MainStage

Name: MainStage
Price: 29.99 USD
Rating: 0 (0 reviews)
Author: Apple

Live rig for musicians

Only for Mac

$29.99

Ages

4+
Years
Category

Music
Developer

Apple
Language

EN
+ 6 More
Size

2.1
GB

Mac

MainStage lets you take your Mac to the stage with a full-screen interface optimized for live performance, flexible hardware control, and a massive collection of plug-ins and sounds that are fully compatible with Logic Pro. The Ultimate Live Rig • Perform live with over 100 instrument, effect, and MIDI plug-ins or your favorite Audio Units plug-ins • Add any patches from Logic Pro to bring your studio sound to the stage • Combine instruments and live audio, such as keyboards and vocals, in a single Patch • Switch between Patches without stopping sound output or cutting off held notes • Design rich keyboard Patches using splits and layers • Perform with stereo or multitrack backing tracks using Playback Hardware Control • Connect your favorite MIDI hardware and use it to play and control your plug-ins • Use USB and MIDI-equipped controllers like keyboards, foot pedals, and drum pads • Quickly assign hardware knobs, buttons, and faders to onscreen controls • Manage sophisticated rigs using the Assignments & Mapping overview Designed for the Stage • See only what you need during your performance using a customizable, full-screen live interface • Screen controls adapt for each Patch using Smart Controls • Smart Controls offer dynamic performance controls that change with each Patch • Easily view your Mac screen from a distance using a high-contrast, full-screen performance view Instrument Plug-ins • Play or create a wide variety of rich sampled instruments with Sampler and Quick Sampler • Turn your favorite hardware synthesizers into sampled instruments using the Auto Sampler plug-in • Quickly find sounds or create unique new ones with Alchemy, the ultimate sample manipulation synthesizer • Play classic ’70s- and ’80s-style synthesizer sounds using Retro Synth • Perform inspired sounds using a collection of synths that provide analog, wavetable, FM, additive, granular, spectral, and modeling synthesis MIDI Plug-ins • Transform simple ideas into elaborate performances using nine MIDI plug-ins • Instantly turn a simple chord into a rich performance with the Arpeggiator • Play a single note to trigger predefined chords with Chord Trigger • Perform a part and conform notes to a specific scale using Transposer Creative and Production Effects • Play your sounds through a variety of realistic acoustic spaces or creative synthesized reverbs • Use a range of multi-tap, vintage tape, and stereo delays • Add movement to your tracks with a variety of modulation effects • Get the perfect mix with a collection of vintage and modern EQs, dynamics, and other mixing tools System Requirements: 6GB available disk space for minimum install / 44GB or more storage space for full Sound Library installation

Ratings & Reviews

This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.

Few bugs and need for new features
07/05/2021

E. Bar.
Mainstage is a great alternative for other programs, specifically Ableton. I use it for church to playback pre-recorded intrsuments meanwhile we play, and it works perfectly, now I am sending the click sound from mainstage to our drummer and we are syncing together very well. But there is a bug that I have been able to work around for now but it was very annoying, the fourth track in the 8 backing track template does not let me map any button to the play/stop and I have no idea why, but it works in other channels, so that is what I have done for now. I would also like for the Mainstage team to please allow for Mainstage to support changes in tempo and for mainstage to be able to read it and change its tempo according to the file information that was bounced with said recording. I record these instruments through Logic so there isn't any compatibility error, its just that the playback plugin or just Mainstage itself does not support automated tempo information, please it would be great if you guys could attend to these situations, Thank you in advance.
Few bugs and need for new features
07/05/2021

E. Bar.

Mainstage is a great alternative for other programs, specifically Ableton. I use it for church to playback pre-recorded intrsuments meanwhile we play, and it works perfectly, now I am sending the click sound from mainstage to our drummer and we are syncing together very well. But there is a bug that I have been able to work around for now but it was very annoying, the fourth track in the 8 backing track template does not let me map any button to the play/stop and I have no idea why, but it works in other channels, so that is what I have done for now. I would also like for the Mainstage team to please allow for Mainstage to support changes in tempo and for mainstage to be able to read it and change its tempo according to the file information that was bounced with said recording. I record these instruments through Logic so there isn't any compatibility error, its just that the playback plugin or just Mainstage itself does not support automated tempo information, please it would be great if you guys could attend to these situations, Thank you in advance.
Not sure what happened..
12/26/2021

Iriemahn
I have a MacbookPro mid 2012 with mainstage that runs amazing. Now I have a 2020 Macbook Air M1, so now when I open Mainstage it lags for about 3 min before there is no lag. The worse part for me is when I play the trombone from Kontakt and some othe sounds the whole volume compresses to where the sound loses so much body I cant even use the Macbook Air live anymore. This issue has been driving me crazy! I do not have any compressor set anywhere for this to happen. Its almost as if this Macbook Air has a built in compressor impossible to toggle off. Can anyone help?
Not sure what happened..
12/26/2021

