I don’t get it, what is MainStage 3 for? For playing virtual instruments?

[Benz63amg]

I don’t have any usb keyboard or anything like that, and I’m no performer either or a pro guitarist or piano player. I do like the virtual instruments in GarageBand and Logic Pro but the only way to play these instruments is with the mini screen in GarageBand and Logic Pro that opens up where you can click keys on the magic keyboard and it kind of mimicks actual piano clicks?

now what is mainstage for? It actually has a VISUAL representation of the pianos and guitars and drums etc that I can visually see and play on my MacBook? Are there no visual instruments such as pianos etc in GarageBand and Logic Pro? (I don’t see any In GarageBand or Logic (like an actual piano on the screen)

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

GarageBand and Logic Pro are designed for recording, mixing and mastering music, whereas MainStage is streamlined for live performance. It's for keyboard players and guitarists who need to plug their gear in to play but don't want the extra capability and clutter that comes with a full workstation (at least not in a live setting).

Basically, if you don't play an instrument, MainStage is not for you.

 

[Benz63amg]

GarageBand and Logic Pro are designed for recording, mixing and mastering music, whereas MainStage is streamlined for live performance. It's for keyboard players and guitarists who need to plug their gear in to play but don't want the extra capability and clutter that comes with a full workstation (at least not in a live setting).

Basically, if you don't play an instrument, MainStage is not for you.

I still don’t get it, Why does apple show these beautiful Piano Models on the screen in the screenshots on the Mac App Store where you can see all the different pianos, drum kits etc and can press with the mouse or trackpad to play the piano, can’t I play the instruments that way? Isn’t that what mainstage is for?

I don’t see a way to see the Pianos and drum kits in such a Visual way in garage band or Logic so wouldn’t Mainstage be a good add on to play the virtual instruments on my MacBook is that not what it’s for and the Pianos on the screen are not interactive?
Seeing virtual instruments like the pianos are not available in GarageBand and Logic or am I missing something?

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

Yeah, you are missing something. MainStage is not for playing virtually, even if it looks like it to you. It's for playing live, with real (or MIDI) instruments. The visual stuff is just there to indicate easily, in a live setting, what instrument patch you are plugged into (as far as I know. I don't own MainStage because I have no need).

As for a virtual piano in Logic, if you press 'cmd K' it will bring up Musical Typing. If you then click on the top left icon it will switch it to a virtual keyboard.

However, If you want to get the best from all these apps, even if you can't read or play a note of music, you should really get yourself a little USB MIDI Keyboard Controller. Some are relatively inexpensive and they will make tinkering with music a million times more enjoyable.

 

[Fuchal]

You'd use it to sync up effects, patches, settings along with a live performance so that the right instrument, vocal effect, etc are always happening at the right time during a song.

Maybe this is interesting, I remember watching it years ago.

 

[Benz63amg]

Yeah, you are missing something. MainStage is not for playing virtually, even if it looks like it to you. It's for playing live, with real (or MIDI) instruments. The visual stuff is just there to indicate easily, in a live setting, what instrument patch you are plugged into (as far as I know. I don't own MainStage because I have no need).

As for a virtual piano in Logic, if you press 'cmd K' it will bring up Musical Typing. If you then click on the top left icon it will switch it to a virtual keyboard.

View attachment 1673880

However, If you want to get the best from all these apps, even if you can't read or play a note of music, you should really get yourself a little USB MIDI Keyboard Controller. Some are relatively inexpensive and they will make tinkering with music a million times more enjoyable.

I see, so these beautiful visual representations of real keyboards and music instruments within mainstage are just for on screen visuals and aren’t interactive in the sense that I can play notes on them and interact with? So an actual physical usb keyboard is required to use the application?

the only “visual” instrument I have in Logic and garage is that small gimmicky keyboard in the screenshot you posted right? (I want to make sure I’m not missing anything)

man I thought I can play these Beautiful representations of pianos and musical instruments within Mainstage on my computer using the massive Logic Pro 70gb sound library and didn’t know I need an actual usb keyboard

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

I see, so these beautiful visual representations of real keyboards and music instruments within mainstage are just for on screen visuals and aren’t interactive in the sense that I can play notes on them and interact with? So an actual physical usb keyboard is required to use the application?

the only “visual” instrument I have in Logic and garage is that small gimmicky keyboard in the screenshot you posted right? (I want to make sure I’m not missing anything)

man I thought I can play these Beautiful representations of pianos and musical instruments within Mainstage on my computer using the massive Logic Pro 70gb sound library and didn’t know I need an actual usb keyboard

The on-screen keyboard in Logic is only there for you to use in a pinch. Even if it looked amazing, it would work exactly the same (which is to say, limited). You really should get a MIDI controller. A little AKAI Mini, or iRig, or something. Once you do, you'll realise why.

