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Automation info in MainStage?


joachim_s

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The Op is not confusing anything.

 

It is completely logical that an app designed for live use has this feature. The fact that FX cannot be automated by some kind of internal sequencer in 2015 is laughable, and proof of the backward lowest common denominator thinking.

 

Anyway it can be done using 3rd party apps like Thesys by sugar bytes and routing back via IAC.

 

If the OP is interested I will explain

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  • 4 years later...

Finding this thread 5 years later... and would love you to elaborate!

 

What I'm looking to do is automate curves like you would find in Logic - things like volume and effect parameters over time - as apposed to sequencing midi step patterns for synths etc. So for example from minute 1 to minute 5, change the Wet the Reverb from -50 to 0 DB, etc.

 

Can Thesys do that? It seems like its mostly designed for loopable midi patterns.

 

I was also considering busting out MaxMsp to automate changes in midi values and mapping those to parameters in Mainstage. But rebuilding my entire setup in Ableton would probably be less time consuming at that point.

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I don't own Thesys so I can't really help you there, I just know it can do that sort of thing. Any step sequencer that can output CC's could do what you want. I doubt any of them could automate non-midi.

 

You can can write a scripter script that do it...to either CC or plugin automation, but setting up plugin automation for that would be lot of hassle so if you can make it work with cc automation its better.

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Thanks for the responses. Sorry, but I'm just confused about how Thesys, or any step sequencer, would work in this situation (i would love it to work! Scripter sounds difficult). I'm looking to cheat track automation functionality within Mainstage. One of the things I'd like to do is modulate something like an effect parameter over the course of time, but over the course of a whole set. 20 minutes or so. Up and down. Like you would do in a recording session in Logic with automation curves. How is this possible if I'm limited to 32 looping steps in a step sequencer? Thanks.
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MainStage is deep and you have a lot to dig into to figure that out. You can setup smart controls, you can create controls on your layout that are linked to smart controls, etc. Then you can use midi to drive those things...which will automatically drive those parameters in your plugins...

 

But how you sequence that is the hard part...Scripter can do it. I don't know whether you will be able to get it down with something like Thesys, but if you figure it out please let us know.

 

I don't expect it to be easy. MainStage was not designed to do this, in fact Apple went out of their way to avoid any sequencing in it, you're supposed to use LogicPro for that kind of thing. MainStage has other advantages for live performance so I hear you, wish it was easier in MainStage, but its not and its a deep topic. Read up, ask specific questions here..

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