Magix Music Studio 11 Deluxe review

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Some of its new features may be the same as those in Music Studio 11 Deluxe - such as the Task Assistant and the Mastering Suite - but this latest version of Music Maker remains a drag ´n´ drop sequencer in the eJay mould. However, it does enable you to record audio and MIDI, and also has a few extra tricks up its sleeve.

As you´d guess from its name, this is the 11th version of Music Maker, and it certainly feels like a fully-featured and mature application these days. It offers a standard array of effects, a selection of mixdown options and a library of fairly generic samples.

There´s also the SampleTank 2 player, a vocal tuner and the all-new Magix Harmony Agent. Of the new toys, the Auto Remix function is the most intriguing. It works by analysing the peaks of a song´s soundwave to discern the tempo (if this is inaccurate, there´s a Tap function so you can do it manually).

It then colour-codes the slices to show a rough structure and any differences between the original and remixed versions. From here, you select a style and decide how ‘remixed´ you want the song to be. At the end of this process, you´re left with what could technically be described as a remix, and there are plenty of variables to tinker with.

That said, randomly shuffling portions of a song isn´t very musical, and this feature ain´t gonna turn you into Jason Nevins.

The Magix formula?

It´d be easy to argue that Magix have over-egged the pudding by stuffing so much into Music Maker, but to use this as a criticism would be churlish. The sheer number of features you get for your £22 is impressive, and although this package is aimed at the entry-level market, it may interest more hardened musos who want to create the odd mash-up or need a cheap vocal tuner.

One to look at it if you´re starting out, then, but others may also decide that, at this price, Music Maker 11 Deluxe is worth a punt.