Media Overkill (MOK) has released their new Synth. Say welcome to Miniraze!

[gaggle of hermits]

Edit: Wait it's not on the traction website. Is this so they can divorce from Traction?

they released a filter plugin earlier this year and I think that's only available from the mok website. so, it looks as though they don't want to use Tracktion's marketplace anymore.

[OneOfManyPauls]

It's a cut down version of waverazor but more expensive? I don't understand what it is or why it exists when waverazor already exists. Maybe someone can explain.

Edit: Wait it's not on the traction website. Is this so they can divorce from Traction?

it is slightly less at $129 on mok.com only vs $159 on mok.com/tracktion for waverazor - it is cut down in many ways, but has the ring mod and filter fm which waverazor doesn't.

[] Peter:H []

Hm, first you guys noticed that the gui is resizable. Bottom right corner ... it resizes to whatever size you want. I can fill almost all of my monitor.

Either that wasn't noticeable in the GUI , or it didn't work for me, or I just didn't get around to it because it would not authorize the demo anyway. Whatever.

I have a 29" ultrawide, I've been wearing corrective lenses for almost 40 years, and I have zero trouble with the great majority of synth plugins or other software. Do you think MAYBE the problem is poor design choices by MOK? No, surely it's the rest of the universe that's wrong

Uh, a once in a live time chance to meet the "rest of the universe spokes sperson" ... can you please ask whether the universe really started with a big bang and whether it will end with a big bang as well. See ... you tell me that my post where I spoke about my *personal experience* is wrong and claim that I told everybody the rest of the universe is wrong ... are you serious!? Hilarious fail my dear.

[vurt]

no bang at the end, merely fade to silence.

[foosnark]

See ... you tell me that my post where I spoke about my *personal experience* is wrong

I was referring to where you were concern trolling about peoples' eyesight and the size of their monitors. But y'know, nevermind, this is just not worth it.

[Sinisterbr]

Sooo.. this thread will once again end up in typical KVR style?
Can't you just share your opinion without bashing others?
Can't you just be respectful?

[Sinisterbr]

(I'm not refering to you, foosnark)

[nix808]

1985 is a vastly legible theme,
maybe the default is a bit hard to discern.
it is a cpu killer on 20 logical 4.5 i9

[MillerSam]

Taiho of Mok said to me that they are using a new anti-aliasing algorithm that consumes a lot of CPU. They are working on it to improve it.

1985 is a vastly legible theme,
maybe the default is a bit hard to discern.
it is a cpu killer on 20 logical 4.5 i9

[Taiho Yamada]

Hey guys,

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts about Miniraze. It's so nice to hear about the things you like, but I also honestly appreciate it when you let me know about the things you don't like. It helps us make things better in the future. We are still a small, 3-person company, but we do listen, and we add each new idea to our ever-growing To-Do list. Rob, Chris and I try to prioritize it all and get things done as best we can.

I've read through all the comments so far and here are my current thoughts:

The GUI seems to be really polarizing for people, but if you don't enjoy the red and blue, there might be something among the other 17 color schemes that is more agreeable. For those who still can't find the right fit, I hear you and I'm going to look at adding more selections that are easier on the eyes. I also take requests! If there's a different color scheme that you particularly like, point me to it and I'll see if we can get it implemented in Miniraze.

We are also looking at improving the text size, particularly in the drop down menus where we have more control over sizing. For now, if possible, try adjusting the size of the plugin window by dragging the edges. If you can make it bigger, the font size will adjust to be bigger as well.

I have also heard of some people having trouble with unlocking the plugin. We are so sorry for the trouble, as I know how disappointing that can be! There was initially a bug on our side that broke offline authorizations, but it's fixed now. We've also identified an issue where our username creation system was allowing illegal characters (like colons) to be used. To solve this problem, we won't allow invalid characters in the future, and if you suspect that this might be issue with your username, contact us at <info@mok.com> and we'll manually update it for you.

Some have noticed that we've released our Filtryg filter plugin, and now Miniraze, independently of Tracktion, and I'd like to clear the air. I have known Tracktion's CEO since we worked at M-Audio together and we are still on great terms. I am really thankful that Tracktion helped MOK get started by providing distribution and other much needed business infrastructure for us, and we're really proud to have developed their "Tracktion Presents" program with them, which has gone on to release Spacecraft, Hyperion and Abyss with other nascent synth companies. But the plan for MOK was never to become a subsidiary of Tracktion. Graciously, they are happy to be an incubator for new businesses, and are actually excited to see us begin to stand on our own. At any rate, we are good, and I don't want anyone to think ill of Tracktion because of anything MOK is doing in order to grow. They are totally our friends!

This is also a good opportunity to talk about crossgrades. Unfortunately, we don't have a crossgrade offer between Miniraze and Waverazor. Waverazor is still distributed by Tracktion, whereas Miniraze is a 100% MOK product. As separate companies, Tracktion and MOK would need to build some business, legal, privacy, web, and engineering infrastructure in order to make crossgrades possible. It's a lot of work! I wouldn't completely rule it out in the long term, but it's quite beyond the scope of what we can do right at the moment. Sorry about that.

