Mixcraft 7 suggestions?

[botface]

Things I'd like fixed in 7 would be :
1. In spite of installing several different video codec packs I still can't get MC to play back the audio content of some quite common video formats
2. The notation feature just doesn't work for anybody with some basic music theory knowledge.

An improvement I'd like to see would be to somehow provide some more screen real estate to make editing functions easier (I'm think of Cooledit/Audition's ability to switch between Multitrack view and Edit view)

[Mark Bliss]

Some of these ideas are great, but I also agree with the sentiments that we dont need too much, lets not turn this into the same complicated, bloated program as brand x, y and z.

Are we voting on ideas or adding to the list here?

My suggestion, since no one has gone there yet:
In the mixer view, in each channel strip, where the button bay is on the top left-Move the FX button down one space (maybe two, leaving a space between it and the arm button,) add an H/P button. This high pass filter toggle could be fixed at 80Hz like my (and many common) mixers of our pre digital youth. But a bonus would be if we could perhaps right click on that button and toggle between selection of 80/100/150Hz. That would be nice, very nice!

I was also going to suggest adding a fourth EQ parameter to the channel strip but after staring at my mixer view and imagining it I realized it might take up more real estate than its worth. I know many people dont use those knobs much anyway.... So I thought up an idea. May be too complicated. But what if you could right click on the mid knob and toggle it between lo-mid and hi-mid while both staying active, only the adjustment being toggled. As with the H/P button, an added bonus here would be some method of a drop-down selection of the frequency parameter. Cake? meet icing!

Noting the previous suggestions of integrating Beatcraft. I would like that but not only because its a great simple drum sequencer, but because you can use your own samples, not just the drum sounds. If you could expand on this theme a little and make it step through the samples with keyboard input, or even better have the individual samples assignable to individual keys...... But still keep the simple sequencer interface without getting all multi layered bloated and complicated, that would be quite an attractive additional tool!

Now for MC8.
I want to be able to hum, sing or mouthbox into my screen, have the program read my mind, and create exactly the track I am imagining, start to finish. Can we do that?

[quetz]

Metronome playback without audio clips in sequencer

[Impulseman]

Already mentioned and noted by Greg but, ability to create sub-folders to categorize VST menu effects by type (ie: compression VSTs, limiter VSTs, etc).

I agree to that one.

It would be useful also, I believe, to have Mixcraft's VST scanner read down a stage or two more because some instruments are buried deep with their own subs and child folders and you cannot move them (when installed with an "exe" extension, and/or with a standalone version).

Also, I've had problems opening some instruments (Piano One) because they contain presets (FSP) files that MC6 Pro cannot read and so I can't get access to the other presets included in the VST.

Thanks!

[Anorax]

Metronome playback without audio clips in sequencer

So, basically you want a "click track"?
Easiest way to do this (with MX6) is to place a blank virtual instrument clip, and turn on the loop mode, then make sure it loops over this blank VI clip while the metronome plays.

Otherwise, I don't see the reason for having a metronome without either playback or for recording purposes.

[Peter G]

Please move the main meter in the mixer view.
Place it to the left instead- always visibile..

Sticky peaks - would be great. (clickable)

[clavguy]

Well. here are my two cents worth...

I don't know if any of these were already mentioned before me... I have not read, in depth, all the suggestions.

1) MIDI step recording capablitlity

2) Ability to take a MIDI track and split it into two tracks based on a MIDI note. This would be a way to make a right hand and a left hand.

3) Trevor brought this up about MIDI files.. but I think surface controls should be apply-able to more than one track at once...

Thanks
Pierre

[Anorax]

Well. here are my two cents worth...

I don't know if any of these were already mentioned before me... I have not read, in depth, all the suggestions.

1) MIDI step recording capability

care to explain?

2) Ability to take a MIDI track and split it into two tracks based on a MIDI note. This would be a way to make a right hand and a left hand.

So you want to be able to automatically split one MIDI track into two tracks based off a fixed midi note?

