MuTools

anubis2010 · Post by **anubis2010** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 8:21 pm

Hi

I have been a user of many pro quality DAWS for years and have recently been using MU.LAB and I love it.

I have only just joined the forum and noticed that there are many viewers on forum topics but not many users actually make comments/feedback.

I am aware that Jo is working hard on M3 and I feel that right now he could use all the feedback he can get so that M3 will be a great release and I am sure it will be anyway.

I was wondering how many active forum members we have and what level of DAW experience each of us had.

So to this end, if you want to, please just introduce yourself by replying with a short summary of your experience etc. You do not need to give anything personal away.

It does not matter if you have used MU.LAB for years or minutes, all views and opinions are valid on forums. There is no right or wrong, just freedom to discuss issues on MU.LAB to help make it the best it can be.

I hope that this does not upset anyone and I hope you all will feel happy to reply, if only just to say hello.

anubis2010

Bonteburg · Post by **Bonteburg** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:37 pm

Evening,

Muzys was my ticket to the computer music world. That was in late 2001 (it didn't even have VSTi support but you could feed it aifs and wavs), great great times.

I stayed with Muzys until it was discontinued and switched to Logic Express after a shortish period of frantic searching in early 2004.

I basically spent a year or so of bitching about Logic and how it would never be as good as Muzys and another year of getting to really like it!

Then Luna came along. I kind of watched Luna evolve and turn into MU.LAB in 2006-2008, all the while using Logic as my main sequencer and picking up Renoise on the way.

I finally made the switch to MU.LAB and Renoise when I moved to a new computer that couldn't run my Logic Express version any longer, but required a new OS if I was going to get an upgrade.

I'm not making much music lately, a fact that sadly reflects on my post-count on the MU.LAB forum, but I wouldn't want to do without MU.LAB or Renoise these days, though I keep toying with the idea of adding Logic to my setup.

Marco

anubis2010 · Post by **anubis2010** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:19 am

Hi Marco

Many thanks for being the first to reply. Your reply is exactly what I am after. Hopefully the more users that reply as you have we can make this forum more alive.

Please do not be scared replying to this message. The more new blood we have the better.

If you do not have a KVR account they are simple to set up and you can remain complete anonymous. You can just be know by your handle like mine anubis2010.

I look forward to others replying in a similar fashion to Marco, once again Marco thanks for being the first. Hopefully others will follow.

Kind regards

anubis2010

rossi46 · Post by **rossi46** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:59 pm

Hello

I am still at school. I have been using Cubase LE for about a year. I have been using mulab for about six months. It is very easy to use.

rossi46

liquidsound · Post by **liquidsound** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:57 pm

Here we go,

Started with Software stuff and tons of hardware with Mac SE and Performer (BC? AD?) then I received by mail a copy of the first Reactor and tried on a friend's DAW: I went crazy.

Back to the future: I am a heavy Reason User and a Combinator's lover (and the MUX is a Combinator on Steroids).

Most of my work outside Reason (yes I am not a Reason tunnel vision fanatic, no room for that in today VST's world) is done on the road on my laptop when I have the time and I used primarily energyXT due to the Midi Editor workflow which is coming to MuLab v3 with all is wonderful and superior architecture and I am ready to call the movers and take everything into MuLab

When I finish the writing part I import in MuLab (thanks to Rewire!) because the Sound engine in my opinion is superb and has a depth missing in energyXT and no way to be achieved in Reason (Reason users are going to crucify me for this but it's a reality).

And another reason why I am here is that the developer has Ears and Willingness to improve on a consistent basis with his own Menu and the special of the day too.

Community is impeccable and the future looks bright.

liquidsound.

A happy and grateful owner/user of MuLab.

anubis2010 · Post by **anubis2010** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:50 pm

Hi rossi46 and Liquidsound,

Thank you both for replying. That makes 4 of us so far and is a great start.

Liquidsound - Great work on the solo/mute and thanks to Jo for 2.6.1

From now on I will let this forum topic grow on it's own without passing futher comment.

