. You may want to try dierent settings to nd the
lowest setting that does not produce any artifacts.
•
I/O Safety Buer checkbox: When selected, MainStage uses an additional buer to process audio
output streams, providing a safeguard against crackling noises that may occur when using
very low I/O Buer Size settings. If turning on this preference does not improve things on your
system, disable the checkbox and select a larger I/O buer size setting.
Note: Use of the I/O Safety Buer preference increases the output latency and therefore the
round trip (input plus output) latency.
•
Driver Latency slider: Drag the slider to set the amount of latency. Drag left to decrease the
amount of latency, or drag right to increase the amount of safety (may increase latency).
The latency for the current buer size is displayed below the Driver Latency slider.
•
CPU Usage slider: Drag the slider to set the amount of processor power devoted to audio
processing. For multi-core processors, this controls the number of cores devoted to
audio processing.
Recording
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Output pop-up menu: Choose the audio output to record.
•
Recordings Folder eld: Click the eld, then browse to choose the location where recordings are
saved. The le path of the chosen location appears in the eld.
•
File Format pop-up menu: Choose the le format for audio recordings. The choices are:
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AIFF
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CAF
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WAVE
Audio Channel Strips
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Silence Previous Patch pop-up menu: Choose the amount of time sustaining notes and eects
tails continue to sound before falling to silence when you select a new patch.
The Silence Previous Patch preference applies only to audio and external instrument channel
strips, not software instrument channel strips.
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Globally Disable Feedback Protection checkbox: When selected, feedback protection is disabled
for all audio and external instrument channel strips in all concerts. The Feedback Protection
checkbox is also removed from the Attributes tab in the Channel Strip Inspector.