Alpha and Omni do the job well enough for simple tasks like one-shots and drum samples, but it would be good to see a more fully featured equivalent join them in a future update. Omni is a multi-sample instrument with pretty much the same envelope, filter and modulation options for each of its 128 slots. Mixcraft’s promo blurb encourages you to “kick overly complex sampler instruments to the curb”, but it does seem like a more advanced sampler is missing here. Alpha is a very basic instrument with just one sample slot, a two-part amp envelope generator, resonant low-pass filter and an LFO for modulation. Two new sampler instruments have also been added in version 7. The new Performance Panel works a bit like a slightly simplified version of Ableton's Session View Warping sounded impressively clean and neutral on a range of loops and samples I tried. The automatic syncing of audio clips makes use of Mixcraft’s new audio warping features, featuring updated time-stretching and pitch-shifting algorithms. It’s a great addition to the program, especially as it can be used in conjunction with a pad controller such as the Novation Launchpad. The new Performance Panel works a bit like a slightly simplified version of Ableton’s Session View, with a grid of slots onto which MIDI and audio clips or loops can be dropped and then triggered in sync with your project. So what else is new? The biggest headline feature is probably 64-bit support, with built-in bridging to allow 32-bit plugins to run alongside 64-bit ones. Although 64-bit support is particularly big news to anyone working with RAM-intensive virtual instruments, it’s worth mentioning that Mixcraft itself has very low system requirements, so you don’t necessarily need a powerful computer or a lot of RAM to use it the DAW itself will run on a 1.5 GHz processor and just 1 GB of RAM.Įlsewhere, there are a number of significant new features introduced with version 7. The layout has been tweaked slightly since version 6 (mainly to accommodate new features), but the overall approach hasn’t been radically altered, with tracks and regions running horizontally along the timeline and most key features accessible without any menu-diving.
As such, the interface will be familiar to most people who’ve dabbled with DAWs and, perhaps more importantly, intuitive even if you’re a complete beginner. Mixcraft leans heavily towards the traditional approach to DAW design favoured by programs like Logic and Cubase, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel in the style of something like Ableton Live or FL Studio. Mixcraft has carved out a niche for itself as one of the best DAWs in the budget sector. With the latest version 7.1 release, Acoustica look to add a range of new features and bring the program up to speed with the last couple of years of developments in the DAW market (the last major update, version 6, having been released at the end of 2012).
ACOUSTICA MIXCRAFT HOME STUDIO 7 PRO
At just $165 for the top-of-the-range Pro Studio version, it’s one of the more affordable DAWs on the market, but developed with Acoustica’s ease-of-use ethos in mind from day one. Over the last decade or so, Mixcraft has carved out a niche for itself as one of the best DAWs in the budget sector. The solution could lie with Mixcraft, Acoustica’s Windows-based DAW. The problem is even worse at the more affordable end of the DAW market, which seems particularly unfair why should you be punished for being a newcomer to music production or working with a limited budget? But if it’s so self-evident, then why is it frequently not the case with music software? DAWs in particular often suffer from clunky interfaces and unfriendly layers of menus and sub-menus, whether that’s a result of decades-old interfaces being incrementally updated or new features being added and overwhelming the user with options.
ACOUSTICA MIXCRAFT HOME STUDIO 7 SOFTWARE
“Software should be easy to use.” It’s hard to disagree with California software developer Acoustica’s company slogan.
Does the latest version of their affordable DAW still achieve it? Acoustica’s company philosophy strives for user friendliness above all else.
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