Mixcraft 8.1 Pro Studio
Edilma Howard
One of MusicRadars Best DAWs for 2024! 4.5/5 stars - "If you invest in Mixcraft you'll be getting a well-supported production solution that comes at a great price, and newcomers will find it very approachable."
Mixcraft is Acoustica's highly acclaimed DAW software for Windows that offers a perfect balance of complexity and user-friendliness for music creators. Mixcraft has been a go-to choice for professionals and beginners since its initial release in 2004. The latest version, Mixcraft 10.5, introduces many new refinements and innovations, such as AI-powered stem separation.
In 2023, the introduction of Mixcraft 10 transformed the software into a more intuitive and feature-rich digital audio workstation. Mixcraft 10 received critical acclaim from MusicRadar, who praised its exceptional value and called it "one of the best music apps out there in terms of features vs. price." Mixcraft has two versions: Recording Studio and Pro Studio, which offers more power tools, instruments, and effects.
With Mixcraft, users can record and mix unlimited tracks to perfection. It features almost universal third-party plugin support and supports audio interfaces and hardware controllers. Mixcraft's loop library has over 7,500 professionally-produced loops, music beds, sound effects, and samples in diverse genres. Additionally, there are a vast library of effects and instruments that include a suite of ToneBoosters reverbs, compressors, filters, equalizers, classic synthesizers, electric pianos, rock organs and sampled instruments.
Mixcraft is also loaded with routing and control features, advanced MIDI routing, and clip-based automation tools. Its Performance Panel is ideal for live performance and loop-based composition, and it is also a feature-packed video editing and scoring environment that offers seamless transitions, titles, and scrolling text. Mixcraft offers an all-in-one solution to all your audio and video editing needs in a single virtual studio package.
With the new Mixcraft 10.5 update, Acoustica has enhanced the virtual studio with new features to inspire users and increase productivity. Every improvement in Mixcraft 10.5 aims to improve ease of use, stability, and innovation, allowing musicians to achieve their music goals faster and with professional-level quality.
Some of the new features in Mixcraft 10.5 include Project Templates, which offer task-specific presets for tasks such as podcasting setups, mastering, video editing, and more. MIDI controller support has been expanded, and the new Quick Access panel enables users to quickly add, remove, and reorder instruments and effects on virtual tracks.
Behind the interface improvements is a solid backbone of enhanced stability and plugin support. Mixcraft's robust Plugin Manager displays native and third-party installed virtual instruments and effects plugins, giving users several customization options to manage and navigate their VSTs more easily. And the new Auto-Save feature further reduces the risk of projects lost or corrupted due to misbehaving plug-ins.
The Mixcraft Store tab, introduced in version 10, now offers over 100 items from top brands. The new Loyalty Credit program rewards Mixcraft users with points they can apply as virtual cash towards purchases in the expansive Mixcraft Store.
Mixcraft 10.5 Pro Studio offers an exclusive new feature: the AI-powered Stem Separation tool. With Stem Separation, users can quickly isolate parts of a mixed audio file, such as vocals, piano, drums, and other instruments, into individual tracks, ready for editing, inspection, or replacement. Pro Studio also offers powerful features like Track Regions, audio and MIDI routing, Melodyne pitch shifting, and acclaimed plugins like Cherry Audio's DCO-106, Stardust 201, and Galactic Reverb.
Whether you are a budding musician or a seasoned professional, Mixcraft 10.5 provides an unparalleled range of features - from advanced audio editing capabilities to comprehensive instrument libraries - all at a price sure to leave you astounded. With a starting price of just $79 for the entry-level Mixcraft 10.5 Recording Studio and only $149 for the impressively feature-rich Mixcraft 10.5 Pro Studio, the latest version of Mixcraft truly offers unbeatable value for money. Compare to see which one is right for your studio!
Registered users of previous versions also enjoy generous upgrade pricing and can take advantage of all these new features at a surprisingly low price. Log in to see your personal offer!
The free Mixcraft Remote app for iOS and Android lets you easily control your Mixcraft recording software from your smartphone or tablet. You can start recording, playback, change the recording and playback position, control the master volume, undo and redo changes, and save your Mixcraft project from anywhere in your studio. Strap on your guitar, adjust your microphone, and start recording right from your mobile device!
