My (ignored?) FR for Mulab.

[Slarti]

Hello Jo,

"All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others"

It seems that there are people on this forum who only have to utter a single word ('generic VST interface') and their wish gets granted instantly while others' requests are scoffed upon and ignored.

Yes I am jealous and a little annoyed. Sorry about that!

I am a good payng customer (I bought several incarnations of Luna/Mulab UL for FULL price, no upgrades) and I probably will buy the Mux also. (39 Eur. crossgrade would have been a 'no-brainer' price, now I'm thinking a llittle bit longer). I always liked your products a lot, although the documentation of Mulab and Mux could be a little more in-depht.

Granted I'm not a 'power-user'. I just started using Mulab, but there are things I noticed and that I submitted to you for consideration.

I only got a 'generic' response.

So I submit my requests once more and this time I would like a more detailed answer on whether it is feasible and in what (possible) timeframe:

- In VSTi & Mux play editors implement the 'Randomize' function to randomize parameters. Maybe same functionality as the 'Change Keys' function in Sequence editor? ( This Is Very Important To Me! Now I still have to use a third party plugin like 'Chainer')

- In sequence editor the left side 'keyboard' should be 'scrubable'; (when dragging over the 'keyboard' with mouse-button pressed the appropriate notes should be triggered).

- Also it would be fun that when that 'keyboard' is clicked in record mode it could record those events.

- Please make a shortcut for moving selected notes with computer keys.

- Or when moving notes with mouse add a 'lock' function' to prevent unwanted transposition! (This is now a bit of a pain.)

- Also, in sequence editor a 'fill' or 'pattern fill' function would be nice!

[MuTools]

Hey, i can understand your reaction but:

1) I do not have to pay responsability to you about which features are implemented and which not. If you're a paying customer, you paid for the existing version. And you'll get free updates as promised, but you do not have 'a license' to tell me which features must be implemented or to force me to immediately give detailed analysis and time estimations. We do not have an R&D agreement about future developments. If you want such custom R&D agreement, then i'm open to that, but please note that i'll be charging per hour then. (or per project)

2) Just FYI and without any intention to pay responsability: The generic interface was already in there, i only added an extra gateway to it. So it took almost no time to add something very useful, requested by several experienced users.

3) I have a looong list of feature requests, almost 2000 lines of text. As i replied to you before as well by email as well here on the forum: i have added some of your requests on the wishlist. When i start on a big new version (next: MuLab 5) i go thru the whole wishlist, think a lot about all things, i make relations, then i make a selection. That selection is influenced by many parameters, but one of the most important parameters is: How many people want feature x. If your feature requests are also often requested by other users, chance grows that they will be implemented earlier.

4) If you think it's something personal, then you're thinking wrong.
I treat everyone the same here. FYI: Also others experienced a similar thing, and sometimes people think i ignore them, which is not true. It's not because i don't reply to every single word (i do not have the time for that, otherwise no R&D anymore) that i didn't read it.

5) You wrote: "I only get a generic response". Yes that's true. But you're not alone. If you're a bit longer on this forum you'll understand that i can not reply and discuss to each and every feature request. The only thing i still can say is: I read everything, and interesting FRs are added on the WL.

Please believe me: i'm doing my best.

[MuTools]

I bought several incarnations of Luna/Mulab UL for FULL price, no upgrades.

Thanks for that! I really hope you enjoyed these products! I also hope that since you know me for longer time already, you know that i do take user feedback very serious.

[sl23]

We all do appreciate your position Jo, I'm sure, but it can be a little frustrating not knowing what's going on. That said we'd all prefer r & d to replies

Is there any way at all you could make the wishlist a publicly viewable or downloadable document? I mean without taking up too much of your time.

[MuTools]

We all do appreciate your position Jo, I'm sure, but it can be a little frustrating not knowing what's going on.

I understand. But i don't know how i could solve that. I really must be so careful with my time management.

Is there any way at all you could make the wishlist a publicly viewable or downloadable document? I mean without taking up too much of your time.

