Mulab 4

[gpunk]

Seems a very basic host as i have been testing, may have been more interesting if it was a VST/i, looks like it will be playing catch up with other hosts in this price range for a long long time.

[liquidsound]

Short sight!

[gpunk]

Like i said, would have been more interesting as a VSTi, but it lacks quite a few features right now to be of more than a glancing interest to a lot of people

[MuTools]

Which features? (besides multi-core, which is being worked on)

[MuTools]

The mystery of why Muzys' customers were jilted?

Just to be clear: Not by me!

And i'm crazy enough to rebuild the whole thing.

[MuTools]

Here at least the reincarnation is far better and with a more wide future. MuLab really rocks. The modular aspect is very deep!

Really? So, where is Loop Composer and Playroom? There is maybe 2/3 functionality of Muzys, only Modular (don't know what its name is for now) is more advanced than Muzynth

I don't agree. There are many aspects where MuLab has surpassed Muzys by far.

About the Loop Composer and Playroom: Yes still very interesting concepts, and i want them back too, got detailed notes about that on the wishlist. If they're reincarnated, it will be in a 'next generation' version. The ideas/concepts are growing step by step.

[Trancit]

Perhaps, it helps a little to name a few things from my own experiences, because some of the comments posted here, came into my mind too, but sometimes I was wrong...

First of all (as far as I understand MuLab):

@ All people using hosts like Reaper, Cubase, Sonar and similar for multitrack recording, band recording, orchestral composing and all the other classic sequencer stuff... you are mostly wrong here...it isn't the approach of MuLab to replace those products and workflows or to be a competitor of those and it would take ages for a single programmer to set MuLab featurewise on par with them...

@ All the people doing a lot of more "modern" work (HipHop, electronic and dance styles etc.) or enjoy playing around with modular approaches like Reaktor, energyXT, Reason and so on...I think, MuLab can be the perfect addition or even a replacement for some of these tools...
Of course, the modular world of MuLab is not as deep as Reaktor, Synthedit or Synthmaker, but goes (in most aspects) far beyond the possibilities of Reason or energyXT, which are more comparable...

MuLab does, what many people want Reason to be... It offers everything you need to produce music right out of the box... with an awesome sound quality and second (not less important) complete editable by it's modularity...(an equivalent to Reason)...
The magic with MuLab starts, where Reason stopps: it is not a closed system even if you can use it as one... you got VST support and Midi out...and these features are available too at the modular level...:
- Layer a MuLab internal Osc (which can load every singlecycled wave, offers wavedraw and waveshaping)
- with a VSTi,
- send it through an envelope controlled additional multimode filter (or 2 or 5),
- add a multisample after this and
- combine all together afterwards trough an amplifier, controlled by a multisegment envelope (temposynced or not with any number of points and multiple shapes) for volume and/or pan,
- add a VST effect for the left channel and a MuLab effect for the right channel,
- combined with some additional filtering (and so on and so on) and
- save all together in a single instrument...
- build your own GUI for this instrument by drag n drop with any number of knobs and buttons, color it...
no problem...
with Mulab...
and now tell me, which other host does this ???(I am not familiar with Usine or Plogue Bidule though, but as far as what I've seen, these look quite complicated to me)

This is, what MuLab offers for
75,-€
, combined with a very flexible sequencer, usuable in traditional way, but even pattern based and a developer, who does his job very very well...
You name a bug...how long do you wait for a fix for energyXT or Reason??? Months??? Years??? Does it ever happen???
From my personal experience with Jo, I've waited often a few hours, if he was busy perhaps max. 2 days, sometimes even with feature requests...
This is a support, how it should be!

Of course, nothing is perfect in this world and even such a wonderful product like MuLab isn't, but all important features are on the to-do-list and the most wanted one (Multicore Support) is only a matter of a few month now...
And believe me, the time you'll need to explore MuLab's deepness till it will be really necessary to have multicore support will take longer...
If you have a look at the new M4 video ( http://www.mutools.com/mulab-intro-movie.html ), the song you hear was made entirely with MuLab internals and take max. about 45% CPU on a single core of a quite aged Q6600 @2,4GHz...plenty or room to be more creative

[MuTools]

Seems a very basic host.

It might feel that way, at first.
Because i try to keep things as simple as possible, at the surface.

But you can see it like this: If M4 has 2 toolsets, each one giving you 5 options. Then it's not that you have only 10 options in total, no, you got 25 options in total!

I guess it's not a commercial vision, as many people want many features right in the face. I have another philosophy. I rather give you 5 x 5 options than 1 x 10. (where 1 x 10 is more commercial)

Hey i'm not saying M4 is perfect, certainly not. I do want multi-core too asap!
And much more. But i'm just explaining the philosophy of MuLab a bit.

