Hi all - I have been struggling with this for weeks and have finally found what appears to be the answer - but not one I understand so any help would be great! I have a Loopback plugin in an Aux channel and wish to control it with an external foot pedal via MainStage. Mapping MainStage controls in the standard way to controls on the plugin I have found that when LoopBack is in an Aux channel, the Record and Play/Stop functions will not work unless the Aux channel is receiving some Send level from an audio channel. If the send is switched off or is set to zero when the Concert is opened - it won't work. The Record/Play buttons flash on and off on the plugin. As soon as the send is switched on, or is on but then turned up from 0dB to literally anything - off it goes, and continues working for the rest of the time the Concert is open. This of course doesn't happen if Loopback is inserted in the Audio channel itself, presumably as it is automatically receiving some signal through the channel. Is this a known behaviour for this plug-in? And of so is there some secret setting somewhere that controls this or do I just need to remember to always start with some level reaching the plug-in if it is in an Aux channel? Or is it a bug? Many thanks :)

Hi - I tried what you described -- I set up a Loopback plug-in in both an Audio channel and an Aux channel (at the Concert level) and it seemed to work the same way in either. Once I'd recorded a loop into it [via a bus from an Instrument] and set it to Start Playing On MainStage Clock Start, whenever I started playback [spacebar] the Loopback recording would play/loop as expected. I also tried removing the Send and saving the Concert and then re-opening it, and the previously-recorded Loopback recording still played as before. I didn't have a foot pedal to test starting the Loopback recording with but I tried with a button in the same Concert with the Aux Send removed and it still played the Loopback recording as expected. I'm not a regular MainStage user, and the Loopback function in MainStage is a feature I've never used before, so I can't even guess why you're seeing the behavior you describe. Maybe some of your settings or routings are different, or as you said maybe it's a version-specific bug. I attached a MainStage course to this thread -- I don't see a chapter specifically on Loopback, but perhaps a regular MainStage user/guru will have a more definitive answer..

Thanks for the reply and for testing! Here's what I am trying to achieve in a little more detail (if it helps). To use Loopback as a 'Looper' controlled by an external footpedal. The issue is in MainStage as I am replicating the behaviour in MainStage without the involvement of the pedal at all: Place a Loopback instance in an Aux (either at Concert or Patch level) Set Sync and Snap To to Off (so it functions as an external pedal not dependant on MainStage's clock) Add a Audio channel (for the guitar signal) Send the Audio channel to the Aux via a bus. With no send level (or the send switched off) the Record and Play/Stop buttons don't function as expected - they flat On then immediately Off again. As soon as the Send is enabled, or Send level is raised (if previously enabled but on zero) the Record and Play/Stop buttons on the plugin function as expected. And will keep on functioning from this point on even if you then disable the send or reduce it's volume back to zero. If you do then disable the send or reduce it's volume back to zero, then save, close and re-open the plugin the Record and Play/Stop buttons again don't function as expected. Adding a couple of controls (such as as 2 'Buttons') then mapping them to the Record and Play/Stop functions reflects the same behaviour when clicking the controls in the workspace rather than the controls on the plugin itself. Hope that makes sense?

Ok, I tried it again as you described, but I couldn't duplicate the issue -- Loopback plug-in in an Aux fed from an Audio channel input via a Send; after recording/playing back the recorded loop, I disabled the Send, saved, closed and re-opened the plug-in, and it still played the loop from the plug-in Play button. I again disabled the Send, saved, closed the plug-in and the file, re-opened it, and it again still played the loop. Of course there could be other settings or Preferences that you have set differently, or you might be in a different version...or it could be something else unique to your setup. You probably have already tried some or all of these troubleshooting steps, but If you haven't yet.. - Do a hard shutdown/restart - Try it with a different Send source [like maybe an Instrument channel] - Try it in a different MainStage project, to see if it's specific to that project - Try setting it up in a fresh MainStage project, to see if it's specific to that project A search didn't turn up anything similar to this, but you might want to check with Apple to see if the behavior you're seeing is considered normal under any circumstances or is in fact a bug or an issue they may be aware of..

Hi Joe - thanks for checking - really appreciate it. Perhaps it's the order I am doing things? Yes, once a loop is recorded, no issue, however the problem occurs when trying to press Record with no send level (or send disabled), prior to any loop being recorded. I guess I just have to make sure my setup/sequence of events has send level turned up before pressing Record...

Ah, ok, yes, I got the same thing here -- with the routing set up but the Send level all the way down the Rec/Play buttons in the Loopback plug-in just flashed until the Send level was turned up allowing audio to flow into the Aux, then everything worked as intended. I guess that makes sense -- if there's no signal level coming in there'd be nothing to record, maybe that's MainStage's way of warning you..? Anyway, as you said, it looks like you may have to incorporate that setup step to activate the Loopback functionality when needed..