Hopefully other users will added to this topic or it will sink like a lead balloon which would be a shame. once it goes on to the second page of the forum it will be lost forever (well almost).

Go on have a go, what have you to loose.

Kind regards

anubis2010

DaveL60 · Post by **DaveL60** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 4:51 pm

My music history goes back about 40 years to learning on the electric organ around age 10, then a few years later the guitar. Unfortunately, when I had the time as a teenager I didn't have the passion to devote my energy to it, and now that I feel more passionate about it, don't have the time. C'est la vie.

Have always been fascinated with recording, but the reality is that I've only dabbled off-and-on along the way. In high school my first recording was Evil Ways, done with two tape machines, bouncing machine-to-machine, overlaying each track as I went. Great fun. In my 20s I bought a Fostex X-15 cassette 4-track, and did a few songs on that. Almost everything I was doing was effectively covers, as I wasn't much for songwriting.

In the computer era I've played with Jazz++, ACID Pro 4, Tracktion 1.6, Computer Muzys, Samplitude 9SE, EnergyXT Core 2.5, and CMusic/LUNA/MU.LAB, but in keeping with the dabbling notion, haven't spent enough with any of them to become really proficient. I've completed a few original tracks in ACID and Samplitude, and nearly finished some in Tracktion. Of the programs I've used, I've probably found Tracktion the most comfortable and Computer Muzys the most confusing (I did gradually start to puzzle that one out). MU.LAB is something I want to get to know better, but keep getting distracted with other shiny new toys, plus there's always the time issue (especially since I'm currently dabbling in acting). But I think it's a nice tool, and I really appreciate Jo's dedication to connecting with and responding to his users.

Hopefully sometime soon (defined, I think, as within a year or two), I'll have some nice track done in MU.LAB to show off.

DaveL

liquidsound · Post by **liquidsound** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 7:18 pm

Yes DaveL60, time and toys

it's true.

But let me tell you, I bought some very nice Soft Synths (z3ta+, Zebra2, Albino, BLUE, Sylenth1, and other great free stuff like Oatmeal, Crystal, Helix etc.).

No to show my library but to say that MuLab has some serious Toys when it comes to built in synths. The sound quality of Synthia and MuSynth are really amazing and since I am not a sound designer I wish there were more preset wrote for these two great synths. And with MUX you can spend all the time you've got at hand. It reminds me Bidule.

Try to get distracted with this two Toys and you will be happy you did.
Yea I like Tracktion too.

Nice topic anubis2010.

DaveL60 · Post by **DaveL60** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:47 pm

liquidsound wrote:No to show my library but to say that MuLab has some serious Toys when it comes to built in synths. The sound quality of Synthia and MuSynth are really amazing and since I am not a sound designer I wish there were more preset wrote for these two great synths.

Agree on both points; got a bit of start on a track inspired by playing with Synthia presets. And would love more, as I've not developed any skill for sound design, either. I'm also very fond of Crystal.

DaveL

anubis2010 · Post by **anubis2010** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:25 am

Hi me again,

On reading the comments from other users on this topic I realized that I have not said much about my own DAW experience etc. So to that end please read on...

Well it all started about 1980 when a band called Foreigner released a song called "Jukebox Hero". About a bloke that found a secondhand guitar in a junk shop.

Anyway to cut a long story short I have been collecting junk shop guitars for years and playing them and writing my own songs.

When technology finally caught up with me and someone invented PCs and DAWs, I was able to record audio and MIDI etc. Then VSTi arrived and WOW!

I have been a Cubase user for years. I had Reason 4 but no audio in/VSTi so that went to ebay and I got Ableton Live 8. One day on the web I found mulab. Tried it loved it.

Now I have both Live 8 and mulab.

I have both like I have two favorite guitars. A Les Paul and a Stratocaster (both high quality copies).

In the ideal world I would like to just have one DAW and hopefully M3 will get me closer to that goal.

