Common screen control parameters

You can edit the following common parameters for button, fader, knob, pedal, footswitch, mod/pitch wheel, meter, VU meter, organ drawbar, progress indicator, and parameter text screen controls.

Hardware Input

  • MIDI Port pop-up menu: Shows the name of the device containing the assigned control. The device name may correspond to the name of a keyboard controller, or to a port on the controller, if it has multiple ports. You can choose another device, All, or Unassigned.

  • Channel pop-up menu: Choose the MIDI channel on which MainStage receives input from the controller.

    If you plan to use more than one keyboard when you perform, be sure that screen controls such as faders and knobs are assigned to receive input from the correct controller using the Device and Channel pop-up menus.

  • Type pop-up menu: Choose the type of control messages to which the control responds. Control types include the following three categories:

    • Continuous Control:  Includes knobs, rotary encoders, faders, and most pedals that send values in the range of 0–127. In most cases, these controls are set to Absolute. Some rotary encoders can be set to Relative after you program the hardware device to send relative controller messages. The different types of Relative control messages represent different encoding types used by different vendors (who may refer to them by proprietary names).

    • Button Control—Toggle Only:  Includes buttons that send either one (Single) or two (Alternating) values.

    • Button Control—Toggle or Momentary:  Includes drum pads and other buttons that send a value when the button is released as well as when it is pressed.

  • Number pop-up menu: Choose the MIDI control number that the control sends. For common MIDI controls, such as volume, the control name appears in the menu along with the number.

  • MIDI Thru pop-up menu: Choose whether the control automatically passes MIDI through or does not pass MIDI through.

  • Send Value to pop-up menu: Sends the current value of the screen control to supported devices to display using an LED ring around a rotary encoder or to move a motorized fader.

Settings

  • Name field: Enter a name for the screen control.

Appearance

  • Color selector: Choose the color for the active part of the screen control, which visually displays its current value in performance. (This parameter is not available for text or meter screen controls.)

  • Control pop-up menu: Choose the type for the screen control. If you change the control to a different type, you may need to resize it in the workspace.

Text Labels

  • Color selector: Choose the color for the text labels.

  • Display pop-up menu: Choose what information is displayed in the text display area for the control and how many lines are used to display it.

  • Add hardware label checkbox and field: Select the checkbox, then type a hardware label in the field to display it on the top line of the control’s text display.