On the tutorial, BB does a one bar loop in time with a metronome. Is it possible to generate a loop that happens in real time, without pre-click? I want to be able to record a groove, loop that, and then solo over it (like what the BOSS RC3 Loop pedal does for guitarists). Thanks.

Hi Aliena, Which Mainstage tutorial is this? I'll take a look through the tutorial and see what can be done.

It's Mainstage 2. Thanks.

Thanks. Can you give me the number of the video, so that I can jump straight to it and see what you mean? Thanks.

I haven't used Mainstage lately, so I have to refresh myself. Are you talking about the Loopback plug-in? Have you looked at this link to the Apple Mainstage manual that explains the Loopback plug-in? [url]http://help.apple.com/mainstage/mac/2.2/en/mainstage/usermanual/index.html#chapter=B%26section=0%26tasks=true[/url]

Hi Gary, Thanks so much for trying to help me out. I read the Apple manual before and it didn't shed light on what I was going for. In the Mainstage 2 tutorial, the #s dealing with Loopback are 65-66. Bill discusses how to get a loop working, but his examples start out with click or are at the top of a count. I want to know if it's possible to get that going in a live situation. Some solo guitarists use a looping pedal that they stomp on it where they want their loop to begin and stomp on it again to capture it. Then they start playing or soloing over that loop. At some point they turn it off and go back to playing in real time. That's what I would like to do with the Loopback plug-in, if it's possible!

Hi Aliena, It definitely looks like what you wish to achieve is possible with the Loopback plug-in. I would like to understand further what you wish to do with it. You say you want to create a groove and then loop over that with a 'solo'. What will you be using to create the groove? A drum instrument in Mainstage? And what will you be using to do the 'solo'? A guitar, or an instrument in Mainstage?

Hi Gary, I play with a drummer. The patches I use are bass (LH) and some kind of keyboard (RH). What I want to do is play in real time with the drummer, be able to hit a switch at the top of a loop/groove, allow that loop to continue playing while I am soloing over it (usually a keyboard or synth sound). And then of course, turn the loop off/fade out so I can get back into playing in real time. While we're at it, do you have a good recommend a for a simple but sturdy foot switch/controller to turn the loopback plug-in on? Thanks again for your time.

If you want a great foot controller take a look at the Apogee Gio. Read our review on it here. [url]http://www.macprovideo.com/hub/audio-hardware/apogee-gio-review[/url] Also look at the Roland FC-300 ([url]http://www.roland.com/products/en/FC-300[/url]), and the Behringer FCB1010 ([url]www.behringer.com/EN/Products/FCB1010.aspx[/url]). If you turn the Metronome OFF and the Sync OFF, won't this work as you want it to?