[artificial]

congratulations for the release!

[mrdr]

Which features? (besides multi-core, which is being worked on)

- PDC
- Freeze (in some straightforward form)
- Browser
- muDrum more configurable, but also easier. why there can not be 16 pads in a more familiar mpc way with only one sampler on pad?
- more configurable mixer, slimmer strips, sends, insert on top, or under. at least automatically expanded on selected strip.
- some update to pre-muzys event graph editor, lfos, displayed values, stuff from nowadays hosts.
- usable sequence pool in on screen browser and 'live' functions (some playroom and loop composer ideas here)
- also is it possible to change this obscure 3d effect on notes in note editor ?

[pljones]

- PDC
- Freeze (in some straightforward form)

Both on the feature request list that'll get voted on and then considered. (Oh yes - Jo takes votes for where to spend his time.)

- Browser

For?

- muDrum more configurable, but also easier. why there can not be 16 pads in a more familiar mpc way with only one sampler on pad?

More configurable with fewer features? Sorry, I don't understand.

- more configurable mixer, slimmer strips, sends, insert on top, or under. at least automatically expanded on selected strip.

Skinning is easy enough. How configurable a mixer do you want? You can move the pre-/post-fader setting, have sends and inserts, move plugins, stick a MUX in and have immense power... etc... So, you'll need to explain this...

- some update to pre-muzys event graph editor, lfos, displayed values, stuff from nowadays hosts.

As I understand it, Jo does not have access to the intellectual property involved. He's not allowed to do this. Or have I misunderstood?

- usable sequence pool in on screen browser and 'live' functions (some playroom and loop composer ideas here)

Yep, with you here! Not sure where they are on the request list but I think they're on it.

- also is it possible to change this obscure 3d effect on notes in note editor ?

Not sure what you mean.

[mrdr]

Don't bother, you're not funny enough.

[MuTools]

Which features? (besides multi-core, which is being worked on)

- Freeze (in some straightforward form)
- Browser

Agreed.

- muDrum more configurable

How do you mean?
Isn't the MuDrum is Very configurable?
Each pad can even host VST(s) in a modular structure, if you want.

why there can not be 16 pads in a more familiar mpc way with only one sampler on pad?

I think layering 2 (or more) samples to make a drum sound is not an exceptional thing, at the contrary. And each sample can be processed in its own way and/or the two can be processed together.

Why 12 pads: Because then you got a drum sound on each key of the keyboard, independent from the octave, that's easy. Anyway, maybe the number of pads can be made configurable lateron.

more configurable mixer

How do you mean?

MuLab's racks (mixer strips) are very foncigurable as you can define where to insert your plugins and 'Sends' i.e. pre- or post-fader, or pre- or post plugin X.

Maybe i'm missing your point?

slimmer strips sends, insert on top, or under. at least automatically expanded on selected strip.

You can control whether the racks should be small or wide or automatic: Right-click the collpase/expand button in the top-left of a rack, there you got all options.

lfos

LFOs and Super Modulators are in there, cfr http://www.mutools.com/mulab/docs/mulab-modules.html

displayed values

How do you mean? Parameter values are displayed, no?

stuff from nowadays hosts.

Which stuff? (besides the ones already mentioned)

also is it possible to change this obscure 3d effect on notes in note editor?

Which obscure 3d effect?

[mrdr]

Anyway, maybe the number of pads can be made configurable lateron.

Would be nice.

You can control whether the racks should be small or wide or automatic: Right-click the collpase/expand button in the top-left of a rack, there you got all options.

Indeed, didn't find it

more configurable mixer

I mean it would be nice to see some 30 or more channels at once, hence the idea of place inserts on top of vol slider for slimmer strips. Functionally mixer is ok.

LFOs and Super Modulators are in there, cfr http://www.mutools.com/mulab/docs/mulab-modules.html

Nice, especially Super Modulator

Parameter values are displayed, no?

Indeed, forgot that was there in Muzys, too

Which stuff? (besides the ones already mentioned)

Multi lanes, beziers, lfos, some kind of hook on velocity to easier grasp note when there are more notes on the same time (live,flstudio, maschine)
Also, I would rather decide myself if I would use event editor in curve or bar mode.

Which obscure 3d effect?

Would like to see flat 2d notes in note editor like in Live,Reaper without this 3d effect.

Can't wait how come multi-core and PDC in MuLab

[christianmusicmaker]

You'll forgive me but not having multicore support or x64 is really not a good thing. Vital even for most home-hobbyists.

x64 support and muliticore are essential for me. Might have another look at some point in future once both of those features are part of ML4 or later.