Simple MainStage Template: Copying and Saving Patches to Create a Setlist

Copying and Saving patches in the Simple MainStage Template makes it simple to put together a Patch List of specific sounds designed for the songs and setlist you’re working on. Be sure to check out all the video tutorials over on the Simple MainStage Template Resource Page.

To start, make sure you’re in MainStage’s Edit mode. It’s always a great idea to start your preparation for a specific service or setlist by clicking File and choosing “Save As” inside MainStage. Change the name of the concert file to something that will be easy to remember by including the date of the service or something similar.

Doing a “Save As” here creates a copy of your original Simple MainStage Template file so no matter what changes you make here you’ll always have the original to go back to.

Once you’ve done that you’re ready to start dialing in your patches to create your setlist.

You can have as many or as few patches in your template as you’d like. Many people like to rely on a single patch for an entire live performance while others like to create one patch for each song. Some even find it helpful to have multiple patches per song and change back and forth between patches on the fly to bring different textures in and out through the arrangement.

Creating a unique patch for each song in your setlist is a great place to start, if you’re not sure of the approach that makes the most sense for you and your context.

How to Create a Patch and Save It:

1. Choose the patch you'd like to duplicate and press Command + D on your keyboard to duplicate it. (this way you can always go back to the default patch in it's original state)
2. Use the onscreen faders and knobs in the main sound sections to dial in the perfect balance of the piano and pad sounds and you can toggle the buttons on and off to find the right combination.
3. When you have the sounds dialed in how you’d like it’s time to save the onscreen settings to the patch so the next time you select that patch those settings will be recalled. Hit ⌘S on your keyboard after dialing in the onscreen controls. Anytime you save the concert by hitting ⌘S the current onscreen settings will become the new patch default settings.
4. Add any text notes you’d like to a specific patch. As a reminder, to add notes while in Edit mode just click the patch in the Patch List you’d like to add text notes for, then click the “Click Here to Add Notes” area at the bottom of the Extra section. Then, click the empty field in the Inspector at the bottom of the screen and type in whatever notes you’d like. You can also adjust the size, color, and formatting of any text via the “Font” button in the Inspector. You can type in different notes for each patch in your Patch List, just keep in mind that when you’re using a Sunday Sounds Song Specific Patch that the included text notes from the patch will display over the top of any text you place in the field manually, so it’s best to rely on the song patch’s included text when using song patches.
5. Rename the patch so you can easily distinguish it in the patch list. To rename a patch just click its name in the Patch List twice, type in the new name, then hit enter.

While a patch is selected in the patch list you’ll see the “Patch Settings” view in the Inspector at the bottom third of the screen. In the “Attributes” tab there you can designate the Time signature here by checking the box and setting the time signature and you can automatically change the template’s tempo whenever the patch is selected by checking the “Change Tempo to:” box and typing the tempo into the box. You can also change the patch icon and adjust patch transposition here if you’d like.

Keep in mind that when you’re using Song Specific Patches from Sunday Sounds you’ll want to use the built-in Easy Transpose feature to transpose instead, as the “transpose patch” option here in the Attributes tab won’t work as you’d expect for song specific patches.

As you create and save the patches in your setlist you can click and drag any patch in your Patch List up or down to rearrange the order of your patches.

Once you’ve created the patches you need for your performance remember to save the concert by hitting ⌘S on your keyboard.

Save Patches for Future Setlists:

As you get into the workflow of creating patches you’ll find some patch settings that you’d like to come back to for future setlists. When that’s the case it’s a good idea to export the patch from the template so you can easily recall it the next time you’d like to use it.

To export a patch while in Edit mode:

1. Click the patch in the Patch List and then hit ⌘E on your keyboard.
2. A window will open asking where you’d like to save the patch. Click “MainStage” in your Favorites bar, navigate to the “Simple MainStage Template” folder, and then choose the “User Created Patches” folder. If you’d like you can add additional folders within this one to further organize your patches.
3. When you’re ready to save your patch click Export.

How to load an exported patch back into the template:

1. Start in Edit mode and click the “+” button located in the top right corner of the patch list to create a new, blank patch.
2. Then click the “Patch Library” tab of the Inspector at the bottom third of the screen. Remember if you don’t see the Inspector just click the “i” button here to reveal it.
3. Within the Patch Library tab select “User Patches” and then scroll down to find the “Simple MainStage Template” folder and click in to the “User Created Patches” folder which will reveal a list of all patches that you’ve saved. Clicking a patch name will load it into your concert. You can quickly swap out patches to audition them by clicking any other patch name here in the browser.

This browsing process is the exact same one you’ll go through to load a Sunday Sounds song specific patch into your setlist so if that’s something you know you’ll be doing you just learned how! Instead of selecting the “Simple MainStage Template” folder you’ll just navigate to the Song Specific Patch within “User Patches” and click the patch name to load it into your template.

Be sure to check out all the video tutorials over on the Simple MainStage Template Resource Page!