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Mainstage - can it be used to control external instruments?


stevecowley

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Mainstage looks great for using a MIDI controller to play the software instruments live. I've had a look through the manual and I'm wondering this: Can a patch include MIDI controller info for other hardware instruments? Can it be used as the basis of my live rig so that when I select a certain patch for a certain song, it sends program changes and volume info to my hardware instruments?
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Near the beginning of the manual, (the part nobody reads!) it says:

 

Using MIDI Devices With MainStage

MainStage works with many USB and MIDI keyboard controllers and with other MIDI devices such as foot pedals and switches. To work with MainStage, MIDI devices must send standard MIDI control messages. MainStage receives standard MIDI messages, but does not send MIDI messages and cannot be used to control external MIDI devices.

 

This is quite the oversight I think. It would have been so easy to provide a simple environment layer to provide basic master keyboard performance functions, eg layering and zones to include ext synths, song chains, etc. But Mainstage seems to be nothing more than a multitimbral synth with effects. At least it responds to program changes itself and locks to MIDI clock.

 

It does seem odd though. Since it's getting almost impossible to find a decent performance controller with comprehensive features, I think an opportunity has been missed. But that could be good fodder for an update, eh?

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