Alchemy basic synthesis tweaks in MainStage

Alchemy provides thousands of ready-made presets for you to explore. These are not only a great resource for musical inspiration but can also provide numerous insights into how sound designers have created them. Even if you’re not inclined to program your own sounds from scratch, some small tweaks to existing presets can provide that “perfect” sound for your projects or performances.

Note: Images shown in tutorials are not specific to presets used in tasks. They are included as a guide to help you find areas and parameters in the Alchemy interface.

Use performance and effect controls to tweak a sound in Alchemy

This task introduces you to basic operations in the performance and effect controls. This method of interaction works in the same way across presets. These controls can have a subtle or dramatic impact and can be used to very quickly create patch variations. If you happen across something that sounds great while making your tweaks, don’t forget to click the Save As button at the top.

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the Preset name field in the Name bar and choose the Analog Bass Sequence preset. Make sure the Advanced view button is active.
Click the Perform button to view the performance controls, then drag the framing bracket in the Transform pad while playing your keyboard.
The sound morphs between different sound variations. If you happen across something you like, you can use the Save As button in the Name bar to name and save a new preset.
Drag the framing bracket to the top left (“Snappy”), then set the Decay knob to zero and the Sustain knob to around 75%. Drag the Arp Mode knob to the leftmost Off position.
When you hold a note on the keyboard you will hear a sustained sound with no sequenced pattern. Adjust the Cutoff, Resonance and Tube knobs to hear how they affect the sound.
Click the Effects button to view the Effects section, then click the Blue On buttons of all four effects to bypass them.
Play a few notes to hear the impact this has, then click the gray On button to re-enable the Multimode Filter plug-in.
Choose the Formant option in the Multimode Filter Type menu.
Click the On button for the Delay plug-in and play a few notes to hear the effect.
Choose any preset from the File menu in the Delay effect interface. Drag the gray scroll bar at the bottom of the Effects section if the Delay effect isn’t visible.
Return to the performance controls, and adjust the Resonance and Cutoff knobs while playing both staccato and held notes.
Drag the blue control points in both XY Pads while striking a note to hear their impact.
Double-click both the Resonance and Cutoff knobs to set them to the zero position.

Swap the source to tweak a sound in Alchemy

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the Global button toward the upper left to view sources A to D.
You can see that the Analog Bass Sequence preset uses four sources: A, B, C and D.
Click the source select field for both source A and source B, then choose Load VA > Simple > Triangle in each.
Play your keyboard to hear a more mellow synth type sound. Feel free to repeat this step with sources B and C, using different waveforms, or perhaps import a sample.

Mute a source to use a partial preset in Alchemy

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the File button in the Name bar and choose Initialize Preset, then choose the Analog Bass Sequence preset from the Preset name field. Make sure the Global button is active in advanced view.
Click both the source A and source B buttons to mute these sources. A blue A, B, C, or D button indicates the source is active.
Play the keyboard to hear a very different sequenced sound which emphasizes the interaction between Additive source C and the Saw used for source D. You can click the C and D source buttons, in turn, to hear them in isolation. It may surprise you to hear what they sound like individually.
Tip: Muting sources in this way is also a good working practice when editing or adjusting source settings because it allows you to focus on the sonic characteristics you are trying to achieve for the source. You can unmute the source and adjust the Volume settings of each to set the balance between them once you’ve made your changes.
Click the Perform button to view the performance controls, then drag the framing bracket in the Transform pad while playing your keyboard.
You will hear the sound morphing between different sound variations. If you happen across something you like, you can use the Save As button in the Name bar to name and save a new preset. Return the framing bracket to the “Snappy” position when done.

Adjust the tuning and envelope of a source in Alchemy

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the File button in the Name bar and choose Initialize Preset, then choose the Analog Bass Sequence preset from the Preset name field. Make sure the Global button is active in advanced view.
Drag the source B Tune knob to -24 semis.
Click the source B Vol knob.
The AHDSR envelope updates in the central modulation section.
Double-click the source B Pan knob to center it.
In the central modulation section, make sure the Attack, Hold, and Decay knobs are set to zero, set Sustain to around 80%, and Release to around 0.032. You may also want to experiment with adjustments of the Decay and other knobs in the performance controls section to hear their impact.

Adjust filters to tweak a sound in Alchemy

In Alchemy in MainStage, change the filter 2 Cutoff and Resonance settings in the main filter section to the right of the sources while playing.
Click the Filter type menu to experiment with different filters.
Enable filter 1, and try different settings.
Adjust the Par/Ser knob to hear how this affects the sound when the filters are used in series or in parallel.
Drag the framing bracket in the performance controls to hear variations of your tweaked sound.

Recycle sources and sound settings from other presets in Alchemy

This is less of a tweak and more of a shortcut for sound creation. Alchemy provides thousands of presets that can be partially used for new sounds, sequences, modulation settings, arpeggios, effects settings, and more.

In any loaded Alchemy preset, click the source name field and choose Save Source from the pop-up menu.
Give the source a name in the file dialog, and click Save.
This source is automatically saved in the Alchemy > Source subfolder.
In a new instance of Alchemy, click the Source select field and choose Load Source from the pop-up menu, then choose the saved source.
The source (or sources) from up to four presets can be recycled in this way.
Steps 1-3 can be repeated for any Alchemy element that provides a File pop-up menu, such as modulation settings, arpeggiator settings, effects settings, and so on.
Make use of existing presets as sources of raw material for your own sounds.

Download the guides:

MainStage User Guide: PDF

MainStage Instruments: PDF

MainStage Effects: PDF

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