Apple MainStage 3 - Manual (Page 57)

Chapter 5 Work in Edit mode 57
For more information about using multiple instrument outputs, see MainStage Help and the
MainStage Instruments manual. Information about specific instruments (for example, Ultrabeat)
can be found in the chapters covering those instruments.
Use external MIDI instruments in MainStage
You can add an external MIDI instrument channel strip to a patch and use it to play an external
instrument, such as a hardware synthesizer. You can also use an external instrument channel strip
to “play” a ReWire application.
When you use an external MIDI instrument channel strip, you choose the MIDI channel to send
MIDI output from MainStage to the instrument, and choose the audio inputs to receive audio
from the instrument. The audio output from the instrument is routed to the input of the channel
strip, where you can process it using MainStage effects.
When you play your keyboard controller with the patch containing the external MIDI instrument
selected, MainStage sends note and other MIDI messages to the chosen MIDI Output and MIDI
Channel, receives audio from the chosen Input, and sends the audio output to the chosen
Output. You can also send a program change message to the external instrument when you
select the patch to control which program the external instrument uses.
You can also send MIDI messages, including SysEx and continuous control messages, to your
connected MIDI hardware devices using an external instrument channel strip. The Channel Strip
Inspector includes a Send MIDI File control where you can select a standard MIDI file with the
information you want to send.
Add an external instrument channel strip
1 Click the Add Channel Strip button (+) in the upper-right corner of the Channel Strips area.
2 In the New Channel Strip dialog, select External Instrument.
You can also choose the MIDI input and output, the format, and the audio input and output for
the channel strip. You can choose an audio channel or a ReWire application for the input, but
cannot choose a bus. The MIDI input pop-up menu shows the Keyboard or MIDI Activity screen
controls (which receive MIDI note input) currently in the workspace.
Note: When you are using an external instrument to send MIDI to a ReWire slave application
(such as Reason or Live), you should disable any MIDI input the slave application receives directly
from the hardware controller. For information about disabling MIDI input from a hardware
device, consult the documentation for the application.
For ReWire applications, when you add an external channel strip, set the MIDI port to the
ReWire slave. The Channel list also updates based on the port. Some ReWire slaves set up
multiple ports. To use a ReWire application with MainStage, open the ReWire application after
opening MainStage.
Send a program change to an external instrument when you select a patch
1 In the Channel Strip Inspector, click the MIDI Out tab.
2 In the MIDI Out tab, select the Send Program Change checkbox.
The Program Change value is set to –1 by default, so that no program change is sent when you
select the Send Program Change checkbox until you change the value.
3 Set the program change number you want to send using the Send Program Change value slider.