Read Time: 8Min
This article will show you how to navigate the Highlands Worship MainStage Template. It will help you understand how to use the template for your worship service.
Part 1: Terms
Part 2: Playing with time based effects
Part 3: Outputs
Part 4:Best Practices
Part 5: FAQ / Troubleshooting
(Note: this article will use terms under the pretense that the reader already has an understanding of how to navigate MainStage. If you are unfamiliar with any of these terms, please view our in-depth MainStage Terminology and Overview article.)
Before you start:
- It is important to have your computer turned on and plugged into the interface. Also, you will need to have your Korg NanoKontrol2 and keyboard MIDI controller plugged into the computer or USB dock.
Part 1: Terms
Korg NanoKontrol2: MIDI controller that allows you to tweak parameters such as verb send, delay send, compression mix, volume, etc.
PREV: Takes you to the previous patch
NEXT: Takes you to the next patch
PANIC: Terminates all sound that comes out of the interface. (NOTE: This button is only to be used if MainStage has a problem and the sound is frozen)
TAP: Controls the tempo of the patch by tapping quarter notes in rhythm
MASTER VOL: Controls the volume of all the outputs from MainStage. (NOTE: This fader should remain all the way up while playing)
| Piano Controls |
DELAY 1/4: Controls the level sent to a quarter note delay DELAY 1/8: Controls the level sent to an eighth note delay DELAY 1/8D: Controls the level sent to a dotted eighth delay VERB: Controls the level sent to reverb COMP MIX: Controls the mix amount (from 0% to 100%) of the compressor on the Piano Bus |
| Pad Controls |
PAD FILTER: Controls the cutoff of the filter on the pad bus. (NOTE: for general purposes, this fader should remain all the way down)
PAD VOL: Controls the volume of the pad. (NOTE: for general purposes, this fader should remain all the way up)
|
Part 2: Playing with time-based effects
The delay sends in the Piano Section all relate to the tempo of the given song. There are multiple ways to go about ensuring that your patch is synced with the tempo of the song.
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Tap Tempo
- To sync your patch to the tempo of the song using the tap tempo control on your Korg NanoKontrol2, simply tap quarter notes to the beat of the song after you have started the metronome.
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Typing the tempo into the “Attributes” field of the patch
- To sync your patch to the tempo of the song by typing the tempo into the “Attributes” field, simply click on your patch.
- Navigate to the bottom of the window and click on “Attributes.”
- Type your desired tempo into the “Change tempo to” box and click enter on your keyboard.
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Using MIDI from Ableton to control the tempo of your session
- To sync your MainStage to the MIDI timecode of Ableton, please visit this article.
NOTE: When using this method to sync your tempo with the song, it is important to note that a patch can only be set for one tempo. This means that if you are playing multiple songs within the set that need time based effects, it is advisable to either use the tap tempo or to create multiple patches (see Duplicating a Patch), each containing a unique tempo.
Duplicating a Patch
Navigate to your patch list and click on the patch that you wish to duplicate. After you have selected the desired patch, click Command (⌘) + D. Once you have duplicated the patch, simply type the tempo into each patch that needs to be synced to the metronome for time based effects.
When duplicating a patch, remember to rename the patch with an indicator of either the tempo of the song or the song title to ensure that you play the right patch during your service. To rename a patch, simply click on it again and type the desired name.
Part 3: Outputs
The template has a fairly complex routing system that all boils down to three buses labeled:
OUT 1_PAD
OUT 2_PIANO
OUT 3_SYNTHS
To navigate to the buses and outputs of the MainStage session, simply click on the concert at the top of the patch list. Once you are working at the concert level of the session, you can see the output buses in the lower right-hand corner of the window.
While the specific output of each of these buses will depend on your campus, most campuses will have two stereo outputs for their MainStage session – one for pianos and another for pads/synths. To change the routing of one of these buses, simply click and hold the output slot and select your desired output destination.
Part 4: Best Practices
When multiple people are often playing at the same campus, it might be a good practice to save a copy of the template for yourself and name it as such. This way, you can tweak the template to your needs (adding patches/changing tempos/etc.) while allowing others to use the template in its default mode.
Also, it is a good idea to keep a second copy of the template on your computer in case someone saves over or deletes something.
Part 5: FAQ / 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.