MainStage Alchemy envelope follower

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

The Env Follower module provides an envelope follower with Attack, Release, and Scale parameters. The Attack and Release times can be set independently. You can set the overall Scale, or amplitude, of the Env Follower output.

Adjustments to Attack and Release times cause a slowdown in the reaction time of the envelope follower to the input signal. The display shows changes in real time.

Env Follower parameters

Current Env Follower pop-up menu and field: Access each Env Follower control panel by selecting a number from the pop-up menu or with the Previous and Next arrows. Alchemy provides up to 16 envelope followers—one by default, but more if you create them when assigning modulators.
File button: Open a pop-up menu with a number of envelope follower handling commands.
- Preset submenu: Choose a preset envelope follower setting. This can be used as is, or as a starting point for your own envelope follower settings.
- Save: Save the current envelope follower settings. A dialog opens in which you can name and save the envelope file (*.ef). The new envelope name will appear in the Preset submenu.
- Copy/Paste: Use these commands to copy settings between envelope followers.
- Clear: Initialize the envelope follower.
Source pop-up menu: Choose a source for the envelope follower from the Audio or Modulators submenu.
- Audio: The output of any individual Alchemy source, master filters 1 or 2, master output pre- or post-effects, or the sidechain input.
- Modulators: Choose any active modulation source, Note Property, MIDI source, or Perform control.
  Note: The Source pop-up menu selection is saved with an envelope follower preset, but is only restored to the same modulator if the corresponding modulation source is active at the time of loading.
Attack knob: Set the time required to reach the peak amplitude level of the audio or modulation source. Longer attack times cause the rise time to be lazy.
Release knob: Set the time required to fall from the peak amplitude level reached during the attack phase to the current level of the audio or modulation source.
Tip: Set the Attack time and Release time values to zero to closely follow the input source. When the envelope follower Source pop-up menu choice is audio, or a very fast modulation, this closely approximates the source envelope shape.
Tip: Assign an LFO as the source and modulate the Attack, Release and Scale parameters with other modulation sources to create new and interesting LFO shapes not available from the LFO menu.
Scale knob: Set the amplitude of the output signal, after the envelope follower has processed the incoming signal.
Tip: Because an Env Follower modulation source may be assigned to multiple targets, the Scale parameter can be used to adjust the modulation depth of multiple target parameters simultaneously.
Env Follower display: Shows the input source (dimmed), and the resulting signal after processing (bright). The display does not update if the Env Follower panel is inactive.

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MainStage User Guide

MainStage Alchemy envelope follower

Env Follower parameters