Alchemy modulation overview in MainStage

Modulation components are shown only in advanced view. Click the Advanced button to switch to advanced view.

Alchemy features a modular modulation system that combines ease of use with extensive functionality. The modulation rack is shown at the left. See Alchemy modulation rack controls in MainStage. The modulator control panel occupies the center portion of the display. This area updates dynamically to display modulation sources for the selected parameter.

Modulator panel type buttons: Click to view settings and adjust the controls of each modulation source.

Note: Some modulation types, namely MIDI, Note property, and Perform control modulators, don’t have a control panel in the center of the modulation section. These modulators are set with menu items in the modulation rack.

Figure. Modulation section, showing modulation rack, modulator control panel buttons, and AHDSR control panel.

Almost every knob in the Alchemy interface is a modulation target, representing a parameter that can be modulated by as many as ten modulators. This not only includes voice parameters, but also effect, arpeggiator, and performance; even other modulation parameters can be modulation targets. Each mod rack entry may have its depth (amount it affects the target) modulated by up to five additional modulation sources. Each modulation depth mod entry may be further modulated by an additional modulation source.

Note: The additional layers of modulation are useful when the amount of modulation, such as vibrato, is controlled by an envelope, MSEG, or channel aftertouch, for example. The third layer of modulation is particularly useful for assigning velocity or the modwheel to add expressiveness to the preceding modulation layers.

When a parameter is the target of one or more modulators, an orange modulation arc is shown beside the blue value arc for the knob. This indicates that the knob is an active modulation target and shows the modulation range. Parameters that are morphed and have a modulation assignment show both an orange and a green arc around the control.

Note: The most recently clicked knob is highlighted in blue, making it easy to identify the current target. If you switch between source subpage A to source subpage B, for example, the highlight shifts to the corresponding knob on the new subpage. This behavior lets you quickly assign modulations to a parameter such as Fine Tune for multiple sources.

Each modulation type is described in the linked sections. The MIDI control, Note Property, and Perform control modulators do not have a graphical control panel.

LFO. See Alchemy LFO controls in MainStage.
AHDSR. See Alchemy AHDSR envelopes in MainStage.
MSEG. See Alchemy multiple segment envelopes in MainStage.
Sequencer. See Alchemy sequencer in MainStage.
Envelope Follower. See Alchemy envelope follower in MainStage.
ModMap. See Alchemy ModMap in MainStage.
MIDI control. See Alchemy MIDI control modulators in MainStage.
Note Property. See Alchemy note property modulators in MainStage.
Perform. See Alchemy perform control modulators in MainStage.

View or edit modulations assigned to a parameter

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the parameter knob.
The parameter name is shown in the Target pop-up menu at the top left of the modulation section. Directly below the Target pop-up menu is a modulation rack with up to ten slots (one is shown by default). Click a different knob, and the mod rack updates to reflect the new selection. See Alchemy modulation rack controls in MainStage.

Use the modulation source shortcut menu

In Alchemy in MainStage, Control-click a modulation target knob (filter Cutoff, for example), then choose a command from the shortcut menu.
- Add modulation: Assign a new modulator by choosing it from a submenu. The new modulation assignment is shown in the first empty slot of the modulation rack.
- Clear modulation: Removes all modulations from the knob, leaving the modulation rack empty.
- Copy modulation: Copies information about all currently assigned modulators to the Clipboard.
- Paste modulation: Applies all modulator information from the Clipboard. Use of the Copy and Paste commands lets you quickly assign the same modulations to multiple targets.

Assign a basic modulation with the modulation rack

As an alternative to the shortcut menu, you can assign modulation sources to targets in the modulation rack. This example assigns the LFO 1 modulation source to the source A Volume target. These steps apply equally to other modulation sources and targets. See Alchemy modulation rack controls in MainStage.

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the File button in the Name bar and choose Initialize Preset from the pop-up menu to reset all Alchemy parameters to default settings.
Play a note to hear the default sawtooth wave.
In the source section, click the Vol knob for source A. In the modulation section, the Target pop-up menu changes to read Vol A.
Click in the top slot of the modulation rack, then choose LFO > LFO 1 from the pop-up menu. Click the LFO button to display the LFO controls in the area to the right of the modulation rack.
Hold a note to hear a tremolo effect, as the source A volume is modulated by LFO 1. Change the LFO Rate setting to adjust the speed of the effect.
Try adding another modulator to the rack in the slot beneath LFO 1.
Note: Up to ten different modulators of any type can be assigned to each control in a preset.

Modify the basic modulation

In the preceding example, a tremolo effect is achieved by modulating the source A Vol knob with LFO 1. This example expands on the basic modulation by modulating the LFO 1 Rate with KeyFollow, which makes the tremolo effect faster when you play higher notes. You can adapt this example to work with other modulator parameters, such as AHDSR Attack time.

In Alchemy in MainStage, Control-click the LFO 1 Rate knob, then choose Add Modulation > Note Property > KeyFollow from the shortcut menu.
LFO 1 Rate is shown in the Target pop-up menu, and KeyFollow is listed in the first slot of the modulation rack.
Play a variety of higher and lower notes to hear the effect of KeyFollow on the LFO Rate. If this effect is too extreme, you can reduce the value of the Depth knob shown to the right of the first slot in the modulation rack. See Alchemy modulation rack controls in MainStage.

Adjust the modulation intensity

Each modulator has its own Depth control, and each Depth control can itself be assigned a modulator. A modulator can even be set to modulate its own depth. Up to five depth modulators may be assigned to any modulation source. See Alchemy modulation rack controls in MainStage.

In Alchemy in MainStage, Control-click a Depth control in the modulation rack, then choose Show Modulation from the shortcut menu.
The modulation rack updates to display the Depth control name in the Target pop-up menu. For example, LFO 1 Rate Depth 1 indicates the first modulator of the Depth target (which is modulating the LFO Rate 1 target).
Add one or more modulators to the rack.

Download the guides:

MainStage User Guide: PDF

MainStage Instruments: PDF

MainStage Effects: PDF

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