Create zones with drag and drop in MainStage

A zone is a location into which a single audio file—or sample, if you prefer this term—can be loaded. The sample loaded into the zone is memory resident—it uses the RAM of your computer. You can define as many zones as needed.

A zone offers parameters that control sample playback. You can set the key range—the range of notes that the sample spans—and the root key—the note at which the sample sounds at its original pitch for each zone. In addition, you can adjust sample start, end, and loop points, volume, and several other parameters for the zone.

Sampler provides several methods you can use to create and add zones. You can quickly add a single zone to Sampler by dragging an audio file or Apple Loop to the Mapping or Zone panes. You can create multiple zones by dragging multiple audio files or loops onto the Sampler Mapping pane or Navigation bar. You can also manually create a zone and can add an audio file by using menu options. You can also choose whether the new zone maps samples chromatically or based on analysis of the material.

Important: When you drag a region to the track header area or to another drag zone to create a sample-based software instrument using the region, the region is bounced through the plug-ins on the track. For software instrument tracks, this includes any MIDI plug-ins, the track instrument, and any audio plug-ins. For audio tracks, this includes any audio plug-ins and other processing, such as Flex. The resulting audio file is used in the sample-based instrument. This is different than dragging an audio file to a drag zone, which does not trigger a bounce.

Create a zone by dragging content into the zone pane

In MainStage Sampler, click the Zone button in the Navigation bar to view an empty Zone pane.
To add material from the Finder:
Drag an audio file or Apple Loop into the Zone pane.
The root key for the zone is the key at which the sample is played at its recorded pitch.

Create a zone by dragging content to one or more keys

In MainStage Sampler, click the Mapping button in the Navigation bar to view an empty Mapping pane. Click the Key Mapping Editor button if not already shown.
From the Finder:
Drag an audio file or Apple Loop directly onto a key on the Mapping pane keyboard.
The root key is shown in gold on the keyboard. The start key, end key, and root key are all set to the note that the file is dragged to.
Note: You can drag multiple audio files onto a key in the Key Mapping Editor. This automatically creates a stack of layered zones, split by velocities.
The drop location changes the import behavior:
- When you drop an audio file onto the keyboard, it is mapped to that key.
- When you drop an audio file onto the Key Mapping Editor above the keyboard, it is mapped to a range of keys. As you drag toward the top of the Key Mapping Editor, the key range expands.
  The root key is shown in gold, and the key range (containing the start key and end key) is shown across the keyboard.

Add multiple files to the Key Mapping Editor

In MainStage Sampler, you can add audio files to the Mapping pane in several ways and in different editor views.

Click the Mapping button in the Navigation bar to view an empty Mapping pane. Click the Key Mapping Editor button if not already shown.
From the Finder:
Drag one or more files into the Mapping pane, either directly onto the keyboard or the Key Mapping Editor above the keyboard. Shift-click or Command-click to select multiple files.
The drop location changes the import behavior:
- When you drop an audio file onto the keyboard, it is mapped to that key. When you drop multiple audio files onto the keyboard, each is mapped to its own key.
  The root key is shown in gold on the keyboard. Multiple gold keys are shown when you drag more than one audio file.
- When you drop an audio file onto the Key Mapping Editor above the keyboard, it is mapped to a range of keys. As you drag toward the top of the Key Mapping Editor, the key range expands.
  The root key is shown in gold, and the key range is shown across the keyboard. Multiple gold keys and key ranges are shown when you drag more than one audio file.

Add multiple files to the Zone view and create a new group

In MainStage Sampler, you can add audio files to the Mapping pane in several ways and in different editor views.

Click the Mapping button in the Navigation bar to view an empty Mapping pane. Click the Zone view button if not already shown.
From the Finder:
Drag one or more files onto the Zone view. Shift-click or Command-click to select multiple files.
A group is automatically created and the audio file is added to the group. When you drop multiple audio files, all are added to the group.

Create a new, empty instrument

In MainStage, insert Sampler into an instrument channel.
Click the Mapping or Zone buttons (or both) in the Navigation bar to turn on these panes, if they are not shown.
Click the Mapping button in the Navigation bar to view an empty Mapping pane. You will typically add audio files in either the Key Mapping Editor, Navigation bar, or Zone view, but you can also drop files into the Group view or Zone pane.
- Click the Key Mapping Editor button to add audio files in the Key Mapping Editor.
- Click the Zone view button to add audio files in this view.

Create an empty zone with a menu command, and assign a sample to it

In the MainStage Sampler Mapping pane, choose Zone > New.
A new group is shown in the Mapping pane, and a zone is automatically added to the group.
Do one of the following:
- In the Zone pane, drag an audio file into the waveform display area.
- In Zone view, click the File column, then choose Load Audio File from the pop-up menu.
- In Zone view, drag an audio file into the empty Name field of the zone in the Audio File column.
- In the Key Mapping Editor, press and hold Command-Shift, then drag the pointer to create a new, empty zone. You can add a sample to the zone using any of the methods discussed.
- In the Key Mapping Editor, drag an audio file directly onto the zone.
If you chose the Load Audio File option in step 2, locate the audio file you want and select it in the File Selector window.
- Click the Options button at the lower left of the File Selector window to show or hide the checkboxes and Play button.
- Select “Hide used audio files” to dim the names of files used in the currently loaded sampler instrument.
- Select “Preview audio file in Sampler Instrument” to temporarily replace the sample files in the currently selected zone. The zone is not directly triggered by selecting this option, but it can be triggered by playing MIDI notes while the File Selector window is open—and different files are chosen. The selected sample can be heard as part of the zone, inclusive of all synthesizer processing (filters, modulation, and so on).
To preview looped playback of the currently selected audio file, click the Play button at the lower right of the File Selector window. The Play button label changes to Stop during playback.
- You can step through files by using the Down Arrow key, or by clicking them, to audition each file in turn.
- Click the Stop button to stop playback.
When you find an audio file you want to use, click the Open button to add it to the zone.
When the audio file is loaded, the sample name is displayed in the Name field for the zone in the Audio File column of Zone view.

Download the guides:

MainStage User Guide: PDF

MainStage Instruments: PDF

MainStage Effects: PDF

Helpful?