5 stars (Lots of extras for less money.) - Movie edit pro now contains a special gui to aid in combining 2 or more clips via alpha channel or (blue, green, white, or black screen). There are so many features that I haven't looked at all of them. This version seems more stable than the previous version (fewer lock ups and it runs quicker on my ancient PC). 5 stars (Incredibly Awesome) - I have reviewed Movie Edit Pro 2004 and this program is A LOT better. The main thing that impressed me was that stability of the program, as well as Magix eliminating errors. It preloads the media files for you when you are importing or editing, to reduce skippy playback. When I say errors, I mean that with MEP2004, I had an error every movie I did. It was really annoying. MEP10 has eleminated those errors and provided more useful help in the help section. I love the new features! Surround sound: Oh yeah!. Now I can use my audigy 5.1 card when editing. The look of the program has improved to make it more modern. HD video and 16:9 sounds really cool. The new story maker is actually really cool. There are a ton of interesting effects and presets that you could use. I haven't yet tried to use the TV tuner part of the program, but that sounds pretty interesting. DV to MPEG2 sounds good because you can take camcorder footage and convert to MPEG while importing. Okay, now the DVD software that comes with this is not the best, but they have added things like the ability to move the titles and buttons anywhere on the menu, as well as 3D fonts. I haven't yet tried track-freezing, but it sounds like you can edit easier that way. Alright, now lets look at the price of this software. 60 bucks! For an editor this good! Thats amazing. This program supports features that almost no competitors have in the $50-$100. I think they should have at least made it $100. Whatever. Works for me. Definately a Best Buy. Magix has stepped it up a notch. This is good software! Ryan ... Magix Entertainment :: Sound Editing :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: :: Movie Edit Pro 10
4 stars (Big Improvement Over MM2005 Deluxe, But Still Not Perfect) - I have been using Magix Music Maker since version 7, and have seen it progress in terms of stability and features. This version is the most capable and stable yet, although it is not without problems. To summarize the functionality of this application, it is a clone of Sony's Acid program. It is a loop sequencer with which you can quickly put together loop-based musical compositions. Included is a set of loops of varying styles to get you off the ground quickly, as well as a series of virtual synthesizers to create your own sounds. For the price, you get a lot right out of the box. Central to the program is the main sequencer, which is simply a specialized grid onto which you can drag and drop your loops and synthesizer tracks. There is the ability to individually manipulate track data by varying volume and adding fade in/out effects, as well as a rather extensive collection of special effects for creating 3D effects in your audio. There is also an integrated effects rack for tweaking and "fiddling" to get the sound just right. The synthesizers that are included are varied in nature and include a beat box, a drum machine, a "virtual drummer", copper, silver, classical guitar, a grand piano, an ambient sound generator, and a couple of others. While these are all useful, I have found that one cannot generate the "right sound" in every situation. Particularly limited is the new "LiViD" synth (Little Virtual Drummer) which seems to be just a loop-based drum generator with prerecorded tracks that allows you to tweak the drum tracks in a few interesting ways. While the built-in synthesizers may leave you wanting a little more, there is a VSTi host for integrating other synthesizers that are downloadable from the net to allow you a wider range of unique sounds. In MM2005D I had consistent problems with the VSTi host, but the problems seem to have been addressed in this new version. Adding a couple of... Magix Entertainment :: Sound Libraries :: Sound Editing :: Midi :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Home Publishing :: Graphics (Graphic) :: Computer software (programs) :: :: Magix Music Maker 10 Deluxe
2 stars (Slow and difficult to learn) - I purchased Finale Guitar to finally get onto paper all of the hundreds of guitar arrangements I currently play from memory. It was a reasonably priced non-shareware guitar notation program so I thought it would be better. Well after using the program for several months, I am still having to go to the help files just to do the simplest of tasks. First of all I am a computer programmer, so I regularly learn and use all sorts of computer programs. I understand that everything has a learning curve, but this program is very frustrating in that it is not at all intuative. The main frustration comes from the fact that EVERYTHING that should be simple and out front or copy/pasteable is buried in a menu and dialog box somewhere. Also not all of the objects on the page can be simply "copied and cloned", then properties of the copied item changed, like a word processor. Even selection of things to be copied often requires some special dialog to copy it in a certain way. In other words if you are expecting to be able to put a chord on the page, then copy and paste it 20 times and simply change the attributes of all your copies to new chords, you are out of luck, you will basically have to do each from scratch. Also if you need to change the key without transposing the notes you are out of luck. Most operations cannot be done with copy/paste, you must go through all the gyrations of buried menus over and over, not much of just right clicking to get a properties window that does what you expected. It appears that they tried to simplify things by forcing you into a 'mode' for every separate operation rather than just picking one simple sequence that people understand and making all operations conform to that. I was not looking for a program to do midi playback/creation I wanted an easy and powerful notation program to get stuff on paper, so I am not reviewing the sound/midi aspects. This may be powerful but it's difficulty and ... MakeMusic- :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: Mac Macintosh Machintosh Apple :: Notation :: Effects :: Composting :: Video :: Sound Libraries :: Midi :: Sequencing :: Creation :: Finale Guitar 2003
