Blair Fisher said:I have Mainstage running all the time these days just to provide quick keyboard sounds when I am just fooling around and not using Logic. I am interested in what it is that you like about it so much?
I confess I haven't gotten into it too much, and haven't used it live, but have mapped the main controllers on my old E-Synth to Mainstage and find it quite convenient for what I am doing with it.
Hi Blair,
Here are the reasons that I like MainStage:
As a guitar player, I'm used to using a foot controller to change effects/amp channels. With MainStage, I can configure a "live rig" very easily, creating a Concert that consists of lots of patches for each combination of effects/amps, and then use my Behringer (yes I know, high end stuff) footpedal to easily switch between them.
I like how easy it is in Layout mode to build a graphic representation of my footpedal, and quickly assign parameters/patches to the messages the foot controller sends.
MainStage has never crashed on me. I've not played a live show in years now, but I would have no compunction about using MainStage as my live host. Especially now with the power of the Mac Mini, and the fact that MainStage can be configured as a Login Item, and load your Concert on launch, I'd love to try just having a couple of Mac Minis (one as backup) with no monitors, just an audio interface; plug it in, turn it on, and see if it would "just work" like the "rack of doom" with Marshall pre- and power amps, effects units, etc. that I used to haul around the clubs.
And especially, I'm deeply impressed that this is a 1.0.x application! As a professional "music technologist" (well, a writer who edits/writes about this stuff, anyway ), I am incredibly encouraged by this. There are things I wish it would do (I wish it could send MIDI program change messages, to change the channels on my MIDI-equipped tube amp, for example). Lots of people wish it could be used as more of a "studio host app" to use on a satellite computer, etc. Since it's so early in development, I'm excited to see what the future will bring.
Anyway, I hope that gives you an idea. On a visceral level, something I can't even really explain properly, it's just fun to play. I spend a fair amount of time just playing (not recording/composing in Logic), because I simply love the guitar. And I want my "guitar rig" to inspire me. MainStage becomes a part of that rig, it's inviting to build a "picture" of my foot controller and set it up and try things in a way that other programs that make me fiddle more are not. And the fact that MainStage is both inviting, and a really solid professional product (not a toy at all!) means that I can use it not just as my "bedroom rig" but also my stage rig, when I go back out to rock the club scene.
Orren