If you have an iPad, the free Logic Remote App can be used as a virtual keyboard (plus a load of other stuff), but I don't think there is anything similar for MainStage.

 

[Benz63amg]

The on-screen keyboard in Logic is only there for you to use in a pinch. Even if it looked amazing, it would work exactly the same (which is to say, limited). You really should get a MIDI controller. A little AKAI Mini, or iRig, or something. Once you do, you'll realise why.

If you have an iPad, the free Logic Remote App can be used as a virtual keyboard (plus a load of other stuff), but I don't think there is anything similar for MainStage.

The description in the Mac App Store for mainstage 3 says Logic remote app CAN be used with Mainstage, so what does that mean? I can play the virtual instruments in Mainstage with the Logic app on my iPhone?
I also want to confirm, The pretty looking instruments are ONLY available in Mainstage right? I don’t see the beautiful piano modes etc in Logic or GarageBand so that’s why I assume it’s only available in Mainstage 3

Also, does Mainstage 3 have a sound library that needs to be installed? I already have the 70gb library from Logic pro

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

The description in the Mac App Store for mainstage 3 says Logic remote app CAN be used with Mainstage, so what does that mean? I can play the virtual instruments in Mainstage with the Logic app on my iPhone?
I also want to confirm, The pretty looking instruments are ONLY available in Mainstage right? I don’t see the beautiful piano modes etc in Logic or GarageBand so that’s why I assume it’s only available in Mainstage 3

Also, does Mainstage 3 have a sound library that needs to be installed? I already have the 70gb library from Logic pro

Yeah, it looks like the remote works with all three apps. I don't have MainStage, but there is a keyboard on the Logic version of the remote so I don't see why it would be different for MainStage.

All the instruments in MainStage are available in Logic, as far as I know.

 

[Benz63amg]

Yeah, it looks like the remote works with all three apps. I don't have MainStage, but there is a keyboard on the Logic version of the remote so I don't see why it would be different for MainStage.

All the instruments in MainStage are available in Logic, as far as I know.

Sounds great, will check it out. Am I correct in that the beautiful visual interactive pianos and all other instruments are available in Mainstage only? I don’t see any of these beautiful on-screen pianos and instruments anywhere in Logic or GarageBand even though both Logic and GarageBand have “software instruments” but no visual representation of any of them, It seems like Mainstage brings the “visual” version of the software instruments to life on screen, Is that correct?

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

Sounds great, will check it out. Am I correct in that the beautiful visual interactive pianos and all other instruments are available in Mainstage only? I don’t see any of these beautiful on-screen pianos and instruments anywhere in Logic or GarageBand even though both Logic and GarageBand have “software instruments” but no visual representation of any of them, It seems like Mainstage brings the “visual” version of the software instruments to life on screen, Is that correct?

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. The visuals in MainStage, as far as I can tell, are basically the same as the instrument plugins in Logic (minus the keyboard). For example, here is the Vintage B3 Organ in Logic:

And the Retro Synth:

 

[thesimpledrummer]

I am a drummer, keyboardist, and playback engineer (backing tracks) that uses Ableton and MainStage live, and Logic in the studio.

The best way I can describe it is this: MainStage is set up to take the sounds and instrument plugins that you can use in Logic, and streamlines the UI for ease of use during a live situation. It is designed to be lighter and use less of your CPU than Logic would. It also makes it very easy to program a series of presets, one after the other, for quick switching of sounds and patches between songs. It allows you to take a VST, apply some effects, and design your own UI layout, with the controls you need right on screen, and nothing you don't need. If you are playing an electric drum pad or keyboard in a live situation and want to have all your studio sounds at your fingertips without having to click through a bunch of menus to make changes on the fly, MainStage is a really good way to achieve that.

However, the line was just recently blurred between MainStage and Logic with the Live Loops feature. I use Logic in live situations more than ever now for backing track playback, because Live Loops lets you really easily create a session where you can trigger certain sections of a song and bounce around between sections really easily. It's basically Ableton's session view within Logic.

Ultimately, the sounds and patches in MainStage and Logic are the same; it's just how you use them that are different between each program.

 

[Benz63amg]

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. The visuals in MainStage, as far as I can tell, are basically the same as the instrument plugins in Logic (minus the keyboard). For example, here is the Vintage B3 Organ in Logic:

View attachment 1674095

And the Retro Synth:

View attachment 1674116

But where is the visual Piano in Logic? (Like the ones i see in the screenshots of Mainstage 3 in the Mac AppStore)

 

[Spacetime Anomaly]

But where is the visual Piano in Logic? (Like the ones i see in the screenshots of Mainstage 3 in the Mac AppStore)

They are different apps, with different purposes, so they look different. thesimpledrummer explained MainStage very well above.

Good luck with your musical endeavours.