I think I suffer from a mild form of dyslexia and always spell things wrong and sometimes get the order a bit muddled, so please take this into account when you read my posts (my teachers always said read your own work before handing it in, I did it looked fine to me. I handed it in, it came back with loads of red rings around the words and something about "C minus" whatever that was).

I was never a very confident kid and probably missed my "Rock Star" window of opportunity due to stage fright and telling myself I was not good enough etc. I am now much more confident and I am happy to play with the cards I have been dealt. I am a flawed human, but I am happy with that. I woke up one day and just said "what the hell".

I hope finally to release some of my own music to the world over the next year or two using mulab as my main DAW.

To all the other mulab forum users out there who have not posted a reply to this topic yet. Please do, I for one would love to read your story.

Well there you go.

Kind regards

anubis2010

andreas.koerner · Post by **andreas.koerner** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:02 pm

Hi!

I use mu.lab primary as a keyboard (my keyboard sound ugly, but sends midi).
I searched the whole internet for an audio host, which I could use for live performance (which I could pay) and virtual intruments.

I did not had very much success, so I built my own system based on midipipe, garageband and rax, which of course was not very stable. So one pretty day I asked jo if he could do midi splitting... and five minutes later he answered with the solution (as a patch!)...
since them I love mu.lab and mutools. =)

My DAW experience is very little I have only used garageband right now. But If I'll create a Patch i'll post it. (sadly my band breaks up currently...)

andi

liquidsound · Post by **liquidsound** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:16 pm

I liked Live (I got the Lite version with M-Audio stuff) but I have a huge problem with Hard wired Software validation.
I you tie a program to my PC you loose me as a customer. Simple as that.

Live has chosen that system.

MuLab is always with me and very well guarded.
The only program I had to give in is PianoTeq but there is no substitute for this one, so I get up to three installations. I tend to reformat and change laptop quite often and this is not comfortable with licensing.
BLUE and RMV at least went for the Dongle.

Many of us mention the fact of making the final decision as which DAW they are eventually going to make the Main one.

One thing I do is this: I use my current main DAW for the initial fast work and then I import in MuLab, and from that moment on, I work on both for fine tuning, mixing and mastering to see the plus and minus (by project) for each program.

So far I think MuLab has the best sound engine for my taste and with each little upgrade the comfort zone in moving more and more into MuLab.
As you know from my posts I use Reason, (rarely FL, Live and Reaper) and energyXT which has the best Midi editor (not for long...M3 coming soon).

I pretty much know for sure that M3 will do the job and since there is no such a thing as the perfect DAW, by having done this kind of cross work as described above I am convinced that by Give and Take comparison MuLab is the most enjoyable, earning my trust and respect all the way.
Jo is an impeccable developer.

Try if you have time and you'll see what I mean.

pljones · Post by **pljones** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:33 pm

(Danger - long post warning. Make sure you're sitting comfortably..!)

Music... Computer music... Creating songs? Playing live...

All ideas that have been with me since childhood, I guess. I started learning clarinet at school - I guess I wanted to play jazz clarinet but of course, you don't get anything but classical. I also studied ("classical") music - in those days, again, that was all there was on offer. I played in the school orchestra, which was quite fun (apart from the brass...). I learnt a bit of piano - how the octaves are laid out, what the pedals do, how to find chords. My uncle had an electric organ (two manuals and bass pedals) that I couldn't play

...

Probably since I'd first started getting into rock, I'd wanted to be a drummer like Cozy Powell. No chance at school (only one guy seemed to get to play percussion and classical percussion isn't really the same as playing drum kit...)

My first computer was a ZX81 (ordered for my birthday and, thanks to the wonders of Clive Sinclair, delivered only 8 months late). I tried getting it to make music but it wasn't really until I got a BBC Micro that my computer could make musical sounds. And I bought a Music 5000 -- a system that was MIDI-capable though I only bought the base synth module -- and then didn't really know what to do with it! After adding several more BBC Micros, I bought an Archimedes; that had built-in sound about as good as the Music 5000 (but no onboard MIDI). But I'd got the Archimedes to get into unix.

