Features

• Use Dart CD Recorder to make copying your music to a hard drive or a CD-R/CD-RW a piece of cake
• First, take songs from a cassette or CD and copy them to your computer's hard drive
• Improve the sound by using Digital Audio Restoration Technology to clicks, pops, scratches and hisses
• Shape your tracks with tools like the 10 band Equalizer, fade-in/out and volume normalizer
• Then connect to the CDDB database online, to get artist and track information

Amazon.com Product Description

iLife provides four multimedia applications in one package: iTunes for managing music, iPhoto for digital photography, iMovie for editing digital video, and iDVD for creating your own DVDs. They are all integrated so that they work together seamlessly.

Play, download, import, and do more with Apple’s premiere digital music player iTunes 3. It gives you instant access to your music library and playlists from within the other applications in iLife, just as they are in iTunes. And you can quickly sample your music too--a play button is included so you won’t have to launch iTunes just to find that perfect track. Do more with your digital photos with iPhoto 2. Organize, edit, share, and even set photos to music. Use the Retouch wand tool to make blemishes disappear like magic. And get access to your photo albums directly from iMovie and iDVD, and bring in music for your slideshows from iTunes.

The latest version of the digital video software that helped Mac users create a million movies, iMovie 3 brings several new features to your screens, including Skywalker Sound Effects and visual effects like Lens Flare, Fairy Dust, Earthquake, and the Ken Burns Pan and Zoom Effect.If you have an Apple SuperDrive, you’ll want to take advantage of all that iDVD 3 has to offer. Create DVDs with chapter markers, search your iTunes library and find music for your projects, and create instant DVD slideshows by selecting your iPhoto album, with dozens of new Hollywood-style themes to choose from. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great Collection
This is a collection of iTunes 3, iPhoto 2, iMovie 3, and iDVD 3 that Apple offers on all their latest machines with Superdrive installed. All but iDVD 3 are available as downloads from the Apple website, but it is worth the $...or whatever to get them altogether and include the iDVD 3. The iDVD 3 is not available as a download because of its size (>1.3 gig) Each of the four programs is good, but the seamless combination of the four (five including iPod) makes this system an easy to learn combination. After looking for almost a year and a half at different software/hardware combinations for editing and converting (to digital for DVD), I decided on the Mac and the iLife package. There are certainly more powerful individual programs available on both the PC and Mac platforms, but this combination beats everything else that I looked at for ease of use and simplicity in learning. I am very pleased with my decision.

Worth four times the price
Where to start to talk about how amazing the latest offering is from Apple for the Macintosh? Let's take it one step at a time.

iMovie 3: Apple took their already great DV editing program and added so many new features it's almost mind boggling! Drag and drop from your iPhoto photo library. Drag and drop from your iTunes music library. Granted, you were able to do these things before in a somewhat clumsy way through the "import" command, but this makes it beyond easy. Chapter support (The ability to break up longer videos on DVD's to easily skip back and forth) for iDVD. Individual volume control for each audio track at any point in the track. One click access for all three of the other iApps. New titles, new transitions, the "Ken Burns" effect with stills. No other DV software available for ANY platform is as easy to use as this. Also if you download from Apple it's FREE!

iPhoto: Still mostly looks the same, but there is now support for the other digital lifestyle iApps built in. The "Retouch" editing feature works amazing well. Also if you download it from Apple it's FREE! If your into serious photo editing, you'll still want a companion program. Photoshop Elements is a good choice. 70% of Photoshop at 1/5 of the price.

iTunes: I honestly don't see much difference here. I'm sure changes were made to integrate it with the other iApps. Still a great program though. If you download it from Apple (deja vu) it's FREE!

iDVD: Some new themes, some new features make this a worthy addition to any SuperDrive equipped Mac. No other DVD authoring software I've seen is as easy to use and as intuitive as iDVD. AND if you download it from Apple it's....um....not available. iDVD can only be purchased as part of the iLife package AND then only installed if you have a Superdrive equipped (internal drive only and as far as I know ONLY if installed by Apple) G4 PowerMac.

Complaints: Yeah a few. iMovie crashed a few times while performing multiple operations (granted it was doing 4 "Ken Burns" and 5 transitions at the time) on my 933 SuperDrive G4 Quicksilver Tower. Also the Apple restricts iDVD to only those people who bought their SuperDrive equipped G4 computers. C'mon Apple! We bought the hardware. Let us configure it ourselves without penalties! Also, you must be running at least 10.1.5 or later (10.2 HIGHLY recommended). System 9 users are officially out in the cold for this product.

In conclusion: If you meet the hardware/software specs, this is a must buy! No SuperDrive? Find a fast online connection and download the other pieces.

iLife puts it all together!
If you're on a Mac, you've probably used at least one of these programs by now. If not, you're missing out on what Steve Jobs calls "The hub of your digital lifestyle."

iMovie - For the amatuer film maker, or somebody who just wants to edit their own home movies, this is a cakewalk. Once you connect your camera through a Firewire port, you import your video. Add titles. Add fades, transitions, etc... Add some background music. Then, download it back to your camera (or, with a bridge, to a VCR). Better yet, save it out and import the video to iDVD for burning.

iDVD - I can't begin to tell you how easy this is. Create a menu (or select one of the many theme menus). Import your video. Click burn to DVD. It is literally that easy. I made a DVD of our improv troupe for all the members' Christmas gifts.

iTunes - If it's a music file... mp3, aiff, wav... it can import to iTunes. Create a music CD. Burn it as a standard or mp3 CD with a single click.

iPhoto - You can set this up to open and import the images as soon as your camera mounts to the desktop. Organize the images. Edit them for color or size. Then, burn a CD, make a slideshow, or even order a personalized bound book with your images and text.

The one major flaw of these programs has been the lack of manuals (except through third parties). A small price to pay for this kind of quality. Also, if you have no need for iDVD, the other three are available for download from the Apple web site. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

MusicMatch Jukebox Deluxe is the ultimate MP3 solution, featuring an MP3 encoder, MP3 Player, CD player, and integrated CD ripper. Record and MP3-encode tracks from your CD library or from online sources in a single step, creating CD-quality MP3 files at speeds up to nine times faster than normal play speed. A powerful database library makes it possible for you to sort and search your music by artist, title, track, or music genre, then create a customized song list by simply dragging and dropping selections from your library to your play-list screