Alchemy modulation rack controls in MainStage

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

Normally, two things happen when you click a knob. First, the modulation rack associated with the knob is displayed. Second, if a modulator has already been assigned to the first slot in the newly displayed rack, the corresponding control panel is shown to the right. Some modulators do not provide a control panel.

In two cases, however, Alchemy prevents these things from happening. If the knob you click is on a modulator control panel (if you click LFO Rate or AHDSR Attack Time, for example), Alchemy assumes you want to adjust the modulation of the current target instead of switching to a new target. Similarly, if you click a modulation Depth knob in the modulation rack, Alchemy assumes you want to adjust the depth, so the current rack view is retained.

You can still view and edit modulation assignments in these cases. If a knob is located on a modulator control panel or in the modulation rack, Control-click it to open a shortcut menu with several commands. Choose Show Modulation to display the modulation rack associated with the control.

Note: Some parameters cannot be modulated. Knobs in the Perform section are not modulation targets because they are designed for use as modulation sources. If a parameter is set with a menu command rather than a knob, you cannot modulate it, such as with Loop mode or Filter type.

Modulation rack parameters

Back button: Shows the previously selected modulation target that has had its Depth value changed. The Back button is visible once you Control-click a modulation Depth knob and select Show Modulation from the shortcut menu.
Modulation target pop-up menu: Shows the selected modulation target and allows you to select any active modulation target. Up to ten modulation slots are shown below the Target pop-up menu. Each slot in the modulation rack has identical controls.
On/off button: Turn the modulation source on or off. Off bypasses the modulation assignment but doesn’t remove it from the slot.
Modulation pop-up menu: Choose the modulation source. Choose None to remove a source. Modulators are grouped by submenu. Choose New (modulator) to create additional modulation sources of the chosen type. Many modulator types allow up to 16 discrete modulation sources to be created. Each of these modulation sources can have independent parameter settings and can modulate different targets.
When you assign a source, a new slot appears below the selected slot. Up to ten modulation slots are available for each target.
Edit (E) button: Open the selected modulator control panel in the right half of the modulation section.
Note: Not all modulator types have a control panel. Some are available only in the Modulation pop-up menu.
ModMap pop-up menu: Assign, create, or delete a ModMap. A ModMap is used to process the output of other modulators. See Alchemy ModMap in MainStage.
Depth knob: Set the modulation intensity in a range from -100% to 100%. Double-click to reset Depth to zero.
Smooth knob: Causes the target to respond more gradually to modulation at values above zero. If you find that rapid filter or amplitude modulation causes unwanted sonic artifacts, one solution is to add a small amount of smoothing. Larger values can also produce interesting effects.
Note: The Smooth parameter is not available as a modulation target.
Scroll bar: Drag vertically to view modulation rack routings (slots) that are not currently visible. The scroll bar is shown only when the number of assigned slots exceeds the modulation rack display area.
Show Target button: Shows the currently viewed modulator targets. See Modulation target pop-up menu entry above.

Select, create, or change a modulator in the modulation rack

In Alchemy in MainStage, click a slot in the modulation rack, then choose an item from the pop-up menu.

Undo a modulation assignment in the modulation rack

In Alchemy in MainStage, choose None from the modulation rack pop-up menu.
The modulator has no effect on the currently selected target but remains available for assignment to other parameters.
Note: Depending on the situation, you may prefer to use the On/Off button for a modulation slot to bypass the routing temporarily. This retains all parameter settings of the modulation source.

Delete a modulation assignment from the modulation rack

In Alchemy in MainStage, click a slot in the modulation rack, then choose Parameter group > Del parameter name from the pop-up menu.
For example, you would delete LFO 2 by choosing LFO > Del LFO 2 from the pop-up menu.

Find targets for a modulator

The modulation rack shows all modulators (sources) assigned to a particular target. The Show Target button at the top right of the modulation section quickly displays all targets of a particular modulation source.

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the Show Target button to open a pop-up menu that shows all modulators and all assigned targets for these modulators.
If you initialize Alchemy by clicking the File button, and then choose Initialize Preset from the pop-up menu, you can browse the Target menu to see that:
- AHDSR 1 modulates Master Volume.
- Velocity, a Note Property, modulates Master Volume.
- No other modulations are assigned.

Download the guides:

MainStage User Guide: PDF

MainStage Instruments: PDF

MainStage Effects: PDF

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