MainStage User Guide
- Welcome
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- Overview of Edit mode
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- Layout mode overview
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- 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
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- 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
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- Overview of keyboard shortcuts and command sets
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- 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
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- Use MIDI plug-ins
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- 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
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- 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
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- Alchemy overview
- Alchemy interface overview
- Alchemy Name bar
- Alchemy file locations
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- Sculpture overview
- Sculpture interface
- Global parameters
- Amplitude envelope parameters
- Use the Waveshaper
- Filter parameters
- Output parameters
- Define MIDI controllers
- Extended parameters
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- Copyright
Analysis In controls for EVOC 20 TrackOscillator in MainStage
The parameters of the Analysis In section determine how the input signal is analyzed and used by EVOC 20 TrackOscillator.
Analysis In parameters
Attack knob: Determine how quickly each envelope follower—coupled to each analysis filter band—reacts to rising signals.
Release knob: Determine how quickly each envelope follower—coupled to each analysis filter band—reacts to falling signals.
Freeze button: Hold the current analysis sound spectrum indefinitely. When Freeze is enabled, the analysis filter bank ignores the input source, and the Attack and Release knobs have no effect.
Bands field: Set the number of frequency bands analyzed and then used by the synthesis engine. Up to 20 bands can be used.
Analysis In pop-up menu: Choose the analysis signal source.
Track: Uses the input audio signal of the channel strip the EVOC 20 TrackOscillator is inserted into as the analysis signal.
SideCh(ain): Uses a side chain as the analysis signal. You choose the side chain source channel strip from the Side Chain pop-up menu in the upper-right corner of the plug-in window.
Note: If Side Chain is chosen and no Side Chain channel strip is assigned, the EVOC 20 TrackOscillator reverts to Track mode.
Set Attack and Release times in EVOC 20 TrackOscillator
In MainStage, rotate the Attack and Release knobs to set times that provide the most articulated sound.
Longer attack times result in a slower tracking response to transients—level spikes—of the analysis input signal. A long attack time on percussive input signals, such as a spoken word or hi-hat part, translates into a less articulated vocoder effect. Set the Attack parameter to the lowest possible value to enhance articulation.
Longer release times cause the analysis input signal transients to sustain for a longer period at the vocoder output. A long release time on percussive input signals, such as a spoken word or hi-hat part, translates into a less articulated vocoder effect. Use of extremely short release times results in rough, grainy vocoder sounds. Release values of around 8 to 10 ms are useful starting points.
Freeze the input signal in EVOC 20 TrackOscillator
In MainStage, click the Freeze button to hold, or sustain, the sound spectrum of the analysis input signal.
By freezing the input signal you can capture a particular characteristic of the signal, which is then imposed as a complex sustained filter shape on the Synthesis section. Here are some examples of when this could be useful:
If you are using a spoken word pattern as a source, the Freeze button could capture the attack or tail phase of an individual word within the pattern—the vowel a, for example.
People cannot sustain sung notes indefinitely. To compensate for this human limitation, use the Freeze button. If the synthesis signal needs to be sustained but the analysis source signal—a vocal part—is not sustained, use the Freeze button to lock the current formant levels of a sung note, even during gaps in the vocal part, between words in a vocal phrase.
Tip: The Freeze parameter can be automated, which may be useful in this situation.
Set the number of filter bank bands in EVOC 20 TrackOscillator
In MainStage, vertically drag the Bands field to set the number of frequency bands the EVOC 20 TrackOscillator filter bank uses.
The greater the number of frequency bands, the more precisely the sound can be reshaped. As the number of bands is reduced, the source signal frequency range is divided up into fewer bands, and the resulting sound is formed with less precision by the synthesis engine. A good compromise between sonic precision—allowing incoming signals such as speech and vocals to remain intelligible—and resource usage is around 10 to 15 bands.
Tip: To attain the best possible pitch tracking, it is essential to use a mono signal with no overlapping pitches. Ideally, the signal should be unprocessed and free of background noises. Using a signal processed with even a slight amount of reverb, for example, can produce unusual results. Processing a signal with no audible pitch, such as drum loop, also delivers unusual results, but the resulting artifacts might be perfect for your project.