AI-powered Stem Separation, allowing users to take a mixed audio file and quickly isolate its parts, such as vocals, piano, drums, and other instruments (Mixcraft 10.5 Pro Studio only, see System Requirements below)
Download a free, fully-functional two-week trial of Mixcraft 10.5 Recording Studio to test drive your own personal music recording studio. The online User Manual will help you get started. If you already have a previous version of Mixcraft, the demo will not overwrite your current installation.
Two program versions are available; the least expensive Home Studio edition has been dropped. Mixcraft 10.5 Recording Studio ($99) is now the entry-level version; it comes with unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, 16 virtual instruments, 36 effects, and 7,500 royalty-free loops, sound effects, and samples. Mixcraft 10.5 Pro Studio ($199) is the top-of-the-line package, and it's the version I tested for this review. It adds native Celemony Melodyne 5 Essential for transparent vocal pitch correction, Izotope Mastering Essentials, plus another eight desirable instruments and 14 effects.
Both versions have expanded support for hardware MIDI control surfaces, but Pro Studio also adds some workflow enhancements that really ought to be part of the less expensive version. These include plug-in routing, audio-to-MIDI conversion, and Track Regions, which let you manipulate groups of clips, tracks, and their accompanying automation. If you can, definitely spring for Pro Studio.
The system requirements are very light: any 64-bit Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11 PC with 4GB RAM, a dual-core CPU, and an audio interface. Acoustica recommends Windows 10 or 11, 8GB RAM, and a quad-core processor, and you'll need at least Windows 10 to use Melodyne. Mixcraft is one of the few remaining DAWs that isn't cross-platform, along with Magix Samplitude and Sequoia (which are PC-only) and Apple Logic Pro and GarageBand (which are Mac-only).
For this review, I tested Mixcraft 10.5 Pro Studio Build 596 on an Acer Nitro 5 laptop with a 12th Generation Intel Core i5-12500H CPU, a 17.3-inch 1080p display, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, and Windows 11. I also tested it with a second-generation Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 audio interface, an M-Audio MIDI controller, and a pair of PreSonus Eris E8 XT studio monitors. I also tried it with ASIO4ALL using the laptop's built-in Realtek audio and Mixcraft drivers.
No matter how I configured all the components, I could never reduce the latency to the level I desired; it might just be something with my particular test laptop. Acoustica claims the company has significantly improved overall stability in version 10.5. I had good results when recording and playing back with the Focusrite, although I still ran into some issues, which I'll get to shortly.
Mixcraft looks complicated at first glance, with its tiny buttons and fonts, but it doesn't require much relearning if you're coming over from a competing program. The top right shows the timeline and Arrange portion with individual tracks and clips. The left side contains the track list, with some basic mixer controls and a button to bring up the Performance Clip view that gives you Ableton-style live performance triggers.
The bottom portion of the screen contains multiple views you can toggle by selecting the appropriate tab. Project is just a scratchpad for notes. Sound lets you see the Piano Roll, Step sequencer, or Score (notation) window. Mixer brings up the channel strips, faders, and meters across the bottom. Library lets you dive into the bundled loops and effects.
Acoustica has tinkered with Mixcraft's interface quite a bit over the years, mostly to positive effect. Version 10.5 adds a scalable redesign with more color options for tracks and clips. It's easier to drag automation without disturbing the view now, although there isn't an easy way to see all automation simultaneously across tracks. New project templates complement the Project Start window, giving you a head start on recording or composing tracks in different genres. Mixcraft features streamlined menus, a revised piano roll, automation, and plug-in manager views, although too many Windows XP-style drop-down menus of text still appear around the app.
Mixcraft lacks some larger features from competing DAWs, such as the ability to comp vocal tracks quickly from take lanes as in Ableton Live or to use retroactive record to catch some noodling around on the keyboard that you wish you had recorded la Motu Digital Performer and PreSonus Studio One.
The audio engine also seems a bit fragile, even putting aside possible issues with my laptop. For example, loading and reloading projects paints the tracks one at a time as it loads virtual instruments, which means you can't start working until it's fully loaded. Bumping the project tempo up one beat per minute is enough to throw the playback engine completely off, requiring that you stop and restart the track. Changing the playback position also makes a mess of any arpeggiated instruments. There is an Update button to download updates in the background to install later, but using this still froze up the entire session on me while downloading.
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