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Understanding: MainStage Terminology and Overview

Jason Colburn
Updated

Read Time: 10Min

This article will give a better understanding of the terminology used within MainStage and help you to navigate the software.

Part 1: Terminology and UI
Part 2: How MainStage Works
Part 3: Selecting Your Audio Interface / Audio Settings
Part 4: Frequently Asked Questions / Troubleshooting

Part 1: Terminology and UI

MainStage Overview

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Patch List: A list of individual sounds to select and play

 


Concert Level: Channels and buses that exist for the entire template and are not patch-specific

 

Patch: Individual sounds containing channel strips

 

Channel Strip: The building blocks of patches. They contain the instruments and effects for the sounds you use in performance.

 

Input Slot: Sets the channel strip’s input source. Depending on the channel strip type, it can be a physical input, a bus, or a software instrument plug-in—in which case, it is also known as an Instrument slot.


Audio Effects Slots: Plug-ins that control EQ, Compression, Filters, Etc.


Send slots: This lets you route a channel strip’s signal to an aux channel strip. (We use this as a way to send signal to reverbs, delays, etc.)


Output Slot: Sets the channel strip’s output path. It can be a physical output or a bus. (We route everything to busses so that we only have to route the busses to physical outputs)


Bus: A signal path used to combine multiple signals together and route them to a specific destination.


Volume Fader: Sets a channel strip’s playback volume

Audio Settings: This allows you to set the audio output and input drivers, set the size of the I/O buffer, and set the audio sample rate

Audio Output pop-up menu: Choose the device you want to use to hear the audio output from MainStage


Sample Rate pop-up menu: Choose the sample rate for audio output. (We set our sample rate to 48kHz)


Advanced Settings button: Open the Advanced Settings window so you can set the I/O buffer size and driver latency. (Lower buffer helps to reduce latency and create a more immediate sound)


Latency: The time between the press of the keys and the corresponding sound to play through the speaker

 

Audio Interface: A piece of hardware that allows the input and output of audio signals to and from a host computer or recording device


Part 2: How MainStage Works

MainStage is a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that uses incoming MIDI signal from a MIDI controller to trigger software and samples to create sounds. In a MainStage concert, individual sounds are stored as patches, and each patch can contain one or more channel strips, each with its own instruments and effects. You can add channel strips, choose channel strip settings, add instruments and effects, and edit their parameters to customize your sounds. You can even mix channel strips of different types in a single patch. You organize patches for a concert in the Patch List.

Each concert includes a visual interface, called a layout, with screen controls that you use to modify your patches in live performance. Screen controls include keyboards, faders, knobs, buttons, pedals, etc. You make connections between your MIDI devices and your MainStage concert by assigning hardware controls (ie – Korg NanoKontrol2) to the screen controls in the concert, then map the screen controls to channel strip and plug-in parameters, completing the connection so you can easily manipulate the parameters for each patch in the concert.

Part 3: Selecting Your Audio Interface/Audio Settings

For MainStage to send a signal to a mixing console, the computer needs to be connected to an audio interface. In our context, an audio interface takes a digital signal and converts it to analog in order for that signal to be connected to a mixing console. To select your audio interface as the output of MainStage, you need to access the audio settings. To do this, simply go to the menu bar (MainStage > Audio Settings). Now select your audio interface from the list of available audio outputs. Generally, in our context, the audio input can be left on “none.”

Another important setting to set correctly is your I/O buffer size. To do this, continue in the audio settings menu and click Advanced Settings (MainStage > Audio Settings > Advanced Settings). The buffer size will determine the length of time it takes between you pressing a key on your MIDI controller and that sound being processed and played through your audio interface. It is advisable to select either 128 or 64 samples to give you the most immediate playback of the software without causing CPU overload. 

Part 4: Frequently Asked Questions / Troubleshooting

  • Why is MainStage not seeing the MIDI input from the Nord?
    • Check to make sure that the USB cable is plugged into both the computer and the back of the Nord.
    • Check your Nord MIDI settings.
    • Restart your Nord and restart your MainStage computer.
  • Why is MainStage not sending the signal out of the interface?
    • Open the Audio Settings and make sure that you have chosen the interface as your Audio Output.
    • Make sure that your Master Volume on the Korg NanoKontrol2 is turned up.
    • Make sure that your interface volume knob is turned up.
  • Why is there latency when I try to play my sounds?
    • Open MainStage > Audio Settings > Advanced Settings > I/O Buffer Size.
    • Make sure your Buffer Size is 128 or 64 Samples.

  • Why is MainStage making digital noises as I play?
    • You might be overstressing the CPU.
    • Check your I/O Buffer Size (MainStage > Audio Settings > Advanced Settings > I/O Buffer Size) and raise the amount of Samples to a safer level.
    • Close MainStage, restart the interface, and restart the computer.

For more information about MainStage, please visit this link.

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