Mainstage on Macbook

I was wondering how the performance of Mainstage will compare when using a standard MacBook (new Penryn, 2.4ghz with 3MB L2 cache, 2GB RAM and 5400rpm HD), when compared with a MacBook Pro (2.5ghz with 6MB L2 cache, 2GB RAM, 7200rpm HD)?
With Mainstage being fairly graphically intensive, will the lack of dedicated graphics card on the MacBook mean Mainstage won't perform as well and will be more limiting? And what about the difference in L2 cache and hard drive speeds, will it make a difference? I use only software instruments in MainStage, and mainly in Logic, with an occasional audio track.
I want a powerful machine for live Mainstage use, but would love to save the £600+ and get the MacBook (black), if I can!
Any help appreciated.

I don't believe the above is true (that MainStage doesn't run on a MacBook). The new MacBook, at least theoretically, supports MainStage, exceeding the system requirements.
I say this with some trepidation, however, as MainStage is a very glitchy program, no matter what platform you're using. I have the new MacBook that you describe, and I've had MainStage running very well on my machine... except when it doesn't.
I have a sense that it's a software issue- or set of issues- not related to hardware. Right now, the program is giving me the message "possible conflict with 3rd party midi or audio drivers." This renders the program unusable- I even have to force quit. When it doesn't offer up this message, it runs great. I assume (I hope) to solve this problem and continue using it. However, compared to Logic, MainStage as a pro application doesn't seem quite ready for prime time.
Mark

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Replace MacBook Pro & Mainstage with MacBook Air

All,
I'm thinking about replacing my old model MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, early 2008 model, 6GB) with a MacBook Air 11 (1.6GHz, 128GB). I'd like to install Logic Studio on it and a few choice sample libraries (specifically, Ivory and NI's Electric Piano) for use with MainStage when I'm on stage.
I currently use my MacBook Pro for one purpose: to get a great piano sound on stage when I perform. I use a USB connection for the Keyboard/Midi and an external FW800 drive for the sample libraries. I would load the libraries on the 128GB flash drive on the MacBook Air.
I believe a MacBook Air would suffice and give me everything I need. Any suggestions and/or advice would be greatly appreciated. Anyone currently doing this, please contact me with your findings. Thanks in advance...

Hi Frank,
you wrote this sometime ago but did you eventually moved to an Air and used mainstage 2 on it? I'm thinking about buying an Air to use for live keyboard performance. Did you get good results?
Thanks!

MainStage with MacBook??

Hi -
just wondering if anyone knows whether you can run Mainstage on the Macbooks? It says in the individual specs that you need ..."Standard graphics card in any Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, iMac with Intel Core Duo, Power Mac G5, or iMac G5"
No mention of Macbook? I realise they share video memory, but surely the program will still run on these?
This app looks awesome, so fingers crossed.

My friend installed Logic Studio on his Macbook and Mainstage does NOT work. The screen resolution does not meet the minimum requirement for Mainstage.
I think that's kind of dumb, considering Soundtrack Pro and Logic Pro both RECOMMEND higher resolution but will still open.
Hopefully they'll put up a software update to let it work on Macbooks. Can anyone else confirm this or know a work-around?

How do I set up LiveRig or TouchOSC with Mainstage 2.2.2? Both apps send signals but none are received by Mainstage and both the ipad 3 (6.1) and macbook pro (10.7.5) see each other via WIFI?

As I said before both app's send signals but none are received by Mainstage and both the ipad 3 (6.1) and macbook pro (10.7.5) see each other via WIFI on the network set up, which I think I did right. I have tried MIDI Disigner and Mainstage shows MIDI activiti, what can I be doing wrong?
Thanx in advance.

I agree anti-relay can be using UBE feature. However, there is serious problem in reject the spam mail. My nms is using UBE feature to stop spam mail. According to the work flow of the UBE, the mail is received by nms completely and UBE is going to invesgate the mail address. Although UBE can stop the spam mail, the spam mail have a trouble in returning the mail to the sender. The reason is the sender address is usually not existed in the world. That will cause a lot of mail waiting in the mail queue.
In my experience, do not use UBE for anti-relay.

