MuLab App

If you're looking for a DAW which is light, intuitive and powerful you should definitely give MuLab a try. I've used many different DAWS over the years and have found the problem with a lot of them is that they are bloated with cluttered interfaces, which for me makes them cumbersome to use. As someone who creates electronic music with the focus on MIDI work and sound design using vsts I wanted a DAW with good MIDI and piano roll, is light on CPU, provides a nice smooth workflow but is capable of complex sound processing, routing and automation tasks. Of the products I demoed, MuLab instantly stood out. The interface looks simple, but this is deceptive, but a deliberate feature of the application. If you require complexity, it's available in the form of the MUX engine which underlies the application, but is not in your face and a distraction. The MUX is similar to, but more flexible than Reasons Combinator. In the MUX you can combine MuLabs own modules, but also third party vsts. For example, I have a MUX which combines a multi-out Microtonic drum VST and MuLabs own MuDrum for sample playback, effectively creating my own custom drum machine and achieving the same result as a drum map would in Cubase or Sonar, but more user-friendly. You can also create your own synths and effects with the MUX. The possibilities are limitless. The MUX is also available as a VST plugin if you already have a DAW. Of course MuLab comes with it's own set of synths, samplers and effects also. Other features I like are the dockable windows, drag and drop and nice touches like the ability to clear out unused audio files within the projects audio directory from within the daw. MuLab also has something called the 'Sequence Pool'. The idea behind this is that you can have two MuLab sessions open and use one as a kind of scratchpad for ideas. Clips created there are stored as sequences which are available in the other session in which you can build the track. A very nice touch and more evidence some serious thought has gone into this product. I've noticed that sound quality of daws differs. MuLabs is as good as any I have heard. Also, the interface is nice and responsive and not laggy, like some I have tried.

From using it for a few months now, if I've found a limitation, and it's only a minor gripe, it's that the effects don't have graphical visual feedback which can be useful for mixing/mastering. However, the obvious solution to this is to use third party plugins and there are plenty of good free ones if you don't have them already.

For the €69.00 for the full version, it's an absolute bargain. In terms of value, I'd compare it to Reaper, but where Reaper is more targeted at working with audio, MuLab is great for MIDI work and sound design, making it a great fit for what I was looking for. When it comes to software, I have learned that the higher the cost does not mean that the quality of the product will be better and the likes of MuLab/Reaper are testament to this.

Finally, I have to mention the support MuTools provides is second to none. Jo, the man behind MuTools is always on the Kvr MuTools forum and eager to help and answer questions.