MainStage 3 Express
Learn how to use MainStage 3 at Church.
Welcome to MainStage 3 Express!
If you’re new to MainStage or even somewhat familiar, this course is meant to be an intensive walk-through that gradually increases in difficulty and builds on previously learned concepts—giving you the keys to mastering MainStage 3 in much less time.
Complete with interactive videos, and combined with a ground level sound design approach, you’ll come away from this course being able to comprehend advanced sound design concepts, create your own patches and much more. Keep scrolling to get started!
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Before you begin the course, double check that you have the following:
MainStage 3 with full sound library installation
Keyboard with MIDI capability
Korg Nanokontrol 2 (optional, but recommended)
USB MIDI cables
LESSON 1
Intro to MainStage
In this lesson:
Introduction to MainStage 3
Audio Preferences set-up walk-through
General and MIDI settings walk-through
LESSON 2
Layout Mode
In this lesson we’ll learn how to:
Navigate the “Layout Tab” in MainStage 3
Build concerts and add interactive elements
Assign MIDI controllers to onscreen parameters
Change button/knob/fader behaviour
LESSON 3
Edit Mode - Part 1
In this lesson you’ll learn how to:
Navigate the “Edit Tab” with efficiency
Use concert level, set level and patch level
Create channel strips and instruments
Map buttons and faders to control parameters
Create and save your own patches
Set proper gain staging for your concert
LESSON 4
Edit Mode - Part 2
In this lesson you’ll learn about:
Layering channel strips together
Splitting instruments to different ranges
Adjusting instrument MIDI settings
Transposing instruments
LESSON 5
Sound Design 101
In this lesson you’ll learn about:
Oscillators, LFOs, and filters
Saw, triangle, square, and pulse wave forms
Amp and filter envelopes
Creating a worship pad from scratch
VST basics
LESSON 6
VSTs & Audio FX
In this lesson you’ll dive deep into:
All MainStage 3 VST plugins—EXS24, Alchemy, Retro Synth, ES2, etc.
All MainStage 3 audio FX plugins
Order of FX in your signal chain
How to get a great synth sound with effects
How to map VST parameters to a controller
LESSON 7
MIDI FX & Busses
In this lesson you’ll learn about:
All MainStage 3 MIDI FX
How to incorporate MIDI FX into your template
Fixed vs. Variable Audio Bus
Utilizing Aux sends/effect sends
LESSON 8
CPU Tips & Tricks
In this lesson you’ll learn about:
Audio feedback, dropouts and other issues
Tips and tricks to avoid issues on stage
Cleaning up your template
Aliases
Mapping parameters to bypass
Which plug-ins to avoid