Macbook vs Macbook Pro for Mainstage

I'm currently deciding between these:-
-Macbook 2ghz, 2GB RAM, 200GB (5400rpm) HD
-Macbook Pro 2.2ghz (15"), 2GB RAM, 200GB (7200rpm) HD
There's a substantial price difference (£500, ~$1000) between the two.
The main use for the laptop will be live use with Mainstage - creating layers, playing synths, samples, etc. I'll also want to use Logic at home for studio use/recording/writing with big samples like Vienna/Ivory etc. on an external FW HD.
It looks like the main issue with the Macbook (non Pro) is its built-in graphics card, but apparently the latest Mainstage update allows you to run it on a standard Macbook? There's also the issue of the faster 7200rpm HD I'd select in the Pro.
I want a good, powerful, smooth system, but of course don't want to waste £500 if I can help it.
Any advice?
Message was edited by: MarkW19
Message was edited by: MarkW19

I will go for the full 4 I think (and sell the 2x1GB it comes with).
This is the correct RAM isn't it:-
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=722F2AF1A5CA7304

How do I install Mainstage 2 on MacBook Air 13" via upgrade DVDs?

Hey all
So I have an MBA for touring and need a few pointers..
I've made my project on my MacBook Pro and irts ready for the road.
I have Logic Studio as an upgrade from Logic Pro 7. Does this really mean that I have to install from LP7 in order to get to install Mainstage 2 via my Logic Pro upgrade.. Seems like it will take a fair while considering I'm also having to use another mac's dvd drive to do so..
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
W

smartestidiot wrote:
So my understanding is that my Boot Camp Assistant (BCA), since it does not allow USB installer, it sets NVRAM to boot from Optical Drive. Right?
Yes.
So can I change it or update it to another BCA version which supports the same??
All BCA versions drive the logic based on the Mac Model Identifier. Unfortunately there is no real workaround. .
Please see https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Early+2011+Optical+Driv e+Replacement/5122
and https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/Unibody-8x-SATA-SuperDrive-Post-Early-2009/IF16 1-073-2.

Will Macbook Pro Core 2 Duo perform well enough with Mainstage.

Hi there,
I normally keep each of my macs for about 4-5 years before upgrading, and its about that time for me. I currently have a 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB Ram, and am leaning towards getting a new 27 inch imac for my home studio. My alternative is getting the 15 inch mac book pro retina, which I could still hook up to a large display at home, but also use for live performances.
My question is has anyone had any experience running Mainstage (2 or 3) on a Core 2 Duo, and does it run it well enough to process reverb and maybe chorus for one vocalist, and a couple of guitar effects for an acoustic guitar?
The reason I'm leaning towards the iMac, is because my configuration will likely be $400-600 less expensive than the macbook pro retina, the size of the screen, and the ease of not having to plugging a laptop into all my peripherals whenever I enter my studio. This will only be viable however, if my macbook pro is capable of handling mainstage duties.
A couple of notes, I'm aware I can always get a external monitor for a macbrook pro, but am interested to hear anyone elses experience with either an intel core 2 duo running Mainstage, or your experience using an iMac vs a Macbook pro for your home studio.
Thanks in advance!

I have a mid-2009 MBP with a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo with 8 GB of RAM and MainStage 3.0.1 runs very well. I recently played a pit orchestra job with Alicia's Keys as my primary piano sound from within MainStage and there were no problems (I did alias the patch throughout the show but that's just good resource useage).
I suspect you would have a similar experience on your current hardware. Buy MainStage and try it out. Its only $30 or so and you can run it on any Mac you own so you really won't waste the money.
Good luck!

I bought a macbook pro on november 2011 wich had Lion OS installed on it. Playback plug-in in Mainstage 2.1.3 does not play files from the beginning (it leaves out like 50 mSecs or so). Is there a way to revert to Snow Leopard OS?

