any news on when the next mixcraft update will be out?

[jehrenthal]

and any news on if it will be a loop based improvement?
And please be honest, I can take the bad news (if there is any) so give it to me straight. I just want to know because I've mastered this great software if its a good time investment to learn acid or fruity loops until the next update if indeed the next update addresses this. Also any input from people as to which software(s) complement mixcraft, which would mean they are handy for loop creation and sequencing etc. and the workflows in and out of mixcraft are logical and of course simple.
I read somewhere that life is to short to learn two recording software.
thanks

[Acoustica Eric]

What is it that you find wrong with the loops that they need improving?

[DrDoog]

personally I consider using loops cheating
but if you're interested in creating loops I would suggest Reason. It's a bit pricey, but its interface puts you at ease and sequencing is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

[jehrenthal]

There is nothing wrong with loop, its just that the software has a limitation in that the user can't save sounds into the loop explorer nor can we see loops from other sources in the explorer. If I come up with a great guitar riff I can save it and mix it down to a wav file but I cannot view it in the sound tab.
Perhaps limitation is the wrong word, because this is a software more geared toward recording then looping etc which is why its so great for me. That being said it would be great if I could save my sounds into the loop window somehow.
By the way, if I save a sound into an ogg file and put inside the c/program data/mixcraft/loop file will I be able to see it? If not is there anything I can do along these lines to improve the accessibility of loops with the software until a new build is released?
thanks

[Acoustica Eric]

Oh I see what you mean. Well I am not sure if there is a plan to add that feature, but I personally don't see it as an issue. If you have sounds that do not come with Mixcraft that you want to use for loops or whatever, you simply import them via drag/drop or with the add sound function. I personally don't see it being any different if I were to search for them in windows explorer or in the loop library.
On the other hand you are right in asking because others have asked the same thing.

[jehrenthal]

but the only problem there is that you can't preview the sound or loop or otherwise I agree it wouldn't matter. I believe that that would be easy to do and I know the site admins or you guys actually program the software as i read in the bios, so am i right is it easy?
But most importantly is it possible to save loops into those files after converting them to the correct file type i.e. ogg. and putting them into the mixcraft loops folders? is it possible for me to do anything to modify the program for myself.
Thanks for any help and I hate to be a pain but this would be an incredible help to me.

[Acoustica Greg]

Hi,

A feature like this might show up in a future update of Mixcraft, but for now, it's pretty easy to just drag and drop the loops directly from Windows into Mixcraft. You can preview them in Winamp or some other player if you want.

Mixcraft can also load AcidÔäó and GaragebandÔäó loops, so there are thousands upon thousands of loops out there that you can use with Mixcraft.

Greg

[Acoustica Eric]

And no, if you convert your sounds to ogg and put them in the loop directory, they will still not show up in the library tab.
Also, when you double click an audio track to use the "add sound" function, there is an automatic preview as you select the sound you want to import. So just single click on sounds from that window to preview as you would preview in the loop library.

[jehrenthal]

thanks eric, I am going to try that today. although I did spend some time with fruity loops and find it to be very complementary to mixcraft. I really do love the software because its meant for the home guitarist/musician and it is one of the only ones that I actually went out of my way to purchase. i've been amazed at the quality of the recordings using my own instruments but have been pulling my hair out trying to figure out drums, which is why I keep beating the loop thing to death. for all of my recordings till now i've been using ez drummer, drumazon, you name it i've tried it. What happens is I end up building songs around drum beats which is actually great but not optimal. I guess I've been lazy and not wanting to learn how to play drums so using drum loops is an easy way out. I did learn though recently how to play basic drums by using beatcraft. (Its pretty simple in retrospect?) Just go to youtube and watch some guy write a hip hop song in under 3 minutes and you'll want to jump off a bridge! Still, what I'm sure many other mixcraft users would love to know what you think is the best way to write a drum track inside of mixcraft for a prewritten piece of music. For instance since my first recordings have dropped (I'm being silly) I've been inundated with requests to help family members record and get wav files from wanna be american ido contestants asking me to put drums on a live recording of guitar and vocals. The timings are usually all over the place and I don't know where to begin to figure out how to add drums. (The better question of course is why bother, but the answer is because its a good excercise) I know a midi drum track would make the most sense so you could match beats if you don't have a drummer but how is the best way you do that with mixcraft using either the piano roll or a keyboard so that you can hear your current tracks at the same time, looped? Or is there just a better way altogether in your opinion to write drums in this instance?
Sorry for being long winded but I enjoy writing run on sentences. just kidding and again thanks for all your help and for taking the time to read my nonsense. jeremy

[Acoustica Eric]

Creating a drum track to go along with an already recorded song = just about impossible and 99.99% sure it will turn out extremely unprofessional sounding.
Drums=1st in recording.

I can't really answer the question about which is the best way to do this because in my opinion, there is no best way.

Start with drums, either loops or from Beatcraft, ezdrummer, midi, whatever. Then follow the drums with your other instruments.

Drums are the time keeper, hands down, no question. Other instruments follow, that is just how it is

You don't generally build the 7th floor on a high rise before building the 1st floor right?

[dejavue56]

I have a process that I have use to make many drum tracks for popular songs in Mixcraft.

My guitar processor (Digitech Rp350) has a built in drum machine (I have found its drums to sound better than Mixcraft loops and easier than using virtual instruments). But I do use those tools in a few cases as well.

Anyway, I pick a drum pattern in my RP350 and a beat rate that matches the general tempo of the song. I then just record that pattern over the entire duration of the song (rather than creating a loop). I then hand edit this track to match it to the actual beat. This usually takes about an hour to have a drum track that is well in sync with the original song.

Now for songs with complex drums and lots of rythm changes, this doesn't work. But it works for about 75% of the songs. I record a real drummer for those.

[jehrenthal]

thats a great idea, i have a few of those effects boards all with drum machines. one of my newer models is a zoom w/asio usb and would be a great idea.
Also if you are a drummer or you learn drums couldn't you just tap out the drums in midi and play along with the song recording one drum at a time using the midi record function in mixcraft? ( I have been practicing drums in fl studio and beatcraft so I kind of understand a little bit of the drumming

[Acoustica Dan]

The metronome in Mixcraft is ideal for this kind of work. Just turn on the metronome and play along with the beat. Then it's pretty easy to add a drum beat after the fact.

It's basically impossible to add drums to a recording made without a metronome or reference beat. It's just not going to work.