Steinberg Launches MixKey Public Beta, An All-in-One Audio Mixer for Streamers and Announces Hardware Rebrand

Steinberg has announced the immediate availability of a public beta for MixKey, a new software application designed as a powerful audio mixer tailored specifically for live streamers, podcasters, and content creators. This new offering brings the company's long history in audio software development directly into the growing streaming market. MixKey is positioned as a professional audio mixing application that aims to ensure high-quality, studio-grade sound for streaming setups right out of the gate. A central feature is its commitment to ease of use; for instance, the inclusion of an auto-leveling capability is designed to remove the guesswork involved in setting input levels, allowing creators to go live within minutes. Essential Tools for a Professional Sound The software boasts a comprehensive set of features focused on control, clarity, and rapid response in a live environment. The interface itself is fully customizable, giving users the ability to change channel colors, names, and easily manage volume. Key features of the MixKey public beta include: Customizable Channels: Users can add multiple sources, adjusting volume levels and personalizing the look with custom names and colors. Audio Refinement: A built-in low-cut filter helps to clean up speech, ensuring clear, professional audio free of rumble or excessive boominess. Monitoring Flexibility: The Cue feature allows users to listen to a channel's raw source signal in their headphones, isolated from the main mix. The Monitor Level Link is also a neat touch, ensuring that what the streamer hears exactly matches the audience's stream level. Extra Voice Chat Output: A dedicated channel is provided for routing microphone audio specifically to voice chat applications like Discord or Zoom, keeping that feed separate from the main stream mix. Live Safety Features: Crucial for any live environment are the Panic Buttons, offering a one-click way to quickly mute either the microphone or the entire audio output to handle sudden, unexpected events. Recording: The mixer is capable of capturing a high-quality WAV recording of the entire audio stream, ready for easy editing, uploading, or dropping into a different platform. These are exciting times for Steinberg, as we bring many years of audio software development to the streaming market. In collaboration with Yamaha, we are elated to introduce MixKey which offers streamers a reliable audio mixer with many excellent features. Stefan Schreiber, Head of Strategic Business Development. The collaboration with Yamaha suggests a tight integration with the brand's new line of audio interfaces, like the UR-MK3 and URX-C series. Availability and Upcoming Demo The MixKey public beta is available for immediate download from the Steinberg website for free. For those interested in seeing the software in action, Steinberg is showcasing MixKey publicly at TwitchCon in San Diego, US, from October 17–19, at the Yamaha booth #3425. https://youtu.be/9-R2jeAFewk Steinberg Rebrands Hardware Products as Yamaha Steinberg has also announced that it will transition its hardware product line to the Yamaha brand as part of a group-wide restructuring of their product development systems. This strategic change sees Steinberg commit to focusing exclusively on software development and sales moving forward. The two companies have a long, productive history within the Yamaha Group, which started with the joint development of successful products like the MR816 audio interfaces and the CC121 Cubase controller back in 2008. Over the years, Yamaha has manufactured a wide range of audio interfaces and controllers sold under the Steinberg name, including the recent UR, UR-C, UR-RT, and IXO series. This new structure is designed to let each company play to its core strengths: Steinberg will concentrate on its highly regarded software products, such as Cubase and Nuendo, while Yamaha will take over the development and distribution of the hardware. The goal, according to the announcement, is to provide users with a 'refined, integrated product experience which unites software and hardware.' It's an approach that attempts to make the hardware and software sides of the studio environment fit together as seamlessly as possible, like two halves of a perfectly mixed track. The New Yamaha Audio Interface Lineup As part of the brand transition, four popular existing Steinberg-branded audio interfaces are being relaunched under the new Yamaha naming conventions: The IXO12 is rebranded as the UR12MK3. The IXO22 is rebranded as the UR22MK3. The UR22C is rebranded as the URX22C. The UR44C is rebranded as the URX44C. The interfaces in the new UR-MK3 Series (UR12MK3 and UR22MK3) are generally aimed at entry-level production and streaming, featuring high-quality UR mic preamps and 24-bit/192 kHz recording resolution. The higher-tier URX-C Series (URX22C and URX44C) inherits the professional capabilities of the former UR-C line, offering up to 32-bit/192 kHz audio resolution, Class-A D-PRE preamps, and internal DSP processing for zero-latency monitoring with effects. Other existing Steinberg-branded audio interfaces, such as the multi-channel UR816C and older UR-RT models, will be gradually phased out. Read More