Mixer knobs do not save to history (and some other qualms about the mixer)
What I mean is that when messing with any of he knobs in the mixer (vol, pan, rev, cho), those changes cannot be undone, yet aren't automatically saved onto the score ( especially confusing since no * appears next to the file name in the open scores toolbar). Since such changes affect playback, I think they should at least be able to be undone. I can see that the problem lies in the fact that the changes are "fluid" and not "1 or 0" like, say, entering a note, but this can be remedied by undoing all changes to a single knob up to the point where a change to another knob was made, or up to the point where a change to the score was made. Also, a tooltip including a numerical value would be nice, so you can make exact changes without counting scroll ticks ;).
Also, some other potentially related things:
It seems changes to instrument sounds (in the mixer) do not carry over when saving and opening as a template. I think this should be fixed.
Minor: The knobs are a little unintuitive to use at first, since (at least I) thought they would work like regular knobs, with the user having to move the mouse in a circular motion around the virtual knob. But this doesn't really matter.
I feel like there should be a "mute all" and/or "unmute all" button, so one can solo a few instruments then switch back to hearing the full score with a single click.
Also, mixer loading times could be improved - it takes like 5 seconds for it to load ~20-30 instruments for me.
And, perhaps worst of all, the "reverb" knob hardly seems to do anything, even when fully maxed! Definitely make the reverb more pronounced. I'm not sure how well chorus works (or even what it means).
Comments
The fact that mixer settings are not currently undoable is known, with some discussion already as to the possibility of changing this some day - see #45141: [Feature Request] Include mixer changes in undo history.
Mixer settings are not intended to be part of a template - just the basic structure of a piece. There is an open question as to what else maybe should be considered - changes to staff properties, etc. Could be worth a separate thread.
Note there is a solo button already, but indeed if you want to solo "a few" instruments, you have to unsolo them together. Some day having more structure to the mixer would be nice, but playback is never a big priority for MuseScore, so unless someone for whom playback is a priority steps up to volunteer, I wouldn't hold my breath.
As for reverb, it only affects external playback, not the internal synth. Same with chorus. These knobs affect the relevant controls of an external synth. Chorus is kind of a weird vibrato-like effect, I' never really undrstood how it got to be such a standard thing personally. But I'm sure it solves some particular problem or it woudln't be present on almost all synths.
In reply to The fact that mixer settings… by Marc Sabatella
The chorus effect has more than one job.
1. Advances the instrument (without increasing the volume). //as the two (or more) instruments, which are tuned very slightly different from each other, play at the same time*1
2. Gives a special ripple effect. //Of course if it is an instrument suitable for use with chorus.
3. Chorus effect. (Virtual ensemble)
Think like the incremental stages: vibrato -> rotary speaker -> chorus:
*1: The tuning setting is very slightly different from each other. Or the naturally occurring differences that arise from the playing style.
In reply to The fact that mixer settings… by Marc Sabatella
So the way reverb works is if you export to midi and load it into another program, that program (if able to) would play the effect?
In reply to So the way reverb works is… by DaforLynx
Yes. Sure.