Alternatives

[BillW]

I hope this post is OK here; I'm a long time user of Mixcraft - though I often go months between projects.

I've encountered several problems in moving to new computers that I fight through; the latest one though seems like a deal breaker. I've already ruined two projects (errors rendered them corrupted). If I'm going to have to start over on them, I'm considering other software.

You can't beat Mixcraft for the price/functionality combination = but time is money too.

Has anyone switched TO Mixcraft from other software - and if so, what are your thoughts about Mixcraft vs what you used before?

[mixyguy2]

I tried just about every DAW under the sun and none of them came even close to being as easy and intuitive to use as Mixcraft. The last one I used before that was Reaper, which has it's plusses, but again Mixcraft is so much simpler and easier to use, and as you say, time is money (actually for me it was less about time than frustration). I've upgraded my computer twice and never had an issue. I have to wonder what issue(s) you had and are you sure it's a Mixcraft thing?

[BillW]

I won't say it's a Mixcraft thing. But I will say there is no step by step guide or "best practice" readiness instructions. That would be helpful.

I realize there are a LOT of third party software options that may make it difficult to be thorough - but this has always been a vibrant community so a sticky thread if not a "living document" would help.

Presently my issue is with Kontakt. Not Mixcraft but not a fairly popular tool that is necessary for several add on sound banks.

I've also had problems with licensing (Waves comes to mind).

While NONE of these things - and others (EZDrummer is another potential) are Mixcraft, they are VERY Common products used with Mixcraft (and other DAWs).

The lack of help in this regard was surprising to me. Sure - people are willing to answer questions but why not a central source?

[TrevsAudio]

Rant deleted

[omac]

There aren't any magic solutions to stability. Unless your new computer is the exact same type as your old one, you are running your daw in a new environment. Stability can't be guaranteed in a new environment. If you switch daws because it runs well in your new environment that will only work until the environment changes enough again. This doesn't necessarily mean a new version of Windows. It could also mean just a single patch. The fix is actually up to the operating system.

I've worked for decades in IT supporting mostly Windows. I've lost count of how many crashes/disruptions/major snafus have occurred due to Microsoft patches to Windows. Most IT departments are set up to not allow patches to the operating system to be pushed by Microsoft. The department normally downloads the patch then tests it extensively to make sure it won't break their programs before installing it on them. Consumers don't. A consumer usually buys a new updated computer with a completely new version of the operating system and expects their software to work on it. Frankly, it shouldn't. There can be enough changes to the same version of Windows even within a year that it's a full time job for a developer to make sure their program continues to work for even that time. Even if there is no change to the program, many hours were spent making sure their program still worked. If a program was stable before and not now, it's not the program's fault. There can be no best practice procedures that work for everybody. Your different system configuration is enough that your best method of working is probably not the same as mine. There are some methods that work for most, but that can't even be guaranteed for too long. The manufacturers of the plugins themselves should be the clearing-house for information about their plugin since they are the ones supporting them. Their plugin info should definitely be the most current, shouldn't they?

P.S. I use several different daws and plugins. I really dislike that trend of self-updating package installers. I have a lot of Waves, Native Instruments, Plugin Alliance, etc. plugins. I love my Waves plugins, but the installer means that after all the money I spent, I rarely touch them. I've gotten to the point that I may not even take the yearly freebie. Installer problems are the norm now among many plugin developers. I've actually begun to not buy a plugin unless it uses a very simple individual registration scheme. It's just easier in the long run.

Al

[BillW]

Interesting statement you made:
A consumer usually buys a new updated computer with a completely new version of the operating system and expects their software to work on it. Frankly, it shouldn't.

I bought a new updated computer and expected Mixcraft to work. You're saying I should NOT have expected that? I wonder what Greg and company think of that?

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

Generally, we haven't seen too many problems with new version of Windows over the years. Once in a while, something comes up, but going from Windows 10 to 11 was pretty much problem-free.

Of course, if there are major operating system changes, we have to update the software, but in most cases Microsoft has a vested interest in keeping things backwards-compatible.

Greg

[omac]

I stand by my statement that the "assumption" of my software should be working in this new environment is not reasonable with the number of changes that have occurred with the different versions of the OS. What that statement means is that it is not reasonable to expect a developer to be "forward compatible" when the difference between the OS versions determine earlier software's stability.

Keep in mind my reply was to a statement of a user being concerned about stability of software running on a new computer system and plugin information best practices. Should one change daws in search of greater stability/etc? My answer is "no" because of my discussion on stability.

OS manufacturers should try to maintain compatibility between versions so that software remains compatible. I am a consumer with a lot of software so I agree with that idea; however, this constant changing of the base elements of the operating system means that it is a dice throw if enough compatibility remains for the complete and proper functioning of my software.

