Overview of working with plug-ins in MainStage

MainStage includes a full collection of professional-quality instrument and effect plug-ins along with utility plug-ins such as the Tuner. For more information about the included effect plug-ins, refer to the MainStage Instruments and MainStage Effects manuals. You can use plug-ins in MainStage channel strips in patches and also at the concert and set level. You use instrument plug-ins in software instrument channel strips, and you can use effect plug-ins in audio, software instrument, external instrument, and auxiliary channel strips.

You can add and remove plug-ins from channel strips, search for plug-ins in a channel strip, and move and copy plug-ins between slots on the same channel strip or between two channel strips. You can also use plug-in settings, adjust plug-in parameters, and use the other controls in the plug-in window header.

Many effect plug-ins can be inserted on channel strips used in real-time performances without any problems. Some effects, such as Space Designer, require intensive real-time processing of the audio signal. Using Space Designer and other processor-intensive plug-ins in individual patches can affect the performance of your concert, and in some cases can cause audio dropouts or glitches, particularly if the audio buffer is set to a smaller size. It’s recommended that you use Space Designer and other similarly processor-intensive plug-ins sparingly in your concerts. Rather than inserting processor-intensive plug-ins in individual channel strips, you can use a few instances in auxiliary channel strips shared between multiple patches.