Morph melodic sounds in Alchemy in MainStage

Sounds that contain melodic or harmonic material, such as those that are not purely drums or percussion, present more challenges when morphing. In these cases, it’s especially important to understand some of the limitations and to know which synthesis options will deliver the best results. This group of tutorial tasks covers morphing between sounds that contain melodic material produced by monophonic instruments such as a solo voice, a synth lead, or an orchestral instrument like a flute or oboe. The example files have the same basic length, which makes results more predictable than if file lengths are quite different.

Note: Images shown in tutorials are not specific to presets used in tasks. They are included as a guide to help you find areas and parameters in the Alchemy interface.

Play a source melody with another source in Alchemy

In Alchemy in MainStage, click the File button in the Name bar and choose Initialize Preset from the pop-up menu to reset all Alchemy parameters to default settings.
Click the source select field for source A, and choose Import Audio from the pop-up menu.
The Import window opens.
Type “Amanda Aa Ee Ay Oh C3” in the search field, and drag the file to the Dropzone area of the Import window.
Click the Additive and Formant analysis mode buttons at the lower left, then click the Import button.
This determines the synthesis engine used for resynthesis of the audio sample. This combination is generally best when you are working with melodic, monophonic audio files. When analysis is complete, you can trigger the audio at its native pitch by playing C3 on your keyboard. It’s important to understand that you are hearing a resynthesized version of the original sound that is being generated by the additive synthesis engine and further shaped by the formant engine.
Tip: It’s best to select the same analysis mode for all audio you plan to morph between. If you don’t do this, the primary synthesis element morphing control will be non functional when morphing between sources analyzed with different engines. For example, you can’t perform additive morphing between a source generated by the additive engine and another source generated by the spectral engine.
Click the source B select field, and choose Import Audio from the pop-up menu.
Type “Velvet Rope Synth Lead” in the search field, and click to select the file or drag it to the Dropzone area of the Import window, then click the Import button.
Note: The previously selected import mode is retained, so there’s no need to change anything.
To set both files to loop continuously while you hold down the note, click the A button (under Global), then choose Continuous from the Loop Mode pop-up menu. Repeat this step for source B.
Click the Morph button at the left to show the morphing section at the upper right, then click the Morph Lin button and the A-B button. The All button should be active.
Drag the handle between the two sources while holding a note to hear the sound morph from the vocal (source A on the left) to the syn

MainStage User Guide

Morph melodic sounds in Alchemy in MainStage

Play a source melody with another source in Alchemy