I bought a macbook pro on november 2011 wich had Lion OS installed on it. Playback plug-in in Mainstage 2.1.3 does not play files from the beginning (it leaves out like 50 mSecs or so). Is there a way to revert to Snow Leopard OS?

BrettGoudy wrote:
...Is there any way I can install a partition that runs snow leopard on my early 2011 MB pro with what I have (new SSD, New RAM, Current version Lion running, no external drive, lack of original snow leopard disks [I lost them ] and the general 10.6.3 snow leopard boot disks)...
As the last post suggests, call Apple and order a replacement original disc for about $17. They will ask you the model and serial numbers.
Your retail version of Snow Leopard OS 10.6.3 will not work on that Mac as it requires a minimum of OS X 10.6.7 to boot and operate.
Another alternative is to again borrow another Mac to install your retail Snow Leopard into an external HD or partition, upgrade it to 10.6.8 and then clone it back to a partition on your MBP.

MainStage 2.2.1 - CPU issues with old MacBook

I just downloaded MainStage 2 for my trusty old MacBook - it's 2.0GHz Core Duo, 2GB... best spec you can make it really.
I use it to run both Ableton Live and Garageband with absolutely no problems... The CPU handles both apps fine, unless I have some stuff running in the background. But most of the time the CPU hovers around 50%.
So I was quite surprised when I downloaded MainStage 2 and started using it... The CPU is pretty constant at about 100%. Sometimes it goes up as far as 150%. And this is when idle! Although I don't have much memory, MainStage is not taking up a huge amount (about 350MB) and I still have some headroom left... So I'm assuming that isn't the issue.
I've looked at other threads and one solution was to up the audio buffer time in the preferences. Mine was already set to 256 samples, but I tried higher and it didn't make any difference. Can anyone help? I bought it for live performance, but considering how dodgy it's looking with the CPU, I'm a little worried about doing so.
Thanks!

Hi Chiccorosso!
I appreciate that I'm "playing with the big boys now" and that my hardware is pretty old... However I was just really confused as to why it was this bad... Garageband handles playing a piano patch with ease, whereas MainStage, set up to do exactly the same task, runs my CPU at full pelt even when no sounds are being played!
I've seen others mention CPU spikes too, where the sound cuts out, which isn't good for a live performance obviously... And these people are on machines with much better specs than mine. Using up 100% CPU for a task such as this does make me wonder whether there is some seriously unoptimised code in MS... Ableton Live is pretty professional and copes way better.
As to your points:
My MacBook's maximum official RAM upgrade is 2GB, so mine is maxed-out in that respect. Apparently it can access up to 2.5GB, but the only way of doing that is by buying 4GB RAM and effectively wasting 1.5GB of it. But I take your point, and perhaps it's worth the money for that extra half a gig. What do you think?
I will try the 0dB limiting as you suggested, but I don't think I was ever playing up to those volume levels. Obviously when I'm not playing anything, there is no sound level at all and yet still the CPU is blazing away around 100%.
What do you mean by little icons in the menu bar? Are you referring to my OS menu bar items? I do have iStat Menus installed which is very handy for noticing these CPU issues but I will disable them all and see if it makes a difference.
I have the two default effects running through the buses (I don't know all the terminology yet because I'm very new to it!). I don't really need both, but I do need at least reverb or it'll defeat the object of me using MS. I'll try cutting back and see what happens.
Thanks

Mainstage says my MacBook graphics card isn't supported. Huh?

I just installed Logic Studio on my MacBook 2.2 Intel Duo OSX 10.5.5, and Mainstage won't boot. Says my graphics card isn't supported. Logic Pro works fine.
Any ideas, geniuses?

MainStage has additional requirements beyond those of Logic Pro. Your MacBook uses onboard graphics which don't meet the requirement for the original version of MainStage; some people have gotten it to work by running the current MainStage updater.
(39630)

Mainstage (Logic Studio) on a MacBook Air?

Anyone currently using Mainstage on a MacBook Air? I'm thinking of moving from a MacBook Pro to an Air for live performance. Thanks in advance...

