New Laptop Advice

[daveh839]

Hi - I'm ready to buy Mixcraft 9, and have a two part question:

If I buy a Mixcraft license now and download to my existing dual core laptop, would I be able to transfer the license to a new laptop once I buy one? I'd like to see how Mixcraft performs on the dual core/ 8 GB RAM laptop I currently have just to see if it will meet my needs.

And speaking of new laptop, I've read that I'll need a quad core processor and at least 12 GB RAM to avoid potential issues with multiple MIDI track recording. Are there any recommendations regarding specific laptops? For example, will an quad core AMD processor work as well as the Intel version? I'm no producer or even a good musician, just a hobbyist that wants to add loop tracks to my original guitar, bass, and vocal tracks.

Many thanks,

Dave

[Mr.Mxyzptlk]

Hi there,

Talk about coincidence. My own laptop died about 6 weeks ago. My PC had packed up months before that too. So I've been without Mixcraft for nearly two months now. My new(ish) PC arrived today and I've reinstalled Mixcraft no problem. So long as you've got your user ID and reg code you're good to go. My laptop was an i5 quad core with 8GB and it was ok till I started using ComposerCloud then it buckled under the weight.

I won't advise you too much on the specs side. Perhaps one of the more learned gents or ladies can do that. But I can assure you from my own experience today that you can install Mixcraft on a new machine, no problem at all. It's just a pain re-adding all the VSTs, sound files and configuring as before. I've also upgraded to Mixcraft Pro Studio so will see how that goes.

Good luck!

[daveh839]

Thanks for that info and advice. I'll download a trial and use for a week before I buy, just to see how it works on my dual core. I'll ultimately go with the pro version while it's on sale.

Cheers,
Dave

[Rolling Estonian]

Best advice is to buy as powerful as a system as you can afford, gaming laptops generally have what is desired for audio recording which is a newer processor, 16gb RAM is pretty much minimum these days, many going with more, and a couple of SSD for storage. If you can't quite afford a lot, go with newer processor and upgradeable RAM that you can add later. You can get a built laptop, i7-10, 32gb RAM and 2 SSD for less than $1500 these days.

M

[RollingStone]

if you know that you will work with many tracks (~50 and more) do yourself a favour and buy the best machine you can afford, it will preserve your ears. mixcraft lags under this workload while other daw's don't have any problems.

minimum quad core 4 ghz, 32gb ram, SSD hard disk drive. with a desktop pc you will get much more power for less money than with a laptop.

[daveh839]

Thanks everyone for the advice! The price point for Mixcraft is compelling compared to some other DAW software like Pro Tools, and the reviews are pretty good. But is there an alternative DAW that folks have experience with that I should compare before buying? I'd like to keep the investment under $1,000 for laptop and software combined if that's feasible.

[Mr.Mxyzptlk]

I guess it all boils down to what you want to get out of it and how you intend to make your music. I downloaded the trial of ProTools as well as Mixcraft and for a complete noob to the DAW world (was always hardware based before), Mixcraft just blew me away. As a tool to enhance your creative juices rather than hinder them, Mixcraft is just great to use. I haven't come across any hurdles to putting stuff together yet but then again I'm only just getting my head around the more technical stuff like subtractive EQ and sidechaining, which will push me even further but Mixcraft can handle these anyway.

I'm sure there are better DAWs out there but Mixcraft is well respected and even got favourable reviews in Computer Music magazine. I absolutely love it and upgrading to Pro Studio on a more powerful machine is just heavenly. A lot of people I know use Ableton Live, which I hear is ok but if Mixcraft does everything I need and more and is dirt cheap relatively speaking, I'm not even looking elsewhere to be honest.