2 stars (Great features, but partially unusable, with terrible suppor) - I bought Music Creator Pro to create sound tracks for the video projects I've been putting together, and it's a very capable set of tools. The MIDI and recorded sound mixing, effects, and automation would be perfect for my application - if they worked. The description of the product on Cakewalk's web site is accurate, and the user interface is not very difficult to understand. I installed the software on a fast Windows XP machine, and soon discovered that it would crash when the drum pattern paint tool was used. Cakewalk's tech support has been very slow in their responses, taking at least one day and sometimes more than four to respond. I still haven't received any help other than advice to reinstall the product (I did), make sure I have the latest drivers (I do), and delete a couple of configuration files (I did). The drum pattern tool still crashes the application, and in the course of working through the tutorials (the ones I can use) I have also discovered some features that appear to be globally disabled. Two weeks after installing the product, I'm simultaneously very impressed with the features and capabilities, and very disappointed with the responsiveness of Cakewalk's tech support. If everything worked the way it was supposed to, I would probably rate Music Creator Pro with five stars. [update] It's now a month since purchase, and the software still does not work correctly. Cakewalk will not support this product by telephone. If you call their (non-toll-free) support number, you are told that they only support Music Creator Pro by email. They have failed to respond to either of my last two email messages, the first of which was sent two weeks ago. ... Cakewalk :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: Sound Libraries :: Sound Editing :: Midi :: :: Music Creator Pro 24
5 stars (music maker rocks) - i havent had music maker all that long but from what ive seen from it so far it really is quite impressive. As far as ease of use is concerned, most functions can be mastered in just a few minutes without having to resort to the index/help files. The large selection of synths and conversion options (mp3, ogg etc.) really make it worth the 30 dollars i paid for it. i thoroughly recommend it. 1 stars (buyer BEWARE!) - The one thing that has not been mentioned in any of these reviews is the license for this product. This software cannot be used for commercial use without permission from one of their "duly authorized representatives". I'm not sure, but I bet this is a costly proposition. So if you want this product for an amusing game, it's fine. If you want to use it for music that you plan to sell, even if you are including your own playing on it, avoid it. If you think that making loops of your own playing will let you off the hook, no, it won't. The license includes anything made with the software, so even if you want to sell your own music, PLAYED BY YOU, you have to talk to one of their representatives. If they give you permission to sell your OWN work, you still have to put their logo on it, which says, "Magix Creation". How nice...... 5 stars (The ultimate media creating software!!!) - Whether you are looking to create, mix or just edit this program has it all. I haven't seen anything out there that can beat music maker 2005. I have try to edit with other programs, but nothing has the options magix offers. Hands down ACID PRO will never touch magix. Audio, video, slideshows, you name it Magix has what you need. If you are familiar with the 2004 version, there's more with 2005. The vocoder and guitar are amazing. To change a voice with the vocal tuner is very simple. The drum n bass collection has a few more loops added. If you need to clear any part of a mix, between the master effects and the reverb from the mixer i can have a... MAGIX ENTERTAINMENT :: Effects :: Composting :: Video :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: Apreciation :: MP3 :: :: Music Maker 2005 Deluxe
