Getting started

Requirements

Install

1. Create your account at account.phantomlive.app.
2. Open Downloads and get the version for your Mac (Apple silicon or Intel).
3. Open the .dmg and drag Phantom into Applications.
4. Open Phantom. It is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other Mac app.

Sign In

Open Phantom and click Sign In with Browser. Your browser opens to your Phantom account. Check that the code matches the one in the app and approve. The app signs itself in. This works with Apple, Google and email accounts.

Connect Planning Center

Optional: skip this if you don’t use Planning Center. Open Settings → Integrations and click Connect with Planning Center. Your browser opens Planning Center; log in and click Allow. No keys to copy. Phantom only reads your plans and never changes anything.

Import a Show

Click Import at the top of the sidebar (⌘I). Only the shows you import appear in the sidebar.

• Planning Center: pick a plan. Songs, keys and arrangements come with it.
• Paste a Setlist: from an email, chart or text. Lines like 1. Gratitude – Brandon Lake (B, 78 BPM) are understood. Prefer a file? Click Choose a File… under the box (or drop one on it): a .txt or .csv, one song per line (CSV columns: Title, Artist, Key, BPM).
• Start from Scratch: an empty show (⌘N). Click Add Song to search your songs and your Tracks folder.

Choose Your Tracks Folder

Pick the one folder that holds your multitrack downloads and your Ableton template. Usually that’s a Tracks folder on your external drive. Phantom finds your stem library, your Song Template and your Show Template inside it.

Use Your Own Templates

Phantom works inside the Ableton templates you already use. There are two:

• Song Template: the set each song is built from (click, guide, markers, tempo, and the returns your stems are sent to).
• Show Template: the set your whole service is built into, with every song in order.

Open Settings and click Set Up… under each one. Phantom reads the template and guesses which track and return does what; check each choice and click Save. If something’s missing, Phantom tells you exactly what to add.

Build a Show

1. Open a show in the sidebar. Phantom checks every song against your library in the background.
2. Changed your tracks folder, or added a recording since the check? Click Rescan to make Phantom look again from scratch. Matches are remembered, so this is how you force a fresh look.
3. If a song needs your input (an unclear recording, or an instrument name it hasn’t seen), click the note on that row to settle it. Phantom remembers your answer. Songs you typed in are matched even with small typos, missing apostrophes or a “- Live” on the end; if it still can’t find one, it suggests the closest songs (Did you mean…?) or you can click Choose Folder… to point at the MultiTracks folder yourself.
4. Want some stems silent? Use the Show Mix bar above the songs: pick Full Tracks, Full Band (drums, bass, guitar and piano out) or Click+Cue Only, or switch a whole instrument group on or off for every song. Set it up your way and choose Save as Preset to reuse it on any show. Muted stems stay in your Ableton set, switched off, so you can bring one back live. The mix is saved with the service, and a custom arrangement can carry its own mix (Save with Arrangement).
5. Pick the key from the key menu. It only offers keys in the same mode as the song (a song in a major key shows major keys, a minor song shows minor), so you can’t land in the wrong one by accident.
6. Set the arrangement, key and transition for each song: Stop, Stop & Cue (next song parked right after), Segue (straight into the next) or Crossfade.
7. Click Build for Ableton (⌘B). Phantom shows a checklist of every song and your setup; when it says Ready for Sunday, click Build Show.
8. Need your template’s INTRO section? Tick Start with an intro on the checklist (or set it in Settings → Show Defaults).
9. The build report shows the running order, total time, the number key for each song, and anything Phantom did for you. Click Open in Ableton. In Ableton, press 1–9 and 0 to jump to songs 1–10.

Mix and Edit in the Timeline

Switch the show from Setlist to Mixer or Timeline to hear it before you build. Click and Guide sit at the top of every song and are always on in the Setlist view.

• Mixer: one strip per stem group (drums, percussion, bass, guitars, keys, vocals) with faders, meters, mute and solo. Solo is for listening only and never changes your show.
• Timeline: the whole show is one continuous, zoomable file. Pinch or scroll on a trackpad to zoom, and keep scrolling into the next song. The Bars and Sections rows above the lanes show where you are.
• Mute bars: drag across a lane to select a range and press Delete (or 0 to toggle), or press ⌘E to split at the playhead. Everything snaps to the grid: 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2 or 4 bars, or Auto.
• Fades: drag the handles at the edge of a lane for a fade in or out, per stem or per group, or fade out the whole song. Cuts and fades are saved with the show and built into your Ableton set.
• Custom arrangements play back in the Timeline, but cuts and fades are not available on them yet.

Keys, for the Timeline: Space play/stop, ⇧ Space continue, Home start, ← → move, ↑ ↓ change lane, 0 mute, S solo, ⌘E split, ⌘L loop, + − zoom, Z / X zoom to selection / back, ⌘4 ⌘5 ⌘6 grid. Press ? in the app for the full list, or open the Timeline menu.

After the Build

Your show is saved in a Finished Shows folder next to your Show Template (or wherever you chose in Settings). In Ableton, use File → Collect All and Save to copy everything into one place before rehearsal. Planning Center changes later in the week? Open the service and click Review on the “Planning Center has changes” banner.

Troubleshooting

“Drive Not Connected”

Connect the drive that holds your stems. Phantom never builds a show with missing audio.

I made a show by mistake, or a build failed and I want it gone

Right-click the show in the sidebar and choose Delete Show… (or use the button in the show’s toolbar). Your songs and library aren’t touched.

A Song Shows the Wrong Version

Click the song’s status and pick the right recording. Phantom links that arrangement to the folder for next time.

The App Says My Plan Has Ended

Open your account and check your subscription under Manage Billing.

Community

A community forum for tips, templates and feature requests is coming soon. Until then, email support@phantomlive.app.