[daveh839]

Thanks Mr.Mxyzptlk - what you've said makes sense and lines up to the myriad of reviews I've been reading. At this point I'm just going to go ahead with the trial license on my old laptop to see how it does and how well I like Mixcraft overall. As you said earlier I can always reinstall on a new laptop whenever I'm ready, and the trial will give me enough time to play around with the software to create a few simple tracks that my current laptop can handle. If I like it after putting together a 5 track song, I'm sure I'll love it layering in another 20.

[RollingStone]

I guess it all boils down to what you want to get out of it and how you intend to make your music. I downloaded the trial of ProTools as well as Mixcraft and for a complete noob to the DAW world (was always hardware based before), Mixcraft just blew me away. As a tool to enhance your creative juices rather than hinder them, Mixcraft is just great to use. I haven't come across any hurdles to putting stuff together yet but then again I'm only just getting my head around the more technical stuff like subtractive EQ and sidechaining, which will push me even further but Mixcraft can handle these anyway.

I'm sure there are better DAWs out there but Mixcraft is well respected and even got favourable reviews in Computer Music magazine. I absolutely love it and upgrading to Pro Studio on a more powerful machine is just heavenly. A lot of people I know use Ableton Live, which I hear is ok but if Mixcraft does everything I need and more and is dirt cheap relatively speaking, I'm not even looking elsewhere to be honest.

yes, that's all very right. you won't find any other daw where you can get faster results without much frustration that are really good and usable like in mixcraft. and you won't find a more user-friendly daw thats clearer and easier to use. that are the two most important arguments for me. and yes, it's REALLY cheap.

you can maybe look for the daw "reaper". it's also VERY cheap like mixcraft, but much more comprehensive in functions and options, completely configurable (shortcuts, user skins, user windows, ....)
some say it's the best and it doesn't have to hide from the big ones like cubase, pro tools and so on but it's nothing for the fast good results.

[daveh839]

Thanks RollingStone - and everyone. I will look into Reaper as well. Since I'm a real beginner in the DAW space ease of use is a primary requirement for me. The insightful feedback you and others have left is very much appreciated, I'm happy to be joining a friendly, helpful community!

[Mark Bliss]

Hi Dave

I think you are on the right track, in trying the free trial on your existing laptop.
Based on your original use description, you can probably get far along in learning the program and it may suit your initial needs just fine.

Most users don't need to run "50 tracks", large numbers of resource hungry plug-ins etc. And that's not what you described doing.

As a point of reference, I ran MX 7 and 8 on a dual core 32bit 4g Ram machine with a conventional hard drive for a portable solution and could run fairly complex projects approaching 20 tracks or so with few problems. And the few problems were generally easy to work around.
Plenty for many users.
Some time during the late run of MX8 I upgraded to a quad core 64 bit machine with 8g RAM and an SSD. Far more powerful, but about half the cost of the high performance machines previously mentioned in this thread.
I have run a project with as many as 42 tracks, and only hit a wall once a few too many resource hungry plug-ins (reverb usually) were added. Again, work arounds fixed that particular issue, and that is again- far larger than my typical project and far larger than many people really need.

And I would share the fairly experienced opinion that you wont find a DAW that is easier to learn than Mixcraft. Don't let the rare detractor discourage you. Some people just seem to like to complain.

There is a steep learning curve. But with a modest computer and an audio interface with a good driver, and the help available if you hit bumps in the road, you should be fine.

Try the trial. Mixcraft recording studio is a heck of a value.

[Rolling Estonian]

FWIW, if your budget is $1k I would get the best processor you could and make sure you have expandable RAM. That way you'll be able to upgrade later if necessary.

M

[daveh839]

Mark Bliss - thanks so much for sharing your experience with Mixcraft and your laptops. I'm sure you're right that my current laptop will hold me for quite a while as I learn how to use the software and record what are admittedly simple songs from a real novice. When and if I get to the point where I need to upgrade I'll bet the standard resources on the current laptops at that point are well beyond today's standards at a lower price point.

Thanks again to everyone, what a great community. I'm installing the trial and will be getting started this weekend!

Cheers,

Dave