1 stars (This product causes more problems than it does good...) - I bought this program, and I stopped using it within 2 months... why? This program, at least for me, tends to bug a lot, and it does a lot of screwy things that you never intended. For example, notes that I never entered in appeared towards the end of my pieces, and there was no way that I could delete them. Also, it would randomly bug at some times, and I would have to quit the program, losing everything that I worked hard on (wouldn't you all be frusterated if that happened?). Also, and it may be because I didn't figure it out entirely, I couldn't have two different note heads on the same beat (example, half note and quarter note on beat one) on the same staff. It just wouldn't work. I would strongly consider buying another notation program. I use Cakewalk Scorewriter, which is about as cheap as this, and I hope someday to get Sibelius... when I have the money to do so (...) 5 stars (gentalmen crooks) - i neeed to get this so i can make some beats on my computer 2 stars (Not worth it) - This software is as difficult to use as Finale, yet with fewer features than any other composing software I've ever used. I've transitioned composing software before (Encore to Finale) so I knew it would take some time to get adjusted. But eventually I gave up-- it just wasn't worth it. In addition to the clumsy, non-intuitive controls, the "Songwriter" version of the software has crippled features: Limits on number of staves and simultaneous midi tracks it will handle at once, limits on the number of measures per line (only 4!), and limits on MIDI editing features. I found there to be simply a general lack of customizeability throughout. There are simply too many headaches for the end result. I almost got the impression that the people writing this software had never actually written music before, and will certianly not be trying the "Maestro" version of this software. Personally, I'm testing Sibeliu... Voyetra :: Notation :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: :: Music Write Songwriter Edition
3 stars (Just ok) - I know nothing about pianos but was able to go through the first few lessons fine. However, my daughter who is taking piano classes with a private instructor could not benefit too much from this program. Here are my complains: -In the trainer screen, there are pedal icons to start the training session. We have to constantly leave the keyboard to move the mouse. How hard would it be to have users step on the piano pedals or use the keyboard to control the computer? -No midi editor. All of the piano homework we would like to practice using the program have to be entered through other programs. The import function does not always work properly. Too bad if one wants to edit just one note, the whole process has to be redone. -The sheets on the screen are way too small. It is hard to see them. -No way to know which keys are supposed to be the ones to press when doing a song. One has to guess until the computer says it is ok to move on. Try guessing at a piece that requires more than three fingers on each hand on the small vga monitor with all the notes close together. -Old program. We run it on Win98 and it still doesn't properly recognize midi filenames longer than 8.3 characters. Maybe newer version running on WinXP don't have this problem. However, the program hasn't seemed to have changed much over the years. We are going to order Adventus as it seems to address many, if not all, of these issues. 3 stars (Not bad - But numerous bugs and missing features) - Again! There are a few bugs in this 'un-finished' product. Lessons are a little too fast, and there are not that many exercises (to my taste). And, a few items missing: - Why not show what note exactly was not/missed/erroneously played. This would be a very useful feature rather than having to blindly and stubornly play & re-play the same piece until the score comes satisfactory. - Why not show as well where in the piece a time-counting mistake occured when the student plays an... Voyetra :: Instrument Instruction (Instruments) :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: :: Teach Me Piano Deluxe
5 stars (Quick start for beginning guitarist) - I found this to be a very good teaching tool to learn to play rock style music. I have never played the guitar before only the violin for eight years while in school. Now I am in my thirties and thought it would be too difficult to learn to play. I have been through the first four lessons and so far it is great. I can work at my own pace, repeat sections I find difficult and play actual songs with lyrics. It is great to play real music not just practice the chords and riffs (although practice is required, it is just more fun). Great piece of sofware. I combined this with a couple of books to study when not at the computer and this worked great for me. Great job eMedia. I look forwrard to additional eMedia song books for rock music. 4 stars (Great so far!) - Though I've odered many times with Amazon, this is the first time I have been excited enough to review a product! I'm an adult who wants to learn guitar for fun and didn't want to play "Mary had a little lamb" and scales for months. I have only used the software for about an hour, and have already been playing parts of songs I actually like! I have been playing guitar for a total of one week prior to receiving this (without any instruction).This is perfect if you don't have the patience or desire to learn the traditional way. I wish I had this when I was 14, I would have loved it. I can't vouch for the whole thing yet, since I've only played with it for an hour, so I give it 4 stars instead of five. From what I've seen I have no reason to expect that it will let me down and highly recommend it. ... eMedia :: Apreciation :: Instrument Instruction (Instruments) :: Midi :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: :: eMedia Rock Guitar Method
5 stars (Lil Jon, Kanye West, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!!) - This program is sick! You can make any beat you want, and it's ORIGINAL!!! On a scale of one to 10, Hip Hop eJay gets 1000! This is good for all those who are amature artists and need original beats. I dare you. I double dog dare you! I DEFY YOU to try this program and see how good it is. ... Digital Leisure :: Sound Editing :: Midi :: Sequencing :: Creation :: audio :: Music :: Computer software (programs) :: :: E-Jay Hip Hop 5