Magix Music Maker

4.0 stars

"Solid, easier than Acid, but not without it's quirks."

May 14, 2008  |   By John Judge

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Pros

I also have the Basic 12 edition, and it works fine for what I am doing. The demo that is available, tho, has sold me on the full version 12, and I will be picking it up in a few weeks along with the Soundpool DVD's. (anyone know where to get any of the other Soundpool collections?) You can still grab the Basic Free version here.....

download3000.com/download-MAGIX_Music_Maker_Basic_Edition-count-reg-20742.html

What sold me in MM12 is the way the Beat Detection works, the easy way to work with Midi, and the "Stretch" feature, which works quite well for a program in this price range.

The demo is running fine on a Dell P3 700mHz with 640mb of Ram, so it will run on older systems. I get the occasional "choke & stutter", but I get that using any Audio software, on any system, when pushed. I am getting all 16 tracks in the basic to play back with no problems after editing.

The software can not be simpler to use....I mean come on, it is "drag & drop & paint"! The sounds lean towards the more "electronic-rap-hiphop" side of things, but there are still some useful loops for us musicians that play real instruments. The basic version has worked with 90% of the Acid and/or "acidized" loops from a variety of makers, including Acid, DOD, Beta Monkey, Big Fish Audio, Smartloops (highly recommend these drum loops!), and others. The MM12 Demo is the same.

The built-in effects are OK and have a reasonable CPU hit, and with the ability to open additional VST effects that you might already have you are covered for "FX Toys"! Recording your voice or audio is also straight forward. Using a SB PCI512 card running the 3537 kX Drivers it was a simple matter of plugging my mixer into the Line In, Select "Audio Record" on the track you want, adjust the levels using your soundcards mixer, and hit the big, red button in the Transport Window.

I have not made extensive use of the VSTi Instruments or the Video sections, so I can not comment on them at the moment.

Cons

The 2 biggest cons, for me, are the interface window and the length of the loops you can use. The window for both the tracks and the File manager are set, so you can not adjust the File Manager window lower than 1/3 of the screen. This creates a situation that means tons of scrolling when doing anything that uses above 6 tracks.

2nd, no matter whose loops or what type of loop, audio or midi, if it was longer than 5 measures the program starts to drift off time. The blocks will visually hit on the line, but the audio starts to slide off tempo, and the longer it goes the worse it gets. This is a drag (no pun intended) because it eliminates the "quick drag to length" feature that is so cool about working with loops. The simple solution I have found is to keep all the loops no longer than 4 measures and do the "Ctrl C - Ctrl V" dance to get the length I need. A pain, but this solves the problem.

Overall, I find that this program is stable, very usable, friendlier than Acid, and super easy to work with. If you are looking for a looping program with some decent feature and a musician friendly price tag, IMHO this is it!

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5.0 stars

"kj"

May 8, 2008  |   By kjhq22

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Pros

cool that is all i can mix music

Cons

nothing

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1.0 stars

"This blows"

May 8, 2008  |   By annoyednathan

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Cons

completely non-intuitive (I seriously couldn't figure out how to do a damn thing for hours)

All the cool features are unavailable in the demo. In fact , everything seemed to be unavailable in the demo.

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2.0 stars

"I hope the retail version is better than the trial"

March 31, 2008  |   By cash4life

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Pros

A lot of features that give you the tools to make a complicated, full track

Cons

A stuttering mess with mediocre sound. I tried this out on a laptop that had more than enough CPU power but it stuttered and froze quite often. I would only run this on a dual core unit. The sound quality is not pro level. You probably could get away with producing gabber, hard techno, hardstyle, and other loud complicated tracks where you can hide the poor quality of some built in sounds. If you produce anything lighter it may sound amateurish but ok for learning. Its just my opinion. I guess you need step up to Magix Samplitude ($300) or Sequoia ($3000) if you want pro level sound. I might try the previous retail version which can be had at half the price and can play on lesser hardware.

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5.0 stars

"A MUST HAVE FOR MUSIC EDITORS, MAKERS, AND REMIXERS!"

March 9, 2008  |   By flcl7471

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Pros

I love it it, i use it all the time for my band, its easy to use. i picked it up in about 5 minutes, i love all the things u can do with tracks. easy and fun. This program is excellent if you have audacity. They make a nice combo for editing your favorite tracks!

Cons

there are some features that this program does not have that others do, such as audacity.

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3.0 stars

"Sad no longer basic edition"

February 27, 2008  |   By cenotaph

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Pros

Quite intuitive. Not buggy. Have tried a few music editors and they have bugs left right and center. This music editor seems to be stable.

Cons

Sad they no longer provide the music maker basic edition. Was wicked. Very few limitations Lucky I got the basic edition download. Is a very nice music editor.

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4.0 stars

"Very nice product, but is only a trial."

February 23, 2008  |   By phillipbarnes

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Pros

Similarizes a music making machine very well. Nice looking product.

Cons

Can't really move the inserts around on the sample download to really get an idea of the features.

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1.0 stars

"For some reason Magix no longer makes a quality product"

February 14, 2008  |   By canopyroadpics

Version: Magix Music Maker 12.1.0.3

Cons

Hard to use, and understand, interface was very confusing, would not recommend any of Magix, newest products, they must be rushing them to get the money

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