It seems that no element of the program has been left untouched, which is particularly impressive when you consider that this isn't a DAW that has a massive development team behind it. We have to admit to being surprised at just how much Acoustica has added to Mixcraft 5, and it's clearly spent plenty of time testing and ironing out bugs (previous versions exhibited annoying glitches when looping, a problem that has been resolved, thankfully). That said, if Acoustica keeps improving Mixcraft at the current rate, its users may not feel like they need to go anywhere else. "If Acoustica keeps improving Mixcraft at the current rate, its users may not feel like they need to go anywhere else."Īrguably the key difference, though, is that GarageBand users who outgrow their application can move on to the pro-level Logic Express or Studio DAWs, taking their skills (and project files) with them. On a more practical level, GarageBand has a useful multi-take recording feature, and feels a bit slicker overall. However, their true worth is always going to be limited by your interest in the artist. GarageBand fans could counter that their software supports Artist Lessons - video tutorials featuring famous musicians. Its dockable Details tab also makes editing a little easier. It's also worth noting that, while GarageBand only offers a selection of built-in Apple instruments and effects, Mixcraft's suite of third party plug-ins gives more variety. Mixcraft 5 has taken a lead over GarageBand with the addition of its dedicated mixer and Send tracks. Although comparisons between the two programs are somewhat meaningless - they are, respectively, PC- and Mac-only - it's interesting to consider their key differences. It's impossible to use Mixcraft 5 without being reminded of Apple's GarageBand. The effects roster has been bolstered by the vintage-style Pultronic Tube EQ (in case you can't tell, it's a Pultec emulation) and Shred Amp Simulator, the latter of which boasts five amp heads, 17 cabs and six effects. You can add to this Gunnar Ekoranas' Messiah, a more than serviceable Prophet 5 clone, and the Alien303 Bass Synthesizer, a 'bassline' synth that's more versatile than its name might have you believe. No DAW update would be complete without a selection of new plug-ins, and it's a pleasure to find AAS's ever-playable Lounge Lizard Session in Mixcraft 5's revised line-up of instruments. Editing options are pretty limited - you can move clips around, adjust their start and end points and split them - but it's fine for adding a soundtrack to a home movie (a video's original audio can be unlinked and deleted) and overlapping two videos creates an automatic crossfade. AVI and WMV files are supported as standard, and others may be importable depending on the DirectX decoders that you have installed. Returning to the visible additions, there's now a video track. Speaking of which, you can now monitor CPU usage with a dedicated meter, though with support for multi-processor machines and SSE2 optimisations, you're less likely to run out of horsepower than before. Clips can now be linked, making it easy to move or copy specific sections of a track, and the entire contents of a track (the audio, MIDI, effects and automation) can be bounced to a new audio track, should you need to free up some CPU cycles. Smaller details also serve to improve the user experience. Each track now has an automation lane that enables you to adjust effect and instrument parameters over time by clicking and dragging. "Rather than using buttons and sliders below each track name, you can now mix on a virtual mixing console."įurther evidence that Acoustica is attempting to turn Mixcraft into a more serious music production tool is provided by the new automation features. The former facilitates global effects and volume adjustments, while the latter are auxiliary busses that enable you to share effects between multiple tracks (such as reverb - the classic send effect). Each channel offers standard mixer functionality, and includes a useful three-band EQ.Īlso in the mixer are the new Master and Send tracks. There's also a new Mixer option to consider in the Details tab - rather than using buttons and sliders below each track name, you can now mix on a virtual mixing console. It does exactly what it says, turning your computer's QWERTY keys into musical ones. For those musically inspired moments when you don't have access to a MIDI keyboard, the Musical Typing Keyboard will come in handy.
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