Sometimes this is not an ideal solution, as the "left" and "right" hand parts can interweave.
However, as Mixcraft6 now stands, you can split a midi track manually, it just requires that you zoom out in the piano roll zoom, highlight all of the part you want to split, then cut and paste it as a separate track. This can be a bit messy, however.

[Impulseman]

Hi!
I'm in no way arguing with you Anorax and please excuse me if it sounds that way to you. I just wish to express my experience with MIDI and my wishes for an old but still in use way of making songs.

I'm still creating song that way (using an old DAW) because I own an Arranger keyboard and I would be happy if DAWs like this still existed today. The problem is, I have to record my song with this program to have all my tracks laid properly, and then transfer the MIDI song in Mixcraft Pro 6, re-arranging the tracks and choosing the instruments I wish to replace (all of them usually ), add FX and re-work the filters through VST plugins to have it sound (partly) like when I originally recorded it because almost all of my MIDI events are useless now.

There used to be a way to implement (assign)all MIDI tracks by zone or part (Cakewalk, Yamaha). I think it still exists today, at least for two parts. MIDI track 1 was used for the right hand section, while the left hand was assigned to MIDI Track 2. A broader example could be for people who play arranger keyboards, or workstation keyboards, where each MIDI track is assigned to a part in the accompaniment (lower) section.

Generally, to every (most of them) arranger keyboard that sends MIDI,

Part (MIDI track) 1 is the right or Global section, then, depending on the make of each keyboard (example given from a Ketron keyboard)
Part (MIDI track) 2 (Lower hand), 3, and 4 are for the lower (manual) section instruments.
Part ( " " ) 5 is assigned to Bass.
Part ( " " ) 6, 7, and 8 are used for automatic accompaniment instruments.
Part ( " " ) 9 serves as 2e Percussion, or Groove track.
Part ( " " ) 10 is, generally for all makes, the Drum section.
Part ( " " ) 11 and 12, again used for more accompaniment instruments.
Part ( " " ) 13 to 16, used for layered parts in the right hand section.

There was a few DAWs ( ex.: Yamaha XGWorks 3, Cakewalk 3) that had this option when creating a new song. One could choose to assign each track based on his keyboard (like this one) internal MIDI implementation in the DAW program. And then, you could record the whole keyboard MIDI tracks at once like any musician.

It worked at the time because there was only MIDI signal going through and internal sound cards were used as MIDI instruments (level 1) and variations (Roland). VST was only used as FX (plugins) after the song was created and some sound cards were providing Reverb and Chorus through MIDI control events (CC 91, 93, 94). Drum reverb, EQ and Filter had their own Control assignments through RPN, NRPN.
It was called a Sequencer. And you didn't need a so strong PC to drive MIDI, but the tracks had to be layered precisely according to your keyboard's GM MIDI track assignment or it wouldn't work.

This is only a part of what you had to do in order to make it record your song. You had many different MIDI norms to obey to depending on the company who made the keyboard (GM1, GM2, GS, XG) (Roland, Yamaha, Solton, Ketron to name a few)

It would be fun to revert partly (for the MIDI part) to this way of recording, since the companies still sell those keyboards today.

Sorry for this looong explanation and thank you for reading it.

[Anorax]

Hi!
I'm in no way arguing with you Anorax and please excuse me if it sounds that way to you. I just wish to express my experience with MIDI and my wishes for an old but still in use way of making songs.

I'm still creating song that way (using an old DAW) because I own an Arranger keyboard and I would be happy if DAWs like this still existed today. The problem is, I have to record my song with this program to have all my tracks laid properly, and then transfer the MIDI song in Mixcraft Pro 6, re-arranging the tracks and choosing the instruments I wish to replace (all of them usually ), add FX and re-work the filters through VST plugins to have it sound (partly) like when I originally recorded it because almost all of my MIDI events are useless now.

There used to be a way to implement (assign)all MIDI tracks by zone or part (Cakewalk, Yamaha). I think it still exists today, at least for two parts. MIDI track 1 was used for the right hand section, while the left hand was assigned to MIDI Track 2. A broader example could be for people who play arranger keyboards, or workstation keyboards, where each MIDI track is assigned to a part in the accompaniment (lower) section.