Hi!
Just got a MacBook Air and because this is the question I was myself interested about too (and didn't got answers clear enough), then I thought that I should give answer here.
Yes, it works.
I have a MacBook Air Mid 2011, 1.6 GHz and 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB of flash memory. In last trains we used MacBook Air with Mainstage and without any glitches.
Of course Your Mileage May Vary depending on what you use in MainStage, but we used
- Backing track
- Guitar effects
- Vocal effects
- Input monitoring for keyboards
I plugged Zoom R24 to MBA and plugged guitar and synth and mic to it. Synths played what can be heard from synth directly so there is audio track for keyboard what just goes through the MainStage (we have only monitors which are plugged in audio interface, eg. no different amplifiers for guitars, synths etc).
Guitar effects was taken from MainStage and also Vocal effects. I used default presets (American Metal and Female lead vocals or something) and no problem at all.
Also in one song there was Amp Designer track on whole output track and no problems.
So MBA Mid 2011 seems to be fast enough (at least for my usage) to play Mainstage without any problems. Note: you will hear a fan of MBA in playing session (after half hour or something when MainStage was on) but it is not a problem for me at least when we play louder than that Air fan anyway :-)

Can an entry level MacBook Air run Mainstage 3?

I'm looking to get an 11 inch MacBook Air (i5, 4gb ram, 128gb ssd). My budget is less than $1,000. The less the better. I don't run any fancy plugins...I just use the patches that come with MainStage.
Does anyone else use an entry level MacBook Air to run Mainstage 3? How are your results? I know in theory I should get 8gb ram and i7, but I'm more interested in someone who has actually tried it. Thank you!

i've been running MainStage 3.0.4 on a late 2010 macbook air 13" core2 duo with 2GB ram with no problem UNTIL i made the poor decision to "upgrade" from mavericks to yosemite. now it is a train wreck.
i use(d) it only for processing guitar. typically i would use a stereo reverb, a stereo delay, an amp model, an output level boost, and a gain boost for a typical patch. my macbook air always handled this easily. with an I5 and 4GB you should be in good shape.
i shouldn't complain. nobody ever said MainStage was compatible with yosemite. after the fact i saw on roaringapps.com that they are not listed as compatible.

Mainstage 2 Unstable on MacBook Pro

I am using a 2008 MacBook Pro, 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, with 4 GB ram. I "upgraded" to Lion from Snow Leopard and am on version 10.7.4. Mainstage 2 has become quite unstable (as have other applications) and the previously plush feel to the MBP has turned into sluggishness. In Mainstage 2, I've experience frequent crashes and spinning rainbows as I've tried to edit patches. Does anyone have any advice on what might be going on?

Yes, the update is only available for the latest version of MainStage. That's why I said: "As an alternative you can hide the toolbar or remove the Memory/MIDI/CPU item."

13" Unibody Macbook w/ Mainstage

Hello,
I'm curious how many of you are using Mainstage with the new 13" Macbooks. I'm looking to get one because I don't see the need for a large screen, but I want to make sure the hardware is sufficient. Please do tell me your stories. Thanks!

I discussed this point in some detail with my local Apple store a few months ago. Their opinion was that the 13" MacBooks were not powerful enough for the sort of music I planned on making. They advised the cheapest 15" MacBook Pro with maximum RAM. Only one 13" Macbook model has a firewire port; this is essential if you want to put audio into MainStage.
I find the 15" screen a little on the small side, but I do have 34 controllers, 9 buttons plus several volume meters on screen.

I'm running mainstage on my new macbook pro, and the CPU keeps maxing out. WHY????

SO, new macbook pro, and logic runs like a dream, 10 instruments, 20 tracks, all is well...
However, mainstage is killing me. I can see the amazing potential, but the CPU keeps spiking, literally when I try to loopback 1 instrument. It is ridiculous. I'm verging on submitting to Ableton, help me please!
Robin

Did you check the I/O buffer size in Preferences/Audio? It can well be, that small buffers like 32 frames may screw the show. Which instruments are you using? MS in single threaded, so everything is processed on a single core.
Best,
DaCaptain

Mainstage on Macbook

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