MainStage User Guide
- Welcome
-
- Overview of Edit mode
-
- Select patches and sets in the Patch List
- Copy, paste, and delete patches
- Reorder and move patches in the Patch List
- Add and rename patches
- Create a patch from several patches
-
- Overview of the Patch Settings Inspector
- Select patch settings in the Patch Library
- Set the time signature for patches
- Change the tempo when you select a patch
- Set program change and bank numbers
- Defer patch changes
- Instantly silence the previous patch
- Change patch icons
- Transpose the pitch of incoming notes for a patch
- Change the tuning for a patch
- Add text notes to a patch
-
- Overview of channel strips
- Add a channel strip
- Change a channel strip setting
- Configure channel strip components
- Show signal flow channel strips
- Hide the metronome channel strip
- Create an alias of a channel strip
- Add a patch bus
- Set channel strip pan or balance positions
- Set channel strip volume levels
- Mute and solo channel strips
- Use multiple instrument outputs
- Use external MIDI instruments
- Reorganize channel strips
- Delete channel strips
-
- Overview of the Channel Strip Inspector
- Choose channel strip settings
- Rename channel strips
- Change channel strip colors
- Change channel strip icons
- Use feedback protection with channel strips
- Set keyboard input for a software instrument channel strip
- Transpose individual software instruments
- Filter MIDI messages
- Scale channel strip velocity
- Set channel strips to ignore Hermode tuning
- Override concert- and set-level key ranges
- Add text notes to a channel strip in the Channel Strip Inspector
- Route audio via send effects
-
- Screen Control Inspector overview
- Replace parameter labels
- Choose custom colors for screen controls
- Change background or grouped screen control appearance
- Set screen controls to show the hardware value
- Set parameter change behavior for screen controls
- Set hardware matching behavior for screen controls
- Reset and compare changes to a patch
- Override concert- and set-level mappings
-
- Overview of mapping screen controls
- Map to channel strip and plug-in parameters
- Map screen controls to actions
- Map a screen control to multiple parameters
- Use screen controls to display PDF document pages
- Edit the saved value for a mapped parameter
- Set drum pads or buttons to use note velocity
- Map screen controls to all channel strips in a patch
- Undo screen control parameter mappings
- Remove screen control mappings
- Work with graphs
- Create controller transforms
- Share patches and sets between concerts
- Record the audio output of a concert
-
- Overview of concerts
- Create a concert
- Open and close concerts
- Save concerts
- How saving affects parameter values
- Clean up concerts
- Consolidate assets in a concert
- Rename the current concert
-
- Overview of the Concert Settings Inspector
- Set MIDI Routing to channel strips
- Transpose incoming note pitch for a concert
- Define the program change message source
- Send unused program changes to channel strips
- Set the time signature for a concert
- Change the tuning for a concert
- Set the pan law for a concert
- Add text notes to a concert
- Control the metronome
- Silence MIDI notes
- Mute audio output
-
- Layout mode overview
-
- Screen control parameter editing overview
- Lift and stamp screen control parameters
- Reset screen control parameters
- Common screen control parameters
- Keyboard screen control parameters
- MIDI activity screen control parameters
- Drum pad screen control parameters
- Waveform screen control parameters
- Selector screen control parameters
- Text screen control parameters
- Background screen control parameters
- How MainStage passes through MIDI messages
- Export and import layouts
- Change the aspect ratio of a layout
-
- Before performing live
- Use Perform mode
- Screen controls in performance
- Tempo changes during performance
- Tips for performing with keyboard controllers
- Tips for performing with guitars and other instruments
- Tune guitars and other instruments with the Tuner
- The Playback plug-in in performance
- Record your performances
- After the performance
- Tips for complex hardware setups
-
- Overview of keyboard shortcuts and command sets
-
- Concerts and layouts keyboard shortcuts
- Patches and sets (Edit mode) keyboard shortcuts
- Editing keyboard shortcuts
- Actions keyboard shortcuts
- Parameter mapping (Edit mode) keyboard shortcuts
- Channel strips (Edit mode) keyboard shortcuts
- Screen controls (Layout mode) keyboard shortcuts
- Perform in Full Screen keyboard shortcuts
- Window and view keyboard shortcuts
- Help and support keyboard shortcuts
-
-
- Use MIDI plug-ins
-
- Arpeggiator overview
- Arpeggiator control parameters
- Note order parameters overview
- Note order variations
- Note order inversions
- Arpeggiator pattern parameters overview
- Use Live mode
- Use Grid mode
- Arpeggiator options parameters
- Arpeggiator keyboard parameters
- Use keyboard parameters
- Assign controllers
- Modifier controls
- Note Repeater controls
- Randomizer controls
-
- Use Scripter
- Use the Script Editor
- Scripter API overview
- MIDI processing functions overview
