Map MainStage screen controls to channel strip and plug-in parameters

After you have made controller assignments, you can map screen controls to the parameters in your patches you want to control while you are performing. You may want to map screen controls to parameters for each patch in a concert, so that you can easily access and modify the parameters you want for each patch when you are performing live. You can also map parameters at the concert level to control master volume, view master levels, or modify concert-wide effects.

You can map screen controls to channel strip and plug-in parameters in one of two ways: by mapping screen controls visually to parameters on the channel strip or in a plug-in window or by using the Parameter Mapping browser.

You map screen controls to parameters in Edit mode. The screen controls in the workspace do not respond to movements of physical controls on your MIDI hardware until you map them to channel strip parameters.

Map a screen control to a channel strip or plug-in parameter

In the MainStage workspace, click the screen control you want to map.
The screen control is highlighted in blue. The Screen Control Inspector appears below the workspace, showing the parameters for the selected screen control. The Screen Control Inspector includes Attributes and Mapping tabs as well as a tab labeled “Unmapped.”
Click the Map Parameter button (or press Command-L).
The Screen Control Inspector opens to the Unmapped tab, showing the Parameter Mapping browser. The Map Parameter button lights red to indicate that mapping is active.
To map the screen control to a channel strip parameter, click the control for the parameter on the channel strip in the Channel Strips area.
To map the screen control to a plug-in parameter, double-click the plug-in in the Inserts section of the channel strip to open the plug-in window, then click the parameter in the plug-in window.
The screen control is mapped to the selected parameter, and the Unmapped tab takes the name of the parameter. If you hover the pointer over the Unmapped tab label the entire mapped parameter path is temporarily displayed.
You can continue mapping additional screen controls by clicking them in the workspace and then clicking the corresponding parameters in a channel strip or plug-in window.
When you finish, press Command-L (or click the Map Parameter button) to turn off mapping.

Map a screen control using the Parameter Mapping browser

In the MainStage workspace, click the screen control you want to map.
The screen control is highlighted in blue. The Screen Control Inspector appears below the workspace, showing the parameters for the selected screen control. The Screen Control Inspector includes General and Mapping tabs as well as a tab labeled “Unmapped.”
In the Screen Control Inspector, click the Unmapped tab.
The Parameter Mapping browser appears, showing the channel strips and plug-ins available for mapping as well as the Actions folder.
In the column on the left of the Parameter Mapping browser, select the channel strip with the parameter to which you want to map the screen control.
Parameters for the selected channel strip appear in the columns on the right. Additional folders for the instruments and effects in the channel strip may appear in these columns. Click a folder to see the parameters for that instrument or effect.
Select the parameter you want to map.
The screen control is mapped to the selected parameter, and the Unmapped tab takes the name of the parameter. You can continue mapping additional screen controls by clicking them in the workspace and then choosing parameters in the Parameter Mapping browser. Using the Parameter Mapping browser, you can map parameters that are not visible in plug-in windows.

You can also map screen controls to MainStage actions and to AppleScript scripts. For more information, see Map MainStage screen controls to actions.

Note: If you change the channel strip setting for a channel strip to which you have mapped screen controls, you lose any parameter mappings.

You can also edit velocity sensitivity for a channel strip, create controller transforms, and filter various MIDI messages. For information about editing channel strips, see Overview of the MainStage Channel Strip Inspector.

Download the guides:

MainStage User Guide: Apple Books | PDF

MainStage Instruments: Apple Books | PDF

MainStage Effects: Apple Books | PDF

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