I am looking into MainStage and a switch from the GR55 though I can't seem to recreate the hold function that enables you to hold a chord and play on top of its without holding the notes after you depress the hold function.
If I use sustain it will sustain all the notes including any additional notes played. The Sostenuto thing (66) doesn't seem to do it either.
Any ideas???
Thanks
MM
To do a "hold" style delay you need to use the Loopback plugin. Hold is actually just a momentary sample delay that records incoming audio for duration of the pedal being pressed, and then endlessly loops that audio until you move to the next hold or clear the memory.
MIDI CC messages (such as sustain and sostenuto) don't affect audio in any way directly. They CAN affect plugin settings, and they can be sent from the GR55...but that's still a separate "signal path" for lack of a better term.
Anyway, here's what to do:
1) Setup a loopback instance somewhere in the signal chain of your guitar's AUDIO.
2) In assignments and mappings, create a new mapping, and assign it to the appropriate footswitches on the GR55 (or whatever controller you use).
3) Map those footswitch inputs to the "Record", "Play", "Stop" "Fade", "Reverse" (etc.) commands of the loopback plugin.
4) In the assignment column, click on the "Record" commands CC message, which brings up the "Hardware Input" popup menu. Under Type, select "Press/Release"
5) In the loopback plugin, turn "Snap to" off, and select Play from "relative position.
If everything is correct, loopback will now behave in a "hold" fashion.
Thanks for the quick response. Not sure I'm understanding but maybe I need to clarify. The GR55 is actually a midi device so effectively It's like playing the keyboard but just a guitar. No Audio just midi notes. I'm trying to hold those notes and play over them without sustaining the new ones.
Make sense or does your solution address this? Thanks again
The GR55 does both audio and MIDI, but just to confirm, you are using the GK-3 pickup and outputting MIDI data, correct?
If so, then my solution still stands, except that you will need to put the Loopback plugin in the signal path of whatever software instrument you are triggering with your guitar. This may mean creating a bus, and making the software instrument's output be to a Bus instead of the main output. Put the Loopback Plugin on the Bus, and then map controls.
I would be willing to bet that the GR55's Hold feature actually works the same way. (i.e. MIDI notes trigger on board synth, and then Hold actually records synth's AUDIO output, not the MIDI notes.)
Hi
Authentic Identity wrote:
If so, then my solution still stands, except that you will need to put the Loopback plugin in the signal path of whatever software instrument you are triggering with your guitar. This may mean creating a bus, and making the software instrument's output be to a Bus instead of the main output. Put the Loopback Plugin on the Bus, and then map controls.
You are completely mis-understanding what a Roland GR system Hold function does.
Authentic Identity wrote:
I would be willing to bet that the GR55's Hold feature actually works the same way. (i.e. MIDI notes trigger on board synth, and then Hold actually records synth's AUDIO output, not the MIDI notes.)
You would lose the bet ;-)
Whilst the GR55 does have a Phrase Loop functionality similar to LoopBack in MainStage, that is not what the GR Hold function does.
From the GR55 manual
To the OP
You need to set up the GR so that the Hold function CTL pedal (or S1 S2?) and the CTL pedal are assigned to a particular MIDI CC message. You then need to send that CC message back to the GR from MainStage using an External MIDI channel, probably on the GR 'Basic' channel.
CCT
Nice! Thanks for the info, and I stand corrected. I'll pay beers for that.
That would be a very useful function. I will say that you can use Loopback to accomplish a similar function (I actually use it like that sometimes), albeit not as smoothly. It's just a very short, non synced phrase where you cut off the attack and stop the recording before the decay.
But holding actual MIDI notes would be far superior.
Thanks guys for your support. I don't believe the GR55 sends cc messages for this so it is an internal proprietary function.
The looper idea is OK but getting the timing to work over it would be very difficult as you mention.
A straight sustain (cc64) only replicates the fourth version of the hold function as described in the manual above (HOLD 4)
But follow me on this and I think I can replicate unless you guys have a better idea. (I am still learning MainStage)
What if you created two identical patches.
One the first one the triggering of the sustain pedal would also advance to the next patch and hold the sound from the prior (I think you can do that)
One the second patch, you can either mute all notes, to replicate one of the hold functions (HOLD 2)
Or , you can play them normally without sustaining (HOLD 3)
You can then program that patch to go back to the previous patch when you press the pedal.
This would require two patches for overtime you want to do this, but given there is no limitation there, I don't think that is an issue.
I also haven't figured out a way to replicate the HOLD 1 function described in the manual but I don't use that one so not a big deal.
Make sense? Any better ideas?
Thanks guys!!
MM
This is kind of working but I'm struggling with the momentary aspect of the pedal. I want it to move to the next patch when I press the pedal down and return to the previous patch when I release the pedal (not toggling but as a momentary pedal). I can't seem to get that part to work?
Any ideas
Thanks
How is the pedal setup in the assignments and mappings tab? Do you have it set to being a "Momentary" press/release switch?
Well if any of you guys are interested, I figured out a good way to do this.
- Insert a MIDI FX Modifier into the channel strips you wish to hold
- Create a Modifier Preset (HoldOff) that has Input Event to Off and ReAssign to Off (Essentially does nothing)
- Create another Modifier Preset (Hold On) that has Input Event to Note Velocity and ReAssign to Off (essentially cuts off all input)
- Map the Sustain Pedal as Normal but add a mapping assignment that loads the "HoldOn" preset in the Modifier
- Do it as Momentary so it reverts back when the Hold Pedal is released.
Effectively this sustains what was playing and prevents future midi notes from triggering until you release the hold pedal.
May be better ways but this seems to be best I've found
MM
WITELITEMAC
You are a genius. Kudos! Thank you! Bless you!
🙂😁😎😀🙂
Witelight:
I've applied this solution to Alchemy and some other Synths in Mainstage and have successfully gotten the hold pedal to work. However, I can't seem to make the B3 organ sustain. What am I missing?
The B3 organ is an easy one. The rotor cabinet speed control defaults to the sustain pedal. In the Rotor Cabinet menu, simply change the Speed MIDI Control setting from SusPdl Temp to another controller, say ModWheel. Now the sustain pedal will act as a hold pedal.
Thanks!
I got it to work but it does not save the pedal assign properly. So, if I exit MainStage 3.2.4 and reenter, my pedal assigns to the Modifier Plugin preset names are missing. Grrrr. I've made a bug report to Apple. Anyone else have some ideas why this is occurring?
I have the same issue. The names are missing. I was running 3.2.3 and had the issue, updated to 3.2.4 and it still will not load the Modifier Plugin preset names in the Screen Control Inspector window. The Modifier's in the Channel Strip are saved and correct. Weird thing is if I click on the 'bypass' tab (in the Screen Control Inspector) instead of 'preset name'...and then click preset name again it DOES show preset names but not what I stored! Everytime i re-open Mainstage it does this. Completely useless at this point. Grrrr GRRRR! WHY?
Sustain/Hold Options
