snowy_park Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Hi, I had no idea MainStage existed. It seemed like it could be the one program I have been searching for, for a number of years. I have previously tried to play solo projects live, via the medium of laptops, tablets and even the trusty SP-404 for backing tracks. None of these seemed to provide the solution I needed so I knocked that avenue of playing on the head. (I now use a mid 2012 Macbook Pro.) Although I would like to return to some thing like that in the future for my solo sets, I am presented with last minute birthday party I have been asked to play. MainStage seems like it would be perfect as I have the backing tracks (usual drummer is not available) and setlist ready to go. I have been using Logic for my guitars recently and really like the sound of a couple of the amps (I'm not much of a tweaker.) I have fairly successfully played around with some of the presets and managed to get a few sounds going. I even loaded a backing track so that when I went into the 'perform' tab and pushed play, it played whilst I could play guitar and use the vocal effects. Am I supposed to have each song set up in a different 'Patch' on the patch list? Or do I set up each song in the same patch with different channel strips? I have and will continue to do some research of my own but I'm just wondering if I can tailor this program so that I can use it in a few days time for this birthday party. I would basically have 5 backing tracks, each with its own guitar sound and probably the same vocal. I have seen that the lyrics can be reproduced on the screen too, which is awesome. Can anyone recommend a tutorial or specific PDF to explain how I would get this set up at all? As I mentioned, I will still be doing my own research but as the proposed gig is a few days away, any help would be appreciated. Thanks for reading, Happy new year. SP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF_Audio Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Well, I've made a pretty in depth tutorial on automating Mainstage using Logic...but I think it may be a bit more than you need for this event. Even still, if you ignore the parts that you don't need, you may find it to be helpful. Bottom line, it's very doable. Personally, in your situation, I would just make patches for each song. Create each backing track playback instance, guitar channel strip. at the PATCH level. (That's important) Then create your voice channel strip at the Concert level (since it stays the same through every song). You can add an on screen Text display, and you just type in the lyrics at the PATCH level, per song. And here's a link to my tutorial series: If you have any specific questions, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowy_park Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Thank you so much for replying to my message. I will have a look at what you have said and add the video to my watch list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowy_park Posted January 15, 2016 Author Share Posted January 15, 2016 Well, I've made a pretty in depth tutorial on automating Mainstage using Logic...but I think it may be a bit more than you need for this event. Even still, if you ignore the parts that you don't need, you may find it to be helpful. Bottom line, it's very doable. Personally, in your situation, I would just make patches for each song. Create each backing track playback instance, guitar channel strip. at the PATCH level. (That's important) Then create your voice channel strip at the Concert level (since it stays the same through every song). You can add an on screen Text display, and you just type in the lyrics at the PATCH level, per song. And here's a link to my tutorial series: If you have any specific questions, let me know. I am in awe of your set up, sir. I had no idea all these things could be accomplished with Mainstage. I have watched 2 videos so far and although they are a little intense for my own needs, I have picked up a lot of good information. Thanks. \m/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF_Audio Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Great! I'm glad it was helpful. If you get stuck on anything, feel free to reach out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennet.stenberg Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 Hello! I have been starting using Mainstage and Logic and want to do a similar setup, meaning vocal, guitar(-s) and a backingtrack in Mainstage. I am using Logic to manage the light and patch changes for lyrics as shown in the videos Mainstage 3- Fully Automated with Logic Pro X. But I can´t seem to be able to make the vocal and guitar work for the whole song. Should the guitar and vocal have different banks and patch changes? I also need to add effects at certain patch changes meaning delays and other things for both vocal and guitar. Can not see how to accomplish this, Kennet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennet.stenberg Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 I have now managed to work entirely in Mainstage, scriipting both the patch changes and the lights via DMXIS, even though I can´t make the plugin to work (using standalone DMXIS). Still need to add effects to the live vocals (echo and delay) and to the guitar at certain points Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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