Mixcraft 7 Pro...good for podcast recording / mixing-editing?

[darkcrystal34]

Hi everyone,

Brand new to the forums, have heard it is a very welcoming place Wondering are there people on here who regularly use Mixcraft not for music, but for Audio podcasts that would likely be 2-3 vocal tracks for dialog, and another 2-3 tracks for intro/outro music, sound effects, break music in between segments:

My situation and upcoming project - Launching an interview based podcast + storytelling in Spring 2017 in the meditation community from teachers all over the country. Have over 40 guests already lined up and need to pick a DAW that is:
-Ultra intuitive to use
-Low learning curb
-Can produce professional quality audio wav/mp3's ready for loading onto Libsyn

Choosing between two DAW's - Mixcraft 7 Pro ($160 range, and soon to be upgrade to 8!) or Studio One 3 Pro (at a 50% discount rate of $200, regularly $375-400), as both consistently come up for great intuitive flow, ease of use, low learning curb. I'm curious if Studio One 3 at higher price point and more widely known "brand name" has features to warrant, or if Mixcraft 7 like many say is the single most underrated easy to begin with DAW out there. Heavily leaning towards Mixcraft 7 given what I've read, but thought would come on forums to hear directly from folks who use.

Gear:
-Mic: Shure SM7b (two, one for myself + guest)
-Interface: Audient ID14 (+Steinberg UR-44 if do 4 person interviews)
-Gain boost: Cloudlifter (dual jack)
-Recording on - PC laptop, only half a year old, top of line when bought in May 2016.

Question - Looking for ANY feedback from podcast users on here, or music users doing stuff that isn't 50,000 tracks The mixing/editing is really important to me as I want to take the time to learn and get good at it, not sure of learning curb and quality of Mixcraft 7 vs. Studio One. Help sell me on Mixcraft 7 Pro...pros/cons, anything annoying, little things you love? Anything you wished Mixcraft 7 had that other DAW's have? Underrated aspects of Mixcraft 7 for vocal audio? When responding, by all means share as much detail as you like, hearing people's experiences and depth of thought are greatly helpful. Thanks all!!!

[Ajgi]

For the kind of simple features you're looking for, Mixcraft is perfect. Any extra features you could get from the more expensive Studio One wouldn't be of any use to you anyway.

[Mark Bliss]

I would agree, and add that even the Pro Studio version of Mixcraft adds features you probably don't really need for you purposes.
I don't podcast, so maybe I am missing something, but it seems to me the standard version of Mixcraft would suit you fine, providing a large economic advantage as well as a more intuitive program with a lower learning curve you desire.

I would suggest downloading the free trial version and familiarizing yourself with it and your gear.

[AHornsby]

I'm no 'pod' caster but I wouldn't be afraid to try it out with just any freebie wav editor. There probably wouldn't be any discernible difference in the dynamic range (vocally) between that and the worlds most expensive DAW. It's the mics that'll make the biggest difference. -h

[darkcrystal34]

I forgot to mention two other important things:

While right now 90% of the use of a DAW would be dedicated for recording / mixing-editing a simple interview podcast, the reason I'm looking for something beyond Audacity is:

-Will likely also be creating an audio-drama, which will be more complex and likely have more along the range of 15-20 tracks at a given time when using layers of sound effects and music scores.

-Want the option to be able to record music (keys and vocals) down the road as well.

Thanks for the insight so far!!!

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

Lots of Internet radio broadcasters and podcasters use Mixcraft. Download Mixcraft 7.7 and try it for free.

Mixcraft 8 will have audio control, which would allow you to use the audio from a voice track to "duck" the volume on a music background track, and if you buy Mixcraft 7 now, you'll get a registration for Mixcraft 8 when it's released in the coming weeks.


Greg

[darkcrystal34]

Hi Greg,

Nice to meet you, it seems like you are legendary for your helpfulness and support on these forums!

Two quickie questions in reply to your last statement:

-Is there deadline you know of where if purchasing Mixcraft 7 Pro, we would not also get the free upgrade to Mixcraft 8? (I already have the demo version and have been Youtube video-ing and playing around with it).

-Can you explain a bit more about the "duck" term from audio to music track you were describing, in relation to an audio-drama and/or interview podcast? Wasn't quite sure what you meant.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

The time limit is the release of Mixcraft 8. Once that's released, you'll just be buying Mixcraft 8.

Ducking means that you automatically lower the volume on a track using the audio from another track. So if you had vocal narration, for example, the background music could be automatically lowered when someone is talking and then automatically raised when the vocal track is silent.

Greg

[FarmToTable]

I purchased Mixcraft specifically for producing music AND podcasts. It works beautifully. I added a nice condenser mic (Floureon BM-800) and a pop screen and I was in the business. It is so easy to just let the mic run for a long time and then chop your one huge track into smaller more manageable tracks and then slip in music/commercials/whatever and then you're off to the races. You will not regret the purchase and you don't even need the pro edition, but I'll recommend it heavily.

[darkcrystal34]

Update - Just letting everyone know I went ahead and bought Mixcraft Pro 7 a few weeks ago, and am stunned at how easy it is to pick up.

I have a lot to learn but what seemed like a totally overwhelming task (learning a DAW) is not seeming more manageable. Really glad I did not go for Studio One, which by other DAW standards I'm sure has less learning curb, but I can't imagine anything more easy to pickup than Mixcraft 7 Pro. Really happy with the decision.

Thanks all! And I imagine will be on the forum plenty improving my recording/editing chops with Mixcraft.