* I’m setting up the mapping curve so it’s bypassed when the fader (which I’m using for volume) is very low, and not bypassed when the volume is turned up at all * I’m adding a mapping to the channel’s VST’s bypass parameter * I already have a mapping for the output volume of this channel so I can turn it up and down as needed When I have the volume down there is no point in my CPU doing all the work to generate the sound if I’m not going to hear it, so I add a bypass mapping with this curve: For example, I have a synth lead sound in many of my patches, but it’s only used for specific lead parts. What you can do to avoid this is add a mapping that bypasses the VST when the fader is down. Regardless, it’s important to keep in mind that even though the volume is off, your system resources are still being used by that instrument!Ĭaution Your system resources are still being used for an instrument, even if the output volume is all the way down! Maybe it’s a Rhodes sound you mix in occasionally, or a really verbed-out piano you use for that quiet part. You all set up your MainStage concert differently, but I’m guessing many of you have concert-level, or even patch-level instruments you don’t use all the time. MainStage has a built-in CPU and RAM meter you can enable on the display tab of the preferences panel:īased on what we said above, you might be able to optimize your concert by simply removing a few synthesizer or sampler instruments you don’t use often, but there are a couple other cool tricks you can use to help free up system resources: Bypass un-used instruments The first thing you can do, is look at which resource (RAM or CPU) you’re low on. How can we use this information to our advantage? Okay, now you have a bit of an idea how MainStage is using up your computer’s RAM and CPU when you’re playing. Keep this in mind when you’re building that next set of patches. When you load that instrument into MainStage the only way your computer can play those audio files as quickly as you can mash the keys on your digital piano is by loading them into it’s short-term memory: RAM. If your sampled piano has 88 notes, recorded at 3 intensities with the sustain pedal pressed and not pressed that’s a whopping 528 audio files! ![]() Now, audio files are pretty “big” in terms of storage space on your computer. For example, a good sampled piano instrument will have little short recordings of every note on a piano, at various intensities, with the pedal on or off, etc. Sampler instruments, in contrast, are based on playing back “samples” of an instrument. Unlike sample-based instruments, synthesizers are (as a rule of thumb) not as RAM intensive, because they aren’t storing actually audio files, just little programs for producing and processing the wave. ![]() These instruments are very CPU-intensive, because every time you play a key on the keyboard your CPU has to generate that wave, run it through all the modulations and effects, and produce that beautiful output that makes your worship pastor smile (or, not…) Retro Synth is an example of a synthesizer instrument: In a basic synthesizer instrument in MainStage, your CPU is generating a sort of virtual wave, and then applying all sorts of modulations and effects to that wave to get an output. Synthesizer instrumentsįundamentally, a synthesizer works by generating and modulating a particular wave. In MainStage there are two basic instrument VST types: synthesizers and samplers. Most people are familiar with that idea, but here is how it translates to MainStage… When you are trying to solve a math problem, your “CPU” is doing the work, but when you’re trying to remember where you left your keys it’s your “RAM”. Your CPU is like the thinking part of your brain, and RAM is like the memory part of your brain. Here’s what’s going on:# MainStage CPU and RAM utilization ![]() Ever wonder why MainStage is running slow, or why you’re hearing weird pops or cracks, or why switching patches creates this terrible awkward pause in that awesome huge pad you were using to usher in the presence of the Holy Spirit? Yeah, me too.
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