As I have mentioned I recently brought an M-Audio Axiom 49 USB Midi Controller, well I have been enjoying it so much that I decided to upgrade my Logic Express 8 to the full Studio version. The Logic application it’s self is not really any different but it does come with a ton of extra sample loops (the full 5 Apple Jam Packs), extra synth plug-ins (some great classic analogs and outstanding sampler) and instrument control strips. However the one thing in the whole suite of tools that has really impressed me way more than I thought it ever would is the MainStage application, this great tool has proven not only to be a good live control box and instrument creator for my keyboard but has replaced my Digitech GNX guitar effects board. The Amp and audio effects are easily on par with the hardware based pedals I have replaced and much more. Although no software solution beats my Bad Horsie 2 Wah pedal!

So the way I have set things up is to create a series of audio patches that I tend to use for my ‘standard’ set of guitar sounds. For example distorted rhythm/lead and a clean rhythm/lead. And due to the outstanding way MainStage works I can use the tap pads on my Axiom 49 keyboard to turn on and off the pedals and change patches. The only problem that remains now is stopping my exploring the endless possibilities of sound creation and use some of them to just play with. What I need to do now is figure out the simplest solution to get my MainStage patch into Logic rather than recording the processed sound into Logic. I have found the list of defaults from MainStage in Logic but have yet to figure out how to get my custom ones to appear.

Thanks to Logic Studio Pro I have now replaced my guitar effects board with a software solution that can be tweaked after recording rather than before and edit the audio easily in Logic to get the recording I was after, because sometimes we all miss the beat a little