The operating system provides most low level support to the computer's hardware- its hard drives, memory, sound card, video card etc. Most computer software is programmed using pre-packaged libraries of those functions that let a developer use the hardware indirectly. When the OS manufacturer rewrites the functions that your software used then your software may become less stable. It may not, but each successive patch/upgrade dealing with those particular functions increases the chance of less software compatibility. In other words, the software's stability is dependent on the degree of change in the OS. I have to admit to a certain degree of frustration toward this. I don't like that it's this way, but there isn't anything I can do about it but continue to test my software against changes made to the OS. Please don't take my statement to mean that I endorse the present state of things. I only meant that businesses know that they can't assume compatibility and test to make sure of their necessary programs' proper functioning, whereas, most consumers don't. I don't assume (probably because of my job). I make the decision to upgrade my operating system after I have checked whether my desired software works. I'm really glad that Mixcraft has been as stable as it has, but that is more due to good tight programming, a decision of how much self-written low level programming was done versus using the operating system's provided libraries as well as how many changes were made to the operating system's code base.

[mixyguy2]

Interesting statement you made:
A consumer usually buys a new updated computer with a completely new version of the operating system and expects their software to work on it. Frankly, it shouldn't.

I bought a new updated computer and expected Mixcraft to work. You're saying I should NOT have expected that? I wonder what Greg and company think of that?

I've worked in I.T. a long time and disagree entirely, at least with Windows, can't speak to Macs. I've run plugins etc on everything from Vista to Win 10, along with Kontakt and plenty of their stuff and numerous DAWs. Not once have I encountered an issue due to an OS change, let alone Windows' endless stream of patches (which is pretty amazing when you consider that they put out about a billion patches per OS).

So yeah, most software should run on a new OS. But it varies with the specifics. I would be very surprised if people had many issues going from Win 10 to 11, as 11 is really more like 10.1 and IMO it's Microsoft just milking the market to put out a new version of the OS which really doesn't buy most people much of anything.

Bill I suspect your issues are a Kontakt thing, not a Mixcraft or even a Windows thing.

[omac]

@mixyguy2 - I don't want to sound too negative, so I won't continue in this thread. I'm replying since you responded from a windows IT viewpoint. I have over 22 years of experience in IT windows (primarily) system management. In my time there (various production environments) we have developed several sayings that have held true. The first is that you skip every other major windows upgrade. This is common knowledge mostly because of what you mentioned- microsoft makes an upgrade and the next version is primarily window dressing with the interior code mostly the same. The second is that you do not ever allow your network computers to automatically update directly from microsoft. You test the patches first. To the end user or non server administrator it looks like they did, but they did not. They connected to a SUS server in their network. The SUS server is delivering the (company's) approved patches. Microsoft has even issued statements advising that if you use certain hardware to not apply a certain patch e.g. kyocera printers and ms KB5000802 patch. This sort of thing happens all the time. If you're not working in a large scale networked environment maybe you wouldn't know it? I'm confused about that though. The amount of network traffic generated by individual computers connecting to external servers and updating/etc. is considerable. I've never worked anywhere in IT that would have allowed this.

With regards to software compatibility, Spend some time in forums where bug fixes due to OS changes are causing software developers to become irritable. They develop workarounds and then eventually have to create patches for it. If you wish specific case studies you can private message me with a product and I'll look into its history and show you where something that was working stopped working due to an os change. I can't think of any product more than 10 years old or so that didn't have issues due to patches. I say 10 years because windows 7 support was extended for a long time before the force to version 10 was put into place. Also, something that is directly a result of all this is that a lot of professional music producers removed their music computers off their network and don't update them at all. This has been mentioned at the Image Line forums, the Ableton forums, the magix forums. I'd be surprised if there weren't some here on these forums doing this as well.

This is my last reply in this thread as I don't want to derail the thread ... and I recognize that I write really long blocks of text.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

Microsoft has to be careful not to break everybody's software with each new Windows release. Occasionally problems occur, but a lot of this stuff is caught in beta testing. I suppose it's also a matter of how specialized the software you're working with is. If a company develops in-house software that not a bunch of people are using, it would be more likely to be broken by a new OS version. Software that is commercially available has a better chance of being in on Windows beta testing.

Anyway, I can't remember the last time a new version of Windows broke something in Mixcraft. It's been awhile. Windows 10 introduced a microphone privacy feature that caused some people to have to change a Windows privacy setting to use their microphone.

Greg

[mixyguy2]

If you're not working in a large scale networked environment

No, I'm not (personally). Neither are about 99.999% ish of all consumers (at least), which was what I was addressing when you said "A consumer usually buys a new updated computer with a completely new version of the operating system and expects their software to work on it. Frankly, it shouldn't."

I simply pointed out that isn't true. Yeah, it should. And with very rare exception, most of it will. Again with Windows at least. I've been working with Windows since 3.0 and this has held consistently true. And this from a guy who has long bashed MS as a POS company who put out crap OSs more times than I care to count.

Anyway.......

It sounds like Bill's problem is if anything Kontakt based. NI...speaking of companies I'm underwhelmed by...