ACOUSTICA AUDIO MIX PRO
ACOUSTICA AUDIO MIX SOFTWARE
ACOUSTICA AUDIO MIX WINDOWS

It is then instantly mapped across the keyboard and ready to play. With Alpha, you simply drag and drop an audio sample from any of a number of sources (Mixcraft’s Library or Sound tabs, for example) and set the root note of the original sample. Both of these are designed for ease of use and to encourage you to make your own sample-based sound sets.

ACOUSTICA AUDIO MIX PRO

The standard and Pro versions both get two new sampler instruments: Alpha and Omni.

The new Omni sampler features 16 MPC-style pads, and is intended to allow you to create your own drum/percussion instruments. However, perhaps the most eye-catching additions are the new Performance Panel and a number of additional virtual instruments and effects plug-ins. There is also support for some of the leading control surfaces such as Mackie Control and Novation’s Launchpad, a MIDI step editor to sit alongside the existing piano-roll and score editors, and a further expansion of the bundled audio loops and samples. Also new are improvements to the automation system (including multiple automation lanes), and improved time-stretching and pitch-shifting algorithms allied with new audio warping and audio quantisation features.

ACOUSTICA AUDIO MIX SOFTWARE

Alpha & OmegaĪs might be expected, the further you go up the version 7 ladder, the more new stuff you get For example, the software now provides 64-bit support and, very usefully, that includes the ability to run both 32-bit and 64-bit plug-ins in the 64-bit version of the host. However, the default ‘tracks at the top’ layout, with the other key features accessed using tabbed panels in the bottom half of the display, does make it very easy to find your way around, and would be one of the most appealing aspects of the software to a new user. You can customise this in various ways, including by floating the mixer in a separate window. One of the things that gives Mixcraft this shallow learning curve is the single-screen design shown in the main screenshot.

Depending upon the version you pick, you get a different selection of bundled effect and virtual–instrument plug-ins and audio loop library content, and by the time you reach the Pro Studio version, these amount to pretty impressive selections.Īs Paul concluded when looking at version 6, Mixcraft is, therefore, a very solid audio production environment that, while not reinventing the wheel in any significant way, has all the bases (and all the basses) covered. There is also a range of Acid-like features for tempo-matching and pitch-shifting audio material to fit project tempos and keys. The software has CD burning built in, and if you do music-to-picture work, there is also video support that includes basic video editing and rendering. Track freezing is provided to squeeze more out of limited host computers, and you get a range of export options for creating your final mixes. The virtual mixing environment includes an automation system, send/return channels for global effects, submix (group) channels and multiple output channels if required. Support for multi-channel audio hardware is included and you get a very respectable range of audio and MIDI editing options.

In many respects, Mixcraft follows convention, providing both multitrack audio recording and MIDI sequencing within a familiar track-based/timeline approach. I’ll therefore focus on the new features that have been added in this release but, for those unfamiliar with the software, a brief recap (along with a dip into those past reviews) will soon get you up to speed. Mixcraft is a mature piece of software and its core functionality hasn’t changed since Paul’s version 6 review. Three years on, Acoustica are back with version 7, which comes in three flavours: the budget Home Studio 7, the standard Mixcraft 7, and the upmarket Pro Studio 7 under review here. SOS has reviewed Mixcraft on a number of occasions, most recently when Paul Sellars looked at version 6 in the November 2012 issue.

ACOUSTICA AUDIO MIX WINDOWS

Thankfully, there are a number of very worthwhile alternatives and, for Windows users, Acoustica’s Mixcraft is one such option. Not everyone sits comfortably with one of the ‘big brand’ DAWs. If you’re looking for a music creation environment that’s affordable, powerful and easy to use, Acoustica’s Mixcraft 7 ticks all the boxes.

Acoustica audio mix