Magix Music
Maker 2004 Deluxe
Reviewed
by: Mario
Georgiou, August 2004, send
e-mail
Published
by: MAGIX, go
to the web site
Requires: Windows
98, 98SE, Me, NT, 2000 or XP
MSRP: US$79.95, UK£49.99
When I receive suite based-products I find myself
in a quandary as to how to approach reviewing them.
Magix Music Maker 2004 Deluxe is a music production
environment which facilitates the creation, mixing,
recording and publishing of music for the enthusiast.
It is a modal environment which is scalable to the
user's experience level. The range of tools provided
with Music Maker Deluxe is very extensive and if
I were to list each feature it would require as much
room as I have for the entire review. This product
is feature rich and of a quality which surprised
me. With this suite you can arrange and remix live,
while editing with a mouse, playing a keyboard or
while using another MIDI instrument. The suite also
facilitates the production of Audio CDs, MP3s, Videos
and Web Publishing.
Music production using Magix Music Maker is a breeze
with tools such as vocalizers, virtual synths, drum
machines (Robota), vocoders, loopers and a text-to-speech
module which is pretty cool. The remix agent intelligently
recognizes beats in your CD and MP3 tracks and then
allows you to create a perfect mix. While this tool
will not make you into a good DJ, it will allow you
to have hours of fun with your music.
Beat Box
4.0 and Drum & Bass Machine 3.0 were
great for helping me create breakbeat and drum & bass
style mixes. The inclusion of virtual turntables
completes the picture by adding the capability to
scratch, mix and cross-fade your music. Other favorites
include the Ambient Synth which can be used to create
great background sounds and chill-out type elements
for those mood swings and lazy summer nights.
Editing your music and samples is easy too, with
a whole array of tools for pitch-shifting, time-stretching
and tuning. With support for up to 96 tracks, creating
your masterpieces has never been so easy. One caution
here is that with so much to play with its easy to
get lost while playing. |
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The Video Creation tools in this Suite are also a lot
of fun, with an integrated virtual video controller for
special FX and an audio visualization component which syncs
animated visuals to your music. The mixing unit also creates
transitions, animated credits and captions.
The sound and files libraries supplied with this suite
are quite extensive with over 2400 samples and loops and
over 1600 audio effect templates being among the many incorporated
elements available for you to play with. Sounds included
in the UK edition were samples from styles like 2 Step,
Disco House, Hip-Hop, Nu Metal, Score Music and Techno/Trance.
The Internet capabilities of this suite are well-integrated
and nicely done. The weakest part of the Internet functionality
is the selection of templates. Although individually well
done, there's not a lot of a variety. Support for e-mail
programs is limited to Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.
Cons: Easy to get lost in the multitude of features. Big
learning curve. You need a lot of screen real estate to
use this program efficiently.
Pros: Many great tools. Overview mode is a great feature
allowing easy navigation of your production. The extensive
library.
If you are looking for an all around tool to play with
music creation then this is your baby. What is really nice
about Music Maker Deluxe is that it will give you plenty
to think about and an insight into just how easy it is
to make music these days. It will also demonstrate how
hard it is to make good music because although Magix Music
Maker is more than capable of generating professional sounding
results, as with all good music tools you have to have
a clear vision in the first place of what you want to produce.
I've often made music up in my head, now I have a tool
to play with that is almost as easy. Highly Recommended.
Letters to the Editor are welcome and occasionally abused in public. Send e-mail to: whine@kickstartnews.com
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