miniMIXA V3 microphone recording and synching
Posted by Tim Cole on May 5th, 2007
Well, we are now getting very close to nailing miniMIXA V3. One of the important things we have been asked for, and so we wanted to get in, was synching of microphone recordings. Well, we have done it 
. What that means is that you now get a count in period before you make a microphone recording – so you can get ready for your take. You can set how many bars you want this to be and how many bars you want to record for, as well as a system latency factor (as all mobile devices have different capabilities) – and the recording then synchs to the bar boundary. It is really useful and great fun!
The miniMIXA++ product will also include an autoloop recording feature. This means you can do take after take and only keep the take when you think you have nailed it.
This feature addition will make it much easier to use miniMIXA for capturing ideas on a mic, maybe as you are riffing or jamming to a background groove. You could then even sing/jam, record and sync harmonies on top.
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May 5th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Sounds interesting. When will miniMIXA v3 be available, and will end users still be able to purchase it direct?
May 5th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Tim, one other thought, I assume that this will be under the title “miniMIXA Music DJ” rather than the “Ringtone DJ” title?
May 5th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Hi Palm Sounds! Yes, it should still be possible to purchase miniMIXA direct (i.e. after market), but I don’t yet know when this will be. Will post that when I know it! As to when it will be available, there is the same answer on that at the moment.
The Mic Recording Synch feature for the miniMIXA embedded versions could be available/accessible in both miniMIXA MusicDJ and RingtoneDJ modes, depending entirely on what features manufacturers want to include. In the after-market ++ “premium” versions, Mic Recording Synch with auto-loop will be accessible/available in both MusicDJ and RingtoneDJ modes. HTH!
May 6th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Thanks for that Tim, I’m looking forward to the new version.
May 6th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Cheers! Being that miniMIXA is designed primarily for use on a mobile phone (and not dedicated hardware!), then expectations need to along the lines of being “good enough” for ideas capture. I.e. there is _not_ going to be 1ms accuracy when it comes to synching, and everyone has different preferences on UI approaches!
Suffice to say, miniMIXA is still unique in its breadth of coverage, being actively developed/extended, and V3 is a move in the right direction for a number of features/capabilities. For V3 we have focused quite a bit on stuff under the hood, as well as rounding out some key things – but there is still a life’s work ahead for miniMIXA! We are looking forward to cracking on with some of those, and getting feedback (when it is available to try) on what common features/improvements etc would make the biggest difference to people.
May 6th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Tim, It is good to know that miniMIXA is still be actively developed, I’m looking forward to seeing the new version and giving you some feedback too.
Is the X-Y pad in V3?
May 7th, 2007 at 7:15 am
The XY pad (seen in the YouTube video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBP97NwG4nU)) is only available for the filter unit within the FXM Editor. It is really still beta as it takes a little while to load – but it is great fun. The powerful FXM Editor for advanced users may continue to be included within miniMIXA++, or made available separately as an add-on.
May 11th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
Hi Tim,
Now that is… interesting! A couple of questions for you:
Q1: so does this mean that miniMIXA now can be used like a “lite” multitrack recorder to pull basic demo song ideas together on the move?
Q2: When can I start using miniMIXA as an mobile guitar FX unit? Surely that can’t be too difficult now, with recording changes? You’ve had the FX unit stuff since V2, right? Then I’d just need a buffered 1/4 inch jack input on my PDA.
That would be *too cool*!!!
Thanks!!!
May 14th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Hi Fred
.
Q1- Yes, V3 will allow that. It is not a sequencer (yet!) though, bu t it is still handy for jamming some cool ideas in the moment when you just have your phone with you.
Q2- Well, you should also be able to have a bit of fun with that in V3. But, don’t expect your mobile device to have audio latency better than 50-100ms, so it is still worth investing in a MicroBr
HTH
May 17th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Oh, right, – that latency doesn’t sound too much fun.
Surely there must be some mobile phones or PDAs on the market – or coming soon – with latency suitable for this sort of use? Like, its *obvious* that people would want to use their mobile as an audio computer/fx unit, isn’t it? After all… they *are* audio devices!!! Massive opportunity waiting to happen. How about MIDI via bluetooth? Seems obvious that you could use a PDA to control your gear for jamming and what have you…!
May 17th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
FWIW, how long does it take for the XY pad to load?
I guess the full-on FX editor is still in miniMIXA V3?
Is there any way yet to access the FX plugin panels *directly* rather than always having to go through the FX module editor? Like, it *is* cool and very powerful to have the control-rate modulators (how crazy is that on a mobile?!?!?) but it’d be nice to be able to go straight to the metal sometimes, if you see what I mean!! On another note, I don’t suppose you can attach a plugin yet to the mic recording system? I was thinking that some sort of compressor would be very cool, especially if I could “tweak” it? I know there isn’t one in V2, but I’m ever the optimist!!! Anything else you can tell us, any new FX or cool stuff?
May 27th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Have you got a list of new features in V3?