I have now been working on a project in MuLab for some time, exploring features and tools that I haven’t been using before. Here’s a list of the comments I made while working on the project. I hope it can be useful when updating MuLab.
As this kind of list only tells of things I think could be improved, let me start out with a few remarks about the overall MuLab experience:
- - First, let me say that MuLab is a great tool. It's so easy to work with that nothing stands in the way of one’s creativity. Likewise, the workflow is excellent, perhaps the best of any DAW.
- While its synths and FX sound great, MuLab is still extremely light on the CPU. As a comparison, I exchanged its compressor to a highly favored one, but when I thought I had overloaded the compressor due to a clipping sound, I soon realized it was since the other compressor needed so much more from the CPU that clipping appeared.
- MuLab is also really easy on the eyes, better than any other DAW I have used. This is often overlooked, but a true gift for anyone actually doing real work in the studio for a couple of hours and not just trying out stuff.
- Last but not least, it seems extremely stable. I had no crashes during my work with MuLab, though my song hade about twenty tracks, and lots of synths and FX.
- - When I save a project under a new name, it doesn't appear as the default on the popup menu when I start MuLab. Instead, the old project appears. Not sure really why and exactly when this happens, but I think it’s confusing.
- I had four tracks of backup vocals. Instead of routing them to Master, I re-routed them to a rack called BackupVocals, so that I could control all of them at once. Late, I muted BackupVocals, as I was aiming to only listen to the LeadVocal track. However, "muting" a rack seems to be the same as bypassing (like bypassing a VST in a rack), meaning that when I muted BackupVocals, the original four backup vocals tracks (and racks) were still sounding, and according to their original volume). Should I do this another way? If my workflow is correct, then I think that the audio signal coming into the rack should be muted if I mute the rack in question.
- I work on a 14 inch monitor. This poses a few problems (but not many, and I know it's my own fault of working on such a small monitor): Having twenty racks, the rack section doesn't fit (even when using minimized racks). This is fine, as the rack pane is scrollable, but it is forgetting its state every now and again, so it scrolls back to the left all the time instead of being put where I was working on something. Also, the MuPad instrument doesn’t fit; it’s “too vertical”. (Not that I would have use of it anyway I think; just reporting.)
- In Multisampla, in the keyboard setup window, I'd like to see the filesize of a selected sample (and perhaps more info regarding the file quality). This would help me judge the quality of the sample (in case I have several of them and don't know which is which). I would also like a pointer to locate the file (such as "Open folder in File Explorer"). To me, it’s a bit confusing understanding where all samples (etc) end up – will they be kept with the project in case I move my project to another computer, or will it stay in a MuLab folder somewhere else? Or will it be duplicated, so that I can both bring it with me and use it in other projects as well?
- Ideally, I'd like the Multisampla to be a bit less secretive. It really took me a while to figure out how to set up a keyboard (for the piano roll) in MuLab, since there are two samplers and since the keyboard window is not visible when Multisampla is fired up. I think that sampling is such an overlooked aspect of making music today so it should really be emphasized and easily accessible. BTW, I’m not sure either why there is both a sampler and a multisampler (which could perhaps be substituted by a sample player with emphasis on dragging samples to the keyboard layout).
- In the composer, I’m not sure what to think of the default naming of part names. "Sequence35" or so isn't that describing to me. Why not just the name of the track (perhaps without caps) plus a number, so that I would get "piano4"? I'm sure this problem has been dealt with in other DAWs - perhaps there is some smarter solution. What about selecting all parts of a track and then rename them to whatever the user enters plus a sequential number? That would be awesome.
- I would also like a Humanizing function for velocity, starting point, and why not also note length, in the Functions list when I right-click selected notes in a piano roll editor. This could be done using three sliders.
- I'd also like more tooltips overall. For example, take the Classic Piano sample player. What are KT, VS, S-FD, and E-FD? (I could guess some of them, but that’s not my point.) Note that there are tooltips for Legato mode and Poly Glide, as well as the composer’s Play button etc, so I think it wouldn't feel strange with more tooltips.
- In the piano roll editor's Change Note Length window, what's the difference between “percentual” (which I don’t think is a real word by the way) and “relative”?
- For the piano roll editor, I'd also like a feature for cutting selected notes and their relative positions in half, and to double them. This is handy when you realize that notes have been entered in double or half tempo. This could perhaps also be implemented for the entire part from the settings icon in the composer, as a user might have added a drum part (or imported a drum part from another session) in double/half tempo.
- I would be extremely happy if the keyboard in the piano roll could indicate what note the mouse pointer is at the moment. It would be a really welcome addition, and my top-1 addition to MuLab!
- Speaking of which: In Reason, there is a handy feature for only allowing for certain notes in the piano roll, such as “Only triads”. I think it would be great to have an icon like “Restrict added notes to scale”, so that in C Major, only white key notes would be allowed for example, when adding them with the pencil. This would make the entering process a lot quicker. (In most pop music, there are very few notes that are not in scale.) Obviously this would require a setting of the scale for the project, but why not?
- I find it troublesome working with loops when the piano roll editor is opened. I figure that looping in the editor means something else than looping in the composer. But if I just want a loop between two bars as usual, and set those values when I am in the editor? I don't get how I can do that.
- I think there should be a limiter and a maximizer (such as the one in MuLib) in the Factory presets. BTW, I couldn’t find the Frequency Spectrum Analyzer.
- I also think that there could be some presets for compressors/limiters/maximizers, and that the UI of the compressor could be more revealing. Look at the UI of Max1 for example. I think it looks great plus it's easy to see how much has been taken away at any given moment. (However it lacks a ratio fader, I'm just speaking of compressor UI in general). Max1 also has a number of handy presets - great for newbie audio engineers and for speeding up the workflow.
- I think that in the menu of all instruments etc, the Factory presets listing should come before the Devices listing. To me, the presets is where I start looking, rather than switching to Devices for building sounds and effects from scratch. Also, it would make sense having Instruments before Effects I think. (And no, the list is not entirely alphabetical today anyway.)
- When I’m at it, I feel that I don’t really care if I’m dialing in a preset in Instruments or if I’m adding an instance of the multisampler. Why not redo the list, something like this: Instruments > the preset categories, Multisampler, Effects > the preset categories, …
- Regarding Instruments categories: Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know the difference between MFO, stabs, and steps. Perhaps I'm just not up to date with the current lingo, but I think they all sound mostly the same. I also find the term “Vintage” a bit problematic - most synth sounds derive from the sounds of the 70' and 80's anyway. I also think that “Leads” could be divided, so that there should be “Synth leads", "Trance leads" or so, and then perhaps "80's synths" and maybe other categories as well. The synths that are in Leads now are very different in character, which makes the right sound hard to find (and the problem would grow bigger if stabs, steps, and MFOs would be added in the same list. Also, is there anything wrong with the original GM division? How do I find a flute now for example (and yes, there is one)?
- I find it a bit confusing that there is a difference in dragging a rack or just the synth of a rack to form a new track. I assume that the idea is that an automation track (for example) can be for either the synth (and possibly effect) or for the entire rack. Perhaps this is fine as it is, but it isn't superclear. BTW, How do I delete a rack track without deleting the rack itself? Is that even possible?
- Finally, I've seen an explanation for it in the past, but still think it's quirky when I'm asked to save the song when I have just saved it and want to quit (without making any changes to the song or even changing the song position). It's better to work with the standards, here, I think. BTW; the rack pane position is not saved if they are scrolled to the right on my small monitor (see above).
Hope this list can be of some help!
Petter
