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Chapter 4 Get started with MainStage 31
Select and play patches
You access the patches in your concert by selecting them in the Patch List.
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Using a MIDI controller, you can play patches that have a software instrument channel strip.
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If you are playing an electric instrument connected to an audio interface, or are using a
microphone, you can use patches that have an audio channel strip.
Before playing through an audio channel strip, rst make sure that the channel strip is set
to receive input on the channel (or stereo pair of channels) to which your instrument or
microphone is connected.
For more information about organizing and selecting patches in the Patch List, see Edit mode
overview on page 37.
Select a patch
m Click the patch in the Patch List.
With the patch selected, try moving some controls on your MIDI controller and check to see if
the screen controls in the workspace respond. Some screen controls, including the keyboard,
modulation and pitch bend wheels, and sustain pedal screen controls, respond to appropriate
MIDI messages without needing to be assigned or mapped.
You can continue selecting and playing patches in the concert to nd sounds you want to
perform with or to use as a starting point for creating your own custom patches. You can also
add new patches and edit their channel strip settings to create your own unique sounds.
Add a channel strip
You can add channel strips to a patch to create layered sounds and keyboard splits. When you
add a channel strip to a patch, you choose the type of channel strip, the output, and other
settings. You can mix both types in a single patch.
Add a channel strip to a patch
1 Make sure the patch is selected in the Patch List.
2 Click the Add Channel Strip button (+) in the upper-right corner of the Channel Strips area.
3 In the New Channel Strip dialog, select the type of channel strip you want to create.
4 Choose the audio output for the channel strip from the Output pop-up menu.
5 For audio channel strips, choose mono or stereo format from the Format pop-up menu and
choose the audio input from the Input pop-up menu. For external instrument channel strips, also
choose the MIDI input, MIDI output, and MIDI channel from their respective pop-up menus.
Important: Audio channel strips can produce feedback, particularly if you are using a
microphone for audio input. When you add an audio channel strip, the volume of the channel
strip is set to silence, and Feedback Protection is turned on to alert you when feedback occurs on
the channel strip. When you add an external instrument channel strip, the volume of the channel
strip is set to silence, but Feedback Protection is turned o.
6 Optionally, you can add multiple channel strips to a patch by entering a number in the Number
eld. You can add up to the maximum number for a channel strip type.
7 Click Create.
A new channel strip appears in the Channel Strips area, highlighted to indicate that it is selected.
The Channel Strip Inspector appears below the workspace, showing dierent parameters for the
new channel strip.