Synthesizer Programming for Broadway Archives

How to Build a Toolkit for Broadway Keyboard Programming

When setting up a new show, I find there are certain tools that are absolutely indispensable for the work I do onsite. For a moderate sum of money, it’s easy to assemble a basic toolkit to bring to the theatre that will cover nearly everything you need. I usually put my tools in a small […]

MainStage 3 Tutorial: Optimizing Computer Performance

Here is a checklist to do prior to using MainStage 3 in a live situation. By making these adjustments, you’ll notice an improvement in computer performance.

How to Build a Redundant MainStage Rig on a Budget

I created an earlier post providing step by step instructions for building a redundant rig for MainStage. While this setup works incredibly well, it’s not necessarily within the budget for all productions nor is it always portable enough to be easily transported. In this post, we’ll take a look at how to create a redundant […]

The Ultimate Guide to Building a MainStage Keyboard Programming Rig on a Budget

I see many forum posts in which people are attempting to build MainStage rigs for musical theatre on a budget, so I thought it would be helpful to offer some suggestions for combinations of gear that would allow someone to assemble a MainStage rig for live performance that won’t break the bank. There are many […]

MainStage 3 Tutorial: Editing EXS24 Strings for Greater Playability

MainStage comes with a lot of great stock orchestral patches, though they often get a bad rap as these patches aren’t necessarily optimized for musical playability right out of the box. Many of the patches sound dull, are difficultly to control, and lack the needed response to be able to use them effectively. While I […]

MainStage 3 Tutorial: How to Share MainStage Patches Between Concerts

When doing keyboard programming using MainStage, it’s often much easier and more convenient to share individual patches and sets rather than uploading an entirely new concert if it’s necessary to add incremental updates to the file. This is especially true when collaborating over long distances. In this tutorial, we’ll look at how to collaborate using […]

How to Build a Redundant Rig for Using MainStage or Ableton Live

I’m often asked how to build a rig with a redundant computer and interface for using MainStage live. While there are a number of ways that this could be done, I’m going to detail how I’ve done this many times in the past successfully and reliably. Building your rig carefully and with attention to detail […]

MainStage 3 Tutorial: How to Edit Tunings of EXS24 Samples in MainStage

I this MainStage tutorial, we’ll look at how to edit pitches in the EXS24 sampler. It’s not uncommon to discover that one particular sample in an EXS24 instrument is out of tune slightly, particularly if resampled from an external sound library or instrument via Auto Sampler. Or, it may be necessary to adjust the pitch […]

MOTU Audio Interfaces on Broadway

As a synthesizer programmer for Broadway productions, I’ve been a longtime user of MOTU audio and MIDI interfaces. At times, I’ve tried other products, but have always been disappointed in one way or another, and whenever I’ve returned to using MOTU I’ve been fully satisfied with the quality of the products, reliability, and the excellent […]

Yamaha U1SH Silent Piano Review

Several months ago, I traded in my Steinway grand piano for a Yamaha U1SH Silent Piano. The U1SH has since become an integral part of my workflow.

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