![]() Audio and instrument tracks are represented by channel strips in the mixer, each channel strip providing a volume fader, a pan control, and a useful three‑band EQ. Among these is a new Mixer view, which displays the customary graphical representation of a mixing desk in a new tab within the now‑undockable details pane. Well Adjusted?Ī number of other user‑interface refinements have been made, to improve usability and bring Mixcraft more into line with the conventional DAW feature set. One of the biggest new features in Mixcraft is a fully fledged mixer, complete with a bussing architecture that permits the use of auxiliary effects. This might not seem immediately useful to laptop users, but could be a significant boon on desktop systems with dual monitors. For instance, when a part is selected on an audio track, its waveform and associated parameters are displayed in the Sound tab.Ī new feature in Mixcraft 5 is that the pane containing the details tabs can be 'undocked' from the main application window, moved around, and treated as a separate window. Audio and MIDI tracks run horizontally along the top part, while the lower portion is given over to a pane in which different tabs can be selected to inspect various details of the work in progress. Conceptually, it's a close cousin to programs like Apple's GarageBand and Sony's Acid, and it employs a similar multi‑pane, single‑window user interface. Briefly, it provides multitrack audio and MIDI recording and sequencing, with integrated tools for working easily with sampled audio loops in different keys and at different tempos. The current version of Mixcraft, unsurprisingly, retains all the features that characterised the previous versions. Support for Windows 98, ME, NT and 2000 has, quite understandably, been dropped. At present, a 1GHz CPU and 2GB of RAM are the least you'll need, in a machine running Windows XP, Vista or 7. As is the way of these things, the minimum system requirements have crept steadily upwards with each new release. ![]() Mixcraft is available for PCs running Windows only. (I'd personally recommend the download version, as the pace of development is such that it's likely the first thing you'll be prompted to do after installing from disc is connect to the Internet and download the latest update.) Boxed versions are also available, for slightly more. This may be thanks in part to the vagaries of the exchange rate, but even so, it represents a pretty good deal. Registration costs $74.95, which at the time of writing is just slightly under £50 - approximately the same as version 4.1 would have cost a buyer in the UK on its initial release. So, as the program reaches version 5.0, does Mixcraft still live up to Acoustica's motto that "Software should be easy to use”? Previously In SOSĪs with previous versions, Mixcraft is available to download from and runs as a feature‑limited demo unless a registration code is purchased. New features are, generally speaking, to be welcomed - but for an application whose greatest strengths are, arguably, ease of use and affordability, there's a danger that a lengthening feature list might alienate the very audience it hopes to attract, especially if it's accompanied by a swelling price tag. The developer's change log contains an extensive list of bug‑fixes (some large, most small) since version 4.1, the last to be reviewed in SOS, and records the introduction of some significant new features, too. It's a couple of years since Acoustica's Mixcraft last made an appearance in these pages, and development has continued steadily during that period. But has it retained its trademark ease of use? Acoustica's affordable DAW has acquired some significant new features, including video support, score editing and a fully fledged mixer.
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