Generally, to every (most of them) arranger keyboard that sends MIDI,

Part (MIDI track) 1 is the right or Global section, then, depending on the make of each keyboard (example given from a Ketron keyboard)
Part (MIDI track) 2 (Lower hand), 3, and 4 are for the lower (manual) section instruments.
Part ( " " ) 5 is assigned to Bass.
Part ( " " ) 6, 7, and 8 are used for automatic accompaniment instruments.
Part ( " " ) 9 serves as 2e Percussion, or Groove track.
Part ( " " ) 10 is, generally for all makes, the Drum section.
Part ( " " ) 11 and 12, again used for more accompaniment instruments.
Part ( " " ) 13 to 16, used for layered parts in the right hand section.

There was a few DAWs ( ex.: Yamaha XGWorks 3, Cakewalk 3) that had this option when creating a new song. One could choose to assign each track based on his keyboard (like this one) internal MIDI implementation in the DAW program. And then, you could record the whole keyboard MIDI tracks at once like any musician.

It worked at the time because there was only MIDI signal going through and internal sound cards were used as MIDI instruments (level 1) and variations (Roland). VST was only used as FX (plugins) after the song was created and some sound cards were providing Reverb and Chorus through MIDI control events (CC 91, 93, 94). Drum reverb, EQ and Filter had their own Control assignments through RPN, NRPN.
It was called a Sequencer. And you didn't need a so strong PC to drive MIDI, but the tracks had to be layered precisely according to your keyboard's GM MIDI track assignment or it wouldn't work.

This is only a part of what you had to do in order to make it record your song. You had many different MIDI norms to obey to depending on the company who made the keyboard (GM1, GM2, GS, XG) (Roland, Yamaha, Solton, Ketron to name a few)

It would be fun to revert partly (for the MIDI part) to this way of recording, since the companies still sell those keyboards today.

Sorry for this looong explanation and thank you for reading it.

This makes a lot of sense, you want to record left and right into separate MIDI tracks (using channel separation), which if you have the hardware to do, shouldn't be a problem (and makes sense too!).
I think clavguy was talking about separating a midi clip after recording, not during.

As fo a plausible answer to both of these instances, especially if you're recording MIDI, you might want to find a MIDI filter VST plugin, as well as a MIDI rerouter, which you can both use to jerry-rig Mixcraft to do this. Just takes a little time and a bit of fiddling around.

[Impulseman]

Sorry! I guess I must have misread his message.

Yeah! Fiddling around is the word

Wouldn't a MIDI/USB cable do the trick if one wants to record MIDI tracks along with the MIDI Rerouter from his keyboard? Some player/plugins allows you to lay different tracks to assign to the DAW. I have them but never tried (Sampletank 2, Wusik). Does it work similar to that? Would I need anything else to make it work?

Thanks!

[peterthesagafan]

1)drum sequencer with modi drum library so that users can share midi patterns

2) FL style arpeggiator or Logic. Bass and lead pattern midi libraries

3)button to disable all effects on all tracks at once

4)full compatibility with touchscreen PCs. Shortcut to bring fullscreen library, mixer, track pages without docking and undocking.

5) improve midi editing



Love Mixcraft 6 Pro. Cant wait for version 7

[Anorax]

Sorry! I guess I must have misread his message.

Yeah! Fiddling around is the word

Wouldn't a MIDI/USB cable do the trick if one wants to record MIDI tracks along with the MIDI Rerouter from his keyboard? Some player/plugins allows you to lay different tracks to assign to the DAW. I have them but never tried (Sampletank 2, Wusik). Does it work similar to that? Would I need anything else to make it work?

Thanks!

I'll need to take this to PM so we don't keep cluttering the MX7 req thread

[Impulseman]

You're right, I agree. Sorry.

[Impulseman]

A thing I would like to see for MC7, in the Piano Roll: Keeping my Zoom-in routine.

As it is now, the zoom is always too small or far to see my track's notes and every time I change tracks after adjusting my zoom-in, it reverts back to the default thin zooming and I lose track of where I was because it doesn't focus/stick on the spot I am working on. I think it should keep the zoom size at all times or until I change it.