Regarding MPE and MIDI Learn, we recognize that we are behind the curve. Indeed, these have been on MOK's To-Do list since the early days of Waverazor, and we know we still need to get to them. Currently, we rely on the features of everyone's host software to provide the necessary connections to the synth, but DAW capabilities vary, and I know creating control assignments could be easier and more direct. I have increased the priority of these MIDI implementations on our list.

About the user manual, that's my bad! I'll try to get it done this weekend.

I've noticed people wondering about the difference between Miniraze and Waverazor. Some engine differences have been pointed out, like how Miniraze offers new audio rate modulation to the filter blocks from oscillator 3, and how wave-slicing oscillators (2 and 3) are the intermodulation inputs to the Ring Math module, whereas Waverazor takes the filter input signal and intermodulates it with a normal oscillator. Miniraze also offers a new Unison voice mode with detune. But the main difference in my mind is in offering two different styles of working. If Waverazor is like a giant Eurorack modular that gives tons of capability, but takes a while to patch, then Miniraze is like a Minimoog where the emphasis is on making sounds quickly, and trying to find the right balance between ease-of-use and timbral variety.

And finally, Miniraze can be CPU hungry, but we are working to improve that. It looks like our new anti-aliasing algorithm is the main culprit, but we think there should be ways to improve it in both quality and performance. The problem is that the math for this is really intense, and requires some R&D. That part is beyond my own understanding, as I'm terrible at math, but Rob's big brain can handle it.

That's it for now. Everyone, thanks again for taking the time to share what you think! It really is helpful. We are just a few guys who love making synths, and we're doing our best to make things people will enjoy. We are here if you have any more questions or concerns.

All the best,
Taiho
MOK

[OneOfManyPauls]

I don't understand the crossgrade thing - if someone can buy cubase at a discount because they own ableton, and they surely don't have a web of legal stuff in place, then I can't see why it's not possible to offer miniraze at a discount to someone who owns waverazor if the will was there.

[Taiho Yamada]

I don't understand the crossgrade thing - if someone can buy cubase at a discount because they own ableton, and they surely don't have a web of legal stuff in place, then I can't see why it's not possible to offer miniraze at a discount to someone who owns waverazor if the will was there.

That's totally true, and I would absolutely do a crossgrade if I could, but there are different factors at play for us and it's just not that easy to do this without hurting ourselves. I'll lay out what I'm thinking here, and it's absolutely not an attack. I really do appreciate where you're coming from and I just want to share the information I have.

In your example, "Cubase" probably doesn't require hard proof that you own "Ableton", and they know that investing in a DAW makes you a long term customer with paid future upgrades that offset any losses from offering the crossgrade. Miniraze is a one-time purchase, and if there is a crossgrade that doesn't require proof of a Waverazor purchase, then we've basically just put Miniraze permanently on sale and it hurts our business. It's the proof of purchase that adds all the infrastructure complication and makes things hard. We're good friends with Tracktion, our distributor for Waverazor, but there's no business incentive for them to help us with all this work.

Also, in your example, those companies are competitors, so "Cubase" has even more incentive to capture that market-share and revenue. With Waverazor and Miniraze both coming from MOK, it's harder to make the business aspect work because we're taking from ourselves.

Lastly, I know we're speaking somewhat hypothetically, but "Cubase" is distributed by the largest music company in the world with over 20,000 employees and nearly $4B in revenue. They are quite capable of absorbing the cost of a crossgrade and playing the long game for customer acquisition. MOK, with 3 people, has a long way to go before we can safely do the same.

At any rate, I know this is not the answer our Waverazor supporters are looking for, and I'm honestly sorry about that. You guys have shown us a lot of good will, and I hope we can return some of that by continuing to upgrade Waverazor, and even migrate some Miniraze features over wherever we can. Waverazor can still do far more than Miniraze, and its open-ended modular architecture means that we can continue to give you new modules in all areas of the synth (which we've been doing for free since 2017).

Thanks for listening and I hope this helps rather than hurts. It's my job to think about the business behind the scenes, not yours, so your question is completely valid and I appreciate the chance to answer.

All the best,
Taiho
MOK

[OneOfManyPauls]

Hi Taiho, I full appreciate that this is your call.

With Waverazor and Miniraze both coming from MOK, it's harder to make the business aspect work because we're taking from ourselves.

the flipside of the same coin is it's a potential barrier to additional spend from existing waverazor users. In that regard you are also taking from yourselves.

Obviously I can't speak for all waverazor owners, but to me, the value proposition is a lot less as an existing waverazor owner than someone coming into the MOK wave-slicing fold cold

I am a big fan of waverazor and appreciate everything you've done with that and would purchase miniraze if it were in an "upgrade" type price bracket - that would be additional revenue coming into MOK that wouldn't happen at the current everyone-the-same pricing. Just wanted to put my cards on the table so you have a tiny bit more information for making those business decisions.

[gaggle of hermits]

if some of the Miniraze stuff is being added to waverazor, i'm fine with that, personally. for a crossgrade to work from my PoV, it would need to be no-brainer pricing and I'd probably not use it that much anyway.

for me, the ring mod isn't a big deal given the wave manipulations you can already do in waverazor though filter fm might be handy.

[nordickvr]

Hi Taiho and thank you for your this reply re: the crossgrade from Waverazor topic.
Your presence on this forum is greatly appreciated.