MainStage replacing mixing board

[tjanz]

It seems that Mainstage is really geared toward the midi keyboard world, perform and full screen are really about what midi gear is set up. I am using Mainstage as a replacement for my mixer, but the only way I see my audio channels is in edit mode. This means I 'perform' in edit mode. I think that is okay, but am I missing something? The interface is set up to be in perform, or full screen but when I go there I lose all my channel strips.

 

The template for singer/songwriter has the guitar plugin parameters set up in the perform window, but what about the basic level, do you pop back to edit mode to adjust the instrument level if you need to?

 

I am cool with edit mode, but the patch list takes up a fair bit of real estate, and it does not seem to want to be scaled down. Anyone else doing this sort of thing with Mainstage? What are the tricks? The manual basically says that you can use acoustic instruments rather than software instruments, but it goes no further.

 

I am looking forward to using Mainstage as an easy way of leaving a lot of out board gear at home and having the luxury of quickly changing setups for different tunes. It looks like it would be a great tool for that. I am just curious about the best way to set up the interface.

 

Tim

[tjanz]

So I had my first live experience with Mainstage today. I had set everything up twice before at home to make sure all was working. I get to the gig, my inputs are working, but nothing is coming out of the mains. Nothing is coming out of the bus I set up for the monitor. Panic mode sets in, do I get the mixing board and do it the old way? I persevere, reboot, make sure all the cables are set up properly. Nothing.

 

I try another reset, and this time I notice that my main output, which has previously been scrolled off the screen (because of the other patch immovable stuff) was there and was at no level. I bring it up and yeehaw! I have working backup band for the fiddle dance. This is 30 minutes into the 45 minute sound check time. Okay, I did a stupid thing, but it was not obvious to me because I couldn't see it. Interface for acoustic levels, I need to see them and I cannot see my channel strips in perform mode. Is this a work around for me? Do I just do quick scrolling and mouse work to adjust levels on the fly? Or is there another way that I should be doing this?

 

Anyone else using Mainstage as a mixer alternative? I would love to hear how it works for others . . .

 

Tim

[B_Stone]

I've read about a few other people doing the same thing. You may or may not know that MS is setup to provide the most important controls required for a live performer during a performance and not the constellation of controls required to control every nuance of the mix or any instrument for that matter.

 

So, the main workspace in the app is where you setup the controls which will 'reach into' your mixer and plug-ins that make up the MainStage audio architecture.

 

MainStage can certainly work as a mixer, but requires a lot of work to get it going and you may find that it falls short in some areas. The biggest problem appears to be the maximum number of 'mappings' you can have from screen controls to plug-ins and mixer features. I don't recall what the max number is, but if you try to make a 16 channel mixer with all of the typical console features, you may find you run out of screen control mappings.

 

How big does your mixer need to be? Why not use Logic if you only need the mixer? Logic has a brilliant mixer window that can be used full screen.

 

If you need to remote control any aspect of the mixer, or load "scenes" for each song or part of the show, then you will probably want to try and use MS.

 

Tell me more about the live rig you want to setup? how many channels, what kinds of monitoring?

 

Also, I find MS is very reliable as long as you don't exceed what its capable of handling. MS does not stop you from making a Concert that is completely dysfunctional, so its up to you to make sure you are not exceeding the memory, CPU performance, etc of your rig.

[tjanz]

Thanks for your reply. My setup for this last concert was not typical in that I was providing sound for my wife's violin studio final concert. Instead of the 'let's all sit and listen to each person play something' she did a fiddle dance where different groups of students played on different tunes. I had two general dynamic mics to pick up the fiddles, my wife has a pickup so she had a line in, I had a dual line in on my acoustic guitar (piezo and condenser), there was single line for another guitar and one last line for electric upright bass. I had everything going through the mains and I used a bus for a separate monitor mix for the guitars/bass.

 

All in all, I was not using anything that would really go beyond a basic mixer, but the reason why I chose to use it was to see how it would work live. I am thinking of having a singer/songwriter (guitar/vocal) set up with maybe a flute and violin, where I am not just acoustic, but I would also be using various processing for different numbers. All still nebulous but I am interested in seeing what the new technology does, as that might very well influence the music created and the group that is formed. (Medium affects the message and all of that.)

 

As a straight mixer with plugins, Logic would probably be a better choice. What intrigues me about Mainstage is it's ease in moving between patches and being able to have vastly different setups in an simple set list system. Maybe the mixer won't get put in the box quite yet, but the computer will join it to provide presets (like organ stop presets?).

 

All experimental at this point, no gigs looming, just ideas bouncing around. I am mostly curious as to how others are using Mainstage and/or Logic in live performance. What works, what doesn't.

 

Tim

[Orsanct]

B_Stone obviously has considerable experience with MS so he can probably provide a lot more assistance. Just a few thoughts about what you've noted here. . .

 

It seems that Mainstage is really geared toward the midi keyboard world, perform and full screen are really about what midi gear is set up. I am using Mainstage as a replacement for my mixer, but the only way I see my audio channels is in edit mode. This means I 'perform' in edit mode. I think that is okay, but am I missing something? The interface is set up to be in perform, or full screen but when I go there I lose all my channel strips.

 

Remember that you don't have to restrict channel strips to the patch level! For example, if I open the Singer-Songwriter template, enter edit mode, and click on the "Female Voice & Acoustic Guitar" folder, there is an audio strip titled "Voice". The fact that this audio strip is in the set folder means that it is available to every patch in the folder!

 

If, on the other hand, I want that audio strip available all the time (not just in the "set", but throughout the concert), I can instead add it at the concert level (the top folder with the MS icon).

 

The other thing I have to remember is that if I want the controls available throughout the set, I'll have to map the screen controls at the set or concert level as well. If I map them at the patch level, I will have to map them separately for each and every patch!

 

Does that make sense? Clear as mud? Or does that not really address your question?

 

Also, if you haven't already, take a look at all of the MS templates. This might help you brainstorm different ways of setting up the screen to better suit your performance needs.

[B_Stone]

Sounds like MS -is- a good choice for what you are trying to do. When setting up the layout, you might want to take a look at the singer/songwriter template. Its a setup which provides essential controls for a vocalist who plays guitar. There are separate control sections for each component (Voice & Guitar).

 

I think a very compelling live mixer can be setup in MS. You can even have input level meters, output, EQ, Compression and FX for a number of channels. If you limit the controls to knobs, you can fit quite a lot in the workspace.