After a long wait (we were holding our collective breaths) MainStage 3.3 is here, and it was worth the wait. There’s a slough of new amazing features, and some critical updates and fixes. Here’s our top 10 new standout features in MainStage 3.3: 

1. Improved CPU performance on portable computers with integrated graphics. From our initial tests, we’re talking big, big gains for those of us with fast GPU speeds. 

2. Redesigned plugins with Retina-ready interfaces: Exciter, Echo, Modulation Delay, Noise Gate, Pitch Shifter and Match EQ, BPM Counter.

3. The plugin Alchemy is now more efficient. In our tests it looks like it’s using about half of the CPU, which will make it possible to use more live. 

4. All MainStage patches are now saved by default at /Music/AudioMusicApps/. This will help make patches much easier to access. 

5. New Auto Sampler plug-in converts hardware synthesizers into sampled instruments with up to 16 velocity layers. Can anyone say polysynth sample? 

6. Expanded sound library includes over 200 new synth patches and 10 Mellotron instruments. 

7. You can once again use Logic Remote with MainStage. Check out this great blog about how to do it. 

8. It’s possible to easily side chain. This will allow us to create that “pump” sound in patches that is so popular with modern pop. 

9. MIDI FX routing. This is the giant in the room. It’s now possible to route MIDI FX to a wide range of parameters in other plugins, which will drastically change patch designing in MainStage. 

10. Several hundred bug fixes and other updates. The number of bug fixes in this update is pretty staggering. To read a full list, check out Apple’s release notes. 

We’ve done testing on all Patch Foundry patches, and everything is compatible with MainStage 3.3. The new features introduced in MainStage 3.3 opens many possibilities for sound designers, and we’ll be looking forward to including them in new packs in the very near future.