- HandleMIDI function
- ProcessMIDI function
- GetParameter function
- SetParameter function
- ParameterChanged function
- Reset function
- JavaScript objects overview
- Use the JavaScript Event object
- Use the JavaScript TimingInfo object
- Use the Trace object
- Use the MIDI event beatPos property
- Use the JavaScript MIDI object
- Create Scripter controls
- Transposer controls
-
-
- Alchemy overview
- Alchemy interface overview
- Alchemy Name bar
- Alchemy file locations
-
- Alchemy source overview
- Source master controls
- Import browser
- Source subpage controls
- Source filter controls
- Source filter use tips
- Source elements overview
- Additive element controls
- Additive element effects
- Spectral element controls
- Spectral element effects
- Pitch correction controls
- Formant filter controls
- Granular element controls
- Sampler element controls
- VA element controls
- Source modulations
- Morph controls
- Alchemy master voice section
- Alchemy Extended parameters
-
- Playback plug-in overview
- Add a Playback plug-in
- Playback interface
- Use the Playback waveform display
- Playback transport and function buttons
- Playback information display
- Playback Sync, Snap To, and Play From parameters
- Use the Playback group functions
- Use the Playback Action menu and File field
- Use markers with the Playback plug-in
-
- Sample Alchemy overview
- Interface overview
- Add source material
- Edit mode
- Play modes
- Source overview
- Synthesis modes
- Granular controls
- Additive effects
- Additive effect controls
- Spectral effect
- Spectral effect controls
- Filter module
- Low and highpass filter
- Comb PM filter
- Downsampler filter
- FM filter
- Envelope generators
- Mod Matrix
- Modulation routing
- Motion mode
- Trim mode
- More menu
-
- Sculpture overview
- Sculpture interface
- Global parameters
- Amplitude envelope parameters
- Use the Waveshaper
- Filter parameters
- Output parameters
- Define MIDI controllers
- Extended parameters
-
- Copyright
Sculpture extended parameters in MainStage
Sculpture provides additional parameters that can be accessed by clicking the disclosure arrow at the lower left of the interface.
Extended parameters
MIDI Mono Mode pop-up menu: Choose Off, On (with common base channel 1), or On (with common base channel 16).
In either mode, each voice receives on a different MIDI channel. Per-voice channels support pitchbend, aftertouch, modwheel, Vibrato Depth Ctrl, and Ctrl A and Ctrl B assignment messages. See Define Sculpture MIDI controllers. Controllers and MIDI messages sent on the base channel affect all voices.
Mono Mode Pitch Range slider: Set a value from 0 to 96.
The chosen pitch bend range affects individual note pitch bend messages received on all but the common base channel. The default is 48 semitones, which is compatible with the GarageBand for iOS keyboard in pitch mode. When using a MIDI guitar, 24 semitones is the preferable setting because most guitar to MIDI converters use this range by default.
Render Mode pop-up menu: Choose Basic, Extended, or High Definition mode.
Sculpture’s string model can roughly be seen as a chain of springs and masses. The maximum number of elements (masses) is set with the Resolution slider. The Resolution slider interacts with the pitch, stiffness and pitch bend range settings to automatically set the number of overtones that are actually used. This Sculpture string model affords advantages over the more common waveguide models, especially when it comes to interactions with the string with multiple or larger objects. An inherent property of this flexible string model is that higher overtones are slightly below integer multiples of the fundamental, leading to increasingly inharmonic higher overtones for a string without any stiffness.
Each Render Mode option changes the number of available elements and/or processing.
Basic: Choose to set a maximum of 100 elements, with some internal headroom for extreme key scaling. Suitable for many sound types, and has a lower processing load than other render modes. There is a direct correlation between the number of vibration modes and elements, resulting in a maximum of 99 overtones in the spectrum of a single voice. For example, a 100 Hz bass note (with no string stiffness) has a highest overtone of around 10 kHz, making the more audibly inharmonic upper third of the harmonic series fall into the audible range.
Extended: Choose to set a maximum of 1000 elements. The Resolution slider, coupled with pitch, stiffness and pitch bend range settings affect the number of elements (overtones) used. This mode automatically reduces the number of audible inharmonic overtones until none of the overtones happen at rates above half the sampling frequency.
High Definition: Choose to set a maximum of 1000 elements and to also turn on internal 2x oversampling, which adds frequency headroom for more overtones. The Resolution slider, coupled with pitch, stiffness and pitch bend range settings affect the number of elements (overtones) used. This mode is significantly more processor-intensive than Extended mode as it runs at double the frequency and allows more elements per string for the same note pitch.