You can search for these folders by clicking the Spotlight (magnifying glass) at the top right on the menu bar.

Or… follow these steps:

1. Click the Desktop, so that the menu bar says “Finder”.

2. Click “File” > “New Finder Window”.

3. In the left sidebar, locate the folder. If the folder is not there, continue with these instructions:

4. From the left sidebar, click on “Macintosh HD”. Then open “Users”, then “Your User Name”, then you will see both the “Music” and “Downloads” folders.

Running a live keys rig should always be done on a Mac that can handle the load of MainStage with no problem. You wouldn’t want to risk reliability or stability by running on inadequate hardware. The lowest end Mac that we are comfortable recommending for use with MainStage / KeyStudio is the 2015 MacBook Pro (2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 and 16 GB RAM). While it is possible to run on even older systems, we do not recommend it due to live stability risks.

Audio glitches, drop-outs, and lag is generally due to specific audio settings.

Try this:

1. While in MainStage, in the top menu bar, select “MainStage” > “Preferences” > “Audio…”
2. Make sure that the Sample Rate dropdown says 44.1 kHz.
3. Click “Advanced Settings…”
4. The buffer size is most likely too small. The higher the buffer size, the less likely drop outs and glitches will occur… but you will experience slightly more latency. For new, powerful systems we recommend a value of “128” or “256”. For older systems, we recommend a value or “256” or “512”.
5. If you check the I/O safety box, the value of the buffer will be somewhere between the value displayed and the next highest value. So, if the value is set to “128” and the I/O safety box is checked, the actual value will be somewhere between “128” and “256” (a safer value for stability/reliability).
6. If you are only experiencing latency/lag and no dropouts, then lower the I/O buffer size value.
7. We recommend moving the “Driver Latency” slider all the way towards “More Safety”
8. We recommend moving the “CPU Usage” slider to the max number or cores (all the way to the right).
9. When you have finished making these changes, click “OK” and then go to the “General” tab.
10. Make sure that the “Autosaving” dropdown is set to “Never”.

MainStage is extremely reliable when running on appropriate hardware, and when the settings and general best practices are followed.

Here are some things to try if you experience a crash, or multiple crashes:

1. Was this an extremely random/rare crash? If so, you might not need to worry to much about it… unless it becomes a repeated thing.
2. Are you running on appropriate hardware? Check the Troubleshooting section titled: “Can my Mac run MainStage” to make sure you are running on a reliable Mac.
3. Are your audio settings appropriate? Check the Troubleshooting section titled: “My Audio is Glitching, Dropping Out, or Lagging” to make sure you have your settings dialed in.
4. Are you using too many patches in one concert? We HIGHLY recommend that the concert file you use to play live only contains the patches you will be using for that live session (typically 5-6 patches). You can use more patches, but try not to be too excessive. 10 to 20 patches may be too much, but it really depends on the hardware you are running on. I personally don’t use more than 10 patches loaded into my patch list (on a 2017 iMac).
5. Do you have other applications running? For optimal stability, you should try to only run MainStage when you are playing live. If you are running other apps, just know that your Mac is sharing processing power and RAM with those apps… which could lead to a lack of stability.

MainStage does not “like it” if there are multiple MainStage concert files open at one time. This often leads to odd glitches and behavior. Please make sure that only one MainStage concert is ever open at one time.

Oftentimes, sustain pedals will have a polarity switch on them that you can flip. Check the side, bottom to see if there is a switch.

Otherwise, the pedal can be become reversed if it is depressed while the keyboard is turned on.

Try:

1. Closing MainStage, unplugging the keyboard from power/USB, unplugging the sustain pedal

2. Plugging the sustain pedal in, plugging the keyboard into power/USB (making sure not to step on the sustain pedal wheel the keyboard turns on), and then reopening MainStage.

Try clearing enough space to install the sound library, and then after it has finished installed, you can move it to another drive (use a fast drive such as an SSD with at least a USB 3.0 connection).

To move the library:

1. Open a concert file in MainStage.
2. From the top menu bar, choose “MainStage” > “Sound Library” > “Relocate Sound Library…”
3. Choose an available hard drive, and then click “Relocate”.

We are working on a video tutorial for this, but in the meantime:

1. Create layered patch by combining the patch you want the track to play on, with the “Custom Track” patch located in the patch browser (“KeyStudio – Patch Browser” > “Tracks Patches” > “Custom Track”).
2. Load an audio file in the the Playback plugin on the “Custom Track” channel strip.
3. If you want to use the pre-mapped status indicators, make sure you set up the markers in Logic X for that audio file.