Iriemahn

I have a MacbookPro mid 2012 with mainstage that runs amazing. Now I have a 2020 Macbook Air M1, so now when I open Mainstage it lags for about 3 min before there is no lag. The worse part for me is when I play the trombone from Kontakt and some othe sounds the whole volume compresses to where the sound loses so much body I cant even use the Macbook Air live anymore. This issue has been driving me crazy! I do not have any compressor set anywhere for this to happen. Its almost as if this Macbook Air has a built in compressor impossible to toggle off. Can anyone help?
No MIDI backing tracks or video support
07/23/2025

imightreview
I really wanted this to work for live performance, as I am currently using Logic, and looking for options that can play back tightly synchronized video, and automatically sync to the tempo of the audio tracks, and play synchronized MIDI backing tracks (both notes and controllers), and easily rearrange the set of songs, even minutes before a gig, knowing that tempo sync and lighting will follow.MainStage seems more like a way to play Logic plugins live, along with some additional audio. While there are some hacks for "sending" a MIDI file and using AppleScript to play videos externally, they don't work well. Logic still doesn't even have a method for exporting a MIDI region as a MIDI file with a starting time of 0 / Bar 1, Beat 1, so that also complicates things. Exporting song 15 in my current Logic set has MIDI data starting at bar 2181, with over an hour of silence before any data! So you have to move each region to Bar 1, Beat 1 before exporting. Bummer, I really wanted this to work! And with Apple's existing resources, it seems pretty simple to play back synchronized video, audio, and MIDI from a playlist.
No MIDI backing tracks or video support
07/23/2025

imightreview

I really wanted this to work for live performance, as I am currently using Logic, and looking for options that can play back tightly synchronized video, and automatically sync to the tempo of the audio tracks, and play synchronized MIDI backing tracks (both notes and controllers), and easily rearrange the set of songs, even minutes before a gig, knowing that tempo sync and lighting will follow.MainStage seems more like a way to play Logic plugins live, along with some additional audio. While there are some hacks for "sending" a MIDI file and using AppleScript to play videos externally, they don't work well. Logic still doesn't even have a method for exporting a MIDI region as a MIDI file with a starting time of 0 / Bar 1, Beat 1, so that also complicates things. Exporting song 15 in my current Logic set has MIDI data starting at bar 2181, with over an hour of silence before any data! So you have to move each region to Bar 1, Beat 1 before exporting. Bummer, I really wanted this to work! And with Apple's existing resources, it seems pretty simple to play back synchronized video, audio, and MIDI from a playlist.
Midi and video playback
09/29/2018

Madtux
I have used Mainstage onstage in 6 different cover bands for my entire keyboard rig and for playing backing tracks with click to drummer. 100’s of gigs and not one single crash. Simple setup of 2 live USB keyboards and anywhere from 2-8 wav file backing tracks playing. I now want to add sequenced lighting and video screen playback in sync with backing tracks and any simple plug in similar to the audio playback would suffice but nothing. Apple has chosen to stay in the “Toy” world and sell a cheap app with limited use. This is a great program but lacks pro features that other software has. It has it’s uses but I will be finding something else as the recent update just ignores user requests just so they can port over already developed items from Logic Pro into Mainstage and call it an update. If you want a Toy to play with get MainStage, if you want a pro level piece of software to run your live show look elsewhere.
Midi and video playback
09/29/2018

Madtux

I have used Mainstage onstage in 6 different cover bands for my entire keyboard rig and for playing backing tracks with click to drummer. 100’s of gigs and not one single crash. Simple setup of 2 live USB keyboards and anywhere from 2-8 wav file backing tracks playing. I now want to add sequenced lighting and video screen playback in sync with backing tracks and any simple plug in similar to the audio playback would suffice but nothing. Apple has chosen to stay in the “Toy” world and sell a cheap app with limited use. This is a great program but lacks pro features that other software has. It has it’s uses but I will be finding something else as the recent update just ignores user requests just so they can port over already developed items from Logic Pro into Mainstage and call it an update. If you want a Toy to play with get MainStage, if you want a pro level piece of software to run your live show look elsewhere.

Support for Ableton Link • Synchronize tempo with Ableton Link supported software and hardware devices Sound Library • Explore an ever-expanding collection of premium sound packs with the brand new Sound Library • Listen to audio previews of any sound packs and install your favorites • Watch producer pack videos to get inspired by the creative process of top producers, and then install their custom made loops and instruments • Free up storage space by easily deleting packs you are no longer using

Version 4.0

Jan 28

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Supported Features
- VoiceOver
- Voice Control
- Dark Interface
- Differentiate Without Color Alone

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Family Sharing

Up to six family members can use this app with Family Sharing enabled.

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MainStage

Live rig for musicians

Ratings & Reviews

What’s New

Version 4.0

App Privacy

Data Not Collected

Accessibility

Supported Features

VoiceOver

Voice Control

Dark Interface

Differentiate Without Color Alone

Information

Supports

Family Sharing

More by Apple