Mainstage Tips & Tricks

When programming a show, alias everything from an “Originals Set” which

has all the patches in it. Look through the whole show first to determine which
patches are needed. Create a Set (at the bottom of the Concert) in which to place
all of the originals, then create aliases from there. This provides the ability to
change a sound throughout the entire concert by simply changing the original.

The “Originals Set” might contain a number of patches (piano, celeste, organ, etc.)
or it might contain single patches by instrument family (strings, brass, etc.). For
example, the strings patch might contain channel strips like: tremolo, pizzicato,
marcato, etc. Then, instead of pasting the whole patch as an alias, you can paste
one of the channel strips as an alias instead. Be careful not to make aliases from
other aliases. Always create your aliases from the main instrument patch in the
“Originals Set”.

Try to level the patch volumes across the concert. Note that this doesn't mean that
volumes on the channel strips are exactly the same. Some sounds are naturally
softer/louder, and others are perceived to be different in volume.