KEYS
WORSHIP KEYS IN MAINSTAGE OR ABLETON LIVE ? | David Pfaltzgraff
Once upon a time worship keys players would often find themselves considering whether buying an entirely new keyboard to achieve a specific sound was worth the financial investment . Those days are thankfully long gone , as software-based rigs have made it possible to achieve virtually any sound imaginable using the gear you have along with the right plugins and processing .
In today ’ s keyboard circle ’ s there are nevertheless many options to consider . Today , I ’ d like to dig into one of the most common questions I see come up in forums , groups , and communities focused on worship keys : ‘ Should I go with MainStage 3 or Ableton Live for my worship keys rig ?’
TWO PLATFORMS Let ’ s start by outlining the basics . MainStage 3 is a sister application to Logic Pro X that is developed by Apple and is exclusively available on Mac computers . MainStage includes the same audio engine , plugins , samples , and effects as Logic Pro X packaged along with a visual workspace and patch management system designed for live performances . At $ 30 MainStage is clearly priced to sell Macs , not the software itself which makes it an incredible bargain if you already own a Mac computer up to the task .
Ableton Live is produced by Ableton , a
company with two decades of experience in the music industry , headquartered in Berlin . Live is available for both Mac and Windows systems and is available in Intro , Standard , and Suite editions , with each including more sounds and features corresponding with a higher price tag ranging from $ 100 for the Intro version up to $ 749 for Suite . Ableton Live is a robust and well-established digital audio workstation ( DAW ) that features not just live performance functionality but also a powerful set of recording , mixing , and improvising workflows and tools .
WHAT ’ S THE SAME ? Both MainStage and Ableton Live are powerful tools in the right hands that are absolutely capable of serving as the host / brain for your live keys rig . Both platforms can give you on the fly control of your sounds and with some programming can be used to cycle through sounds and patch changes at will .
You can use and manage any number of third party instruments in both softwares and you ’ re also able to connect any MIDI controllers you ’ d like so you can control important parameters on the fly .
Both softwares are capable of producing highquality , polished worship keys sounds with dynamic control for live performance . The route to that destination is where they most differ .
WHAT ’ S DIFFERENT ? One of the most obvious differences is comparing MainStage ’ s visual-forward workflow to Ableton Live ’ s more discreet , nested visuals . MainStage ’ s centerpiece is the “ Workspace ” a fully customizable portion of the screen that the user can customize with any number of knobs , faders , text displays , buttons , drum pads , and more . The workspace is a powerful feature in MainStage that highlights the software truly being designed for and dedicated to live performances .
Ableton Live ’ s closest parallel to MainStage ’ s Workspace would arguably be Live ’ s “ Session View ”, a ‘ spreadsheet-like ’ display of columns and rows with each column representing a track where instruments can be recalled and each row in a given column capable of recalling a particular sound or selection of settings . Because Live is designed not just for live performances but also for DJ-ing , recording , and mixing you can hide / minimize almost every element of Live ’ s visual display which is either a blessing or a curse based entirely on your personal style and preference .
Another difference is the startup cost . While MainStage is only $ 30 it requires a Mac computer , a sizable investment itself . Live will run on both Windows and Mac systems , but in order to get a selection of sounds and features comparable to MainStage one would need to