I’m reposting this message for a friend, any advice would be appreciated:

“Mainstage is stand alone application which runs in a mac. Not a VST. It is used for live performance. for keyboardists, guitarists and vocalists.
Currently i use M-Audio axiom with mainstage. It easily syncs with it. Can assign patches to any of the button and control the parameters of the tones by sliders and knobs.
Would like to know if mx-61 can be used same way.”

Thanks.

I’m sure it can but you need to be asking the makers of Mainstage how to integrate a product with it. If they say something about Bank Select MSB/LSB numbers and Program Changes, for example, that we can help you with, but a question about how to work Mainstage is really a question for the folks that make it.

Let us know what MX info you need and then we can help you.

It just so happens I own Mainstage v2.2 but I don’t really use it so I’m not sure how helpful I can be!  For $30 getting all the plugins, loops and audio engine from Logic 9 with a shell designed for live performance setups )like the Motif Master Mode but even more complex) seemed a low-risk purchase at the time.

Anyway, inside any Patch in Mainstage you simply go the Edit screen to access the mapping interface. I’ve attached a screenshot of this screen.

If this user already has mappings set up for his Axiom, he just needs to understand what the MX controllers are (in terms of CC numbers, for instance) and he should be able to edit his mappings OK.

I also have an Axiom and have been using it with Mainstage, but I haven’t yet tried to control MS with the MX.  Easy enough to test: go into Layout mode in MS, click on a knob and start Learn mode and twist a knob on the MX. If it recognizes it, then success.

If not, there are some settings in MS to tell it the type of controller (e.g., 2s complement etc). On the MX, it might require going into DAW mode?

I will try this at some point and post back.

Appreciate the comments - look forward to the post back. Cheers.

The short answer is: Yes, you can.

Below, I assume that you already have mappings set up to control Mainstage (MS) form another controller like the Axiom. All I am showing is how to drop in the MX in place of the Axiom; I don’t talk about how to connect MS controls to MS instruments or channel strip parameters.  For that, consult the MS on-line help or the manual.

(1) The fastest way: Just go into Layout mode of Mainstage, click on an on-screen knob, click the Learn button, then twist a knob on the MX. While Learn is still on, click on another control in MS and twist another knob on the MX. Do this for all knobs (all 3 rows) for up to 12 controls. The mapping is done.

Now, in MS get out of Layout mode and twist knobs on the MX. The MS on-screen controls should change and the corresponding MS instrument settings (e.g, filter cutoff, volume, etc) should change also.

(2) A better way: The problem with method (1) is that MX settings also change at the same time when you twist knobs and you probably don’t want this. To have independent control of the MX and MS, you need to do the MS Learning while in DAW mode on the MX. Then to control the MS only, be sure that the DAW button on the MX is on. To control the MX only, the DAW button should be off. 

The key to this is that messages meant for the MS should transmit on a Midi port other than port 1 (Mainstage can “see” all MX ports). You can tell this during the Learning in MS: it will show the port number (it should say “Port 2 Yamaha Mx49/Mx61”), the channel number and the controller number.  I found that the default settings for DAW and Remote Control Template work properly for this.  The check: Utility -> Remote -> DAW=Cubase. Then, while in DAW Remote, press the Piano button repeatedly to be sure it shows “01-HALionOne” as the control template.  Then do the mapping as described in (1) above.

Don’t select DAW=LogicPro (or any of the others for that matter).  You might think that this would be the correct choice, given that MS is derived from Logic.  I did not check all of the combinations of Control Templates (the MX has like 50 of them) and DAWs. But, what I saw was that when DAW=Cubase, there a number of control templates that transmit of Port 2; any of these would also work. But all the rest, as well as all templates that I tested on all other DAW settings, transmit on Port 1.

Btw, although I didn’t test these it was cool to see how many control templates are available (e.g., for FM8, Massive, B4II, Omnisphere, etc etc). While in DAW mode on the MX, you can use the Keyboard/Piano keys to scroll up and down through the templates.

(3) Program changes: I could not find a way to use to send Program Changes to the MS independently (without also changing the Patches on the MX at the same time).  On the Axiom, it’s possible to program the buttons to send PCs directly. On the MX, the Part buttons (in DAW mode), behave according to the active control template. In the case of the HALionOne (as well as several others) the buttons send note on/off messages (except for the Piano and Keyboard buttons, which are reserved for scrolling through the templates).  Since they too transmit on Port 2 you can map them to MS on-screen buttons and then tie those to other MS functions.

So, for example, I was able to use a button that way to go to a specific MS patch, but this is not practical for lots of patch changes, because I would have to create as many on-screen buttons as I want patch changes.  I was able to “connect” an MX button to an MS button and tie it to “patch + “ and another combination to “patch -”.  This is useful, as you can scroll up/down though your MS patches, but still you can’t go to one directly.

Finally, while in normal Performance mode (not DAW mode), if you use the Shift key and press a part button, this will send a Program Change to then MS, so you can jump to a patch directly.  But this will also change the MX performance…

Wow, Thanks for your time… Cheers.