Add a Playback plug-in in MainStage
The Playback plug-in is an Instrument plug-in and is available only for software instrument channel strips. To use the Playback plug-in, you add it to a software instrument channel strip, then select an audio file to play. You can add a Playback plug-in to a channel strip in a patch or at the set or concert level.
Where you add an instance of the Playback plug-in depends on how you want to use it. If you want to play back an audio file while you play a single patch, you can add it to the patch. If you add a Playback plug-in at the set level, you can select different patches in the set and have the audio file continue playing. This can be useful, for example, if the set includes all the patches you use in a song, and the Playback plug-in plays an audio file with a backing track for the song. If you add a Playback plug-in at the concert level, you can select different patches in the concert and have the audio file continue playing. Being able to use the plug-in at any level gives you a great deal of creative freedom in how you use it.
Each instance of the plug-in can play one audio file. You can use audio files in a variety of file formats, including AIFF, WAVE, and CAF. You can play audio files containing marker information, including files exported (bounced) from Logic Pro for Mac and Apple Loops, and shift playback to markers located at different time positions in the audio file.
There are two ways to add a Playback plug-in: by dragging an audio file to the Channel Strips area or from the Instrument slot on a channel strip. When you add multiple Playback plug-ins by dragging audio files to the Channel Strips area, the newly added plug-ins are all assigned to the same group.