I'm afraid that's not an easy thing to do as that wishlist includes brief technical annotations. And even if it would exist publicly, do you really think most people would first do a proper search before they would post? Not saying this as a reproach, but just from experience. And also: Having such wishlist in public would not decrease the request to me to give feedback on it. So it won't be a solution, i think. Thanks for suggesting.

[> DiGiT <]

haha i said the exact same things and after jo installed some sense into my brain i realize that its pointless to be upset and that what mulab ends up with is what it ends up with. i have no control here, but i take solace in the fact that i have always enjoyed jo's software and i doubt that will change. somewhere down the line we will all have everything we want.

[sl23]

@DiGit: ditto!

[Trancit]

... i have no control here,...

Just to clarify this: Nor you will have any control over any other product existing on this world untill you start to make your own one...
That's one big privileg of developers...
But regarding how Jo handles FRs, I have to say, I never met a developer, who makes his product such "community-driven" like he do, if possible...
Thumps up on not only that!!!

[fluffy_little_something]

I also think that we buy the software as is. If we don't like it enough when testing the demo version, we should not buy it in the first place.

One should also keep in mind that, unlike Steinberg etc., Mutools seems to be a one-man show, and not even full-time at that. I must admit that I might have thought twice about buying Mulab if I had known that before. But then again, when we post what we think are bugs, Jo reacts pretty fast, can't be any faster with the big companies out there, they don't really like contact, actually.
Regarding the wishlist, I used to write such lists for Santa Claus when I was a boy, still waiting for that helicopter... I am sure Jo reads most posts on this sub forum and if there is some suggestion that makes sense, he will consider it for the future. We can't demand Ford build this or that into their cars, either.

Since Mutools is such a small enterprise, I am afraid that despite the useful input this sub forum is also taking him quite some time. Writing a long reply takes a quarter of an hour or more. I suppose at the end of the day, he spends about an hour or two reading and writing on this forum, precious time he could have used to improve his product.

[sorohanro]

I want to add several things, just for giving an alternative point of view:
Want:
- a stable product
- a fast developing software with eye-blink fast new features
- a fast, in depth forum response to EVERYTHING
- Tutorials, complex manual, tool-tips with "if you push this, this will be pushed"
- Better web design
- CUSTOMIZATION
And all that not from a big budget company but from a single person who is making this alone and trying also to have a life...

[Reincke]

... from a single person who is making this alone and trying also to have a life...

Yes, and why the heck having a life when one can have 150 posts a day from super-attentive, mega-patient users looking forward to scan those weekly MuLab releases for possible bugs (besides making music) ...
Sorry for that, please discard it from the transcript.

[DHR53]

I can't think of another product that has been updated as much as MuLab over the past few years... or that the developer communicates as frequently answering questions, taking suggestions and or explaining the development process. MuLab is in a class by itself in that regard.

[MuTools]

One should also keep in mind that, unlike Steinberg etc., Mutools seems to be a one-man show

I'm coding alone at the moment, yes that's true. But i'm very thankful to many people supporting this project and the development of the mu-tools. This is not 'a one man show'.

and not even full-time at that.

If "full time" is defined by 40 hours per week, then believe me, i'm doing much more than a full time on MuTools, even when i indeed do side projects from time to time, which is not a bad thing as it broadens the mind, gives inspiration and so that's a good thing for everyone involved.

[Monkage]

I can't think of another product that has been updated as much as MuLab over the past few years... or that the developer communicates as frequently answering questions, taking suggestions and or explaining the development process. MuLab is in a class by itself in that regard.

There are plenty of other products with just as many updates and just as much communication, however even from a cursory outside glance (Still edged on the side of not buying MUX just yet) Jo is very responsive, I can however understand people wanting their features implemented and getting worried when others are and theirs not.
That is a known phenomenon and the reason a lot of companies distance themselves, because Jo is here and responsive it gives the air of "He will sort this for me, he's one of the good guys" all too often can turn to backlash unfortunately.

As with Reaper (Which gets the most updates of any app around) you get what you get (the last time there was something in Reaper i would ever use was a year ago at least)

Anyway must try MUX again and see if i am being drawn in yet hehehe