I moved out of the house I'd just bought to live with my wife-to-be. And shortly afterwards bought a drum kit and started taking lessons. Incredibly enjoyable but FAR TOO LOUD. Hmm. I actually didn't enjoy as much as I might have playing because the kit was too loud... I got rid of it again after not many months.

After that, I spent more and more time on unix and less time doing anything musical (I pretty much even stopped buying or listening to music!).

Eventually my unix journey took me to a PC running Linux and I discovered it could handle audio and MIDI. After some time enjoying the Linux music environment (I'm another ex-Jazz++ user), I moved back to Windows.

What a shock. The OS doesn't support making music!

I got TiMidity++ up and running on Windows, got Jazz++ running, linked them up with MIDI OX and discovered audio latency!

After avoiding the more "pro" audio sites, I eventually discovered K-v-R and started buying Computer Music. And found Computer Muzys. And bought Muzys 2.x.

As I'd been working with TiMidity++, I'd spent a long time working with samples and soundfonts. I was now searching for a VSTi with good soundfont support. Jezkola? No, very poor. Bismark? Better but no cigar (bought it though...). rgc:audio sfz? Wow. Hang on, that's almost impossibly good. Anti-aliased and fully supporting the Soundfont spec, it actually sounded better than TiMidity++ on Linux (unlike all other soundfont players I've ever come across to this day). I made sure I followed further developments.

I'd come across ns_kit5 and 6 drum kits and then ns_kit7 (free) came out. It sounded amazing through SFZ and I thought it'd be great to be able to trigger it live.

I realised my PC needed an upgrade. Fortunately, it was due one, so I spec'd for music under Windows. Ouch, the price tag. I got a new PC with MiaMIDI and Evolution MK-249 keyboard. Live drumming via the keyboard. Hmm, didn't feel right and needed a lot of editing. (Muzys made this really easy.)

So I looked around for drum triggers. I ended up getting a TrapKAT based on its sensitivity, design and the fact it's a small company who seem to actually care about their customers.

Then out came what I'd been waiting for... ns_kit7 full. And a PC upgrade to 2Gb RAM plus Kontakt. Of course, I was struggling to remember how to actually play! But having a lot of fun.

Then someone mentioned NINJAM and I had a new toy to play with. NINJAM took me to Reaper -- because the ReaNINJAM VST is locked to its host.

Somewhere along the journey, Muzys 2.x became Muzys 3.0 through to 3.14. That was the time between me moving to Windows and getting the TrapKAT. I was actually working on writing music! (Almost all my soundclick stuff is from that period.) And then >NDA<

. And a long wait. And then LUNA through to where we are now

!

I've tried a few DAWs: eXT, Traktor and Project 5 spring to mind as ones I looked at between Muzys and LUNA. But Muzys was so much better or easier than everything else I looked at. (eXT was interesting but too difficult to get anything going.) I'm only using Reaper for playing in NINJAM. All my composing is still done in MU.LAB. When I next upgrade my PC, I'm expecting to be using MU.LAB for all my plugin hosting with Reaper just handling the audio out to NINJAM when I'm jamming. (Currently, my PC isn't powerful enough for that configuration, so Reaper hosts all the plugins when I'm jamming; but this is limiting compared to having the power of MU.LAB..!)

anubis2010 · Post by **anubis2010** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:54 pm

Hi

liquidsound - Yes Jo's no nonsense licence key and run from USB is the way to go.

Hopefully after the release of M3 I will put LIVE 8 on ebay.

And thanks to all the other mulab users that have replied on this "who are you" topic. I have enjoyed reading your comments they make me smile. Keep them coming.

Kind regards

anubis2010

J. Dillinger · Post by **J. Dillinger** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 1:16 am

New to MULAB but not music software. I've also used Reason and FL Studio, but switched to a Mac about 3 years ago. I've putzed around with Reason on the Mac, but would prefer FL Studio for Mac but according to some posts on their web site that isn't going to happen. While searching for some Mac OS music software I came across MULAB and have been giving it a go. I like the straight forward approach it has, but need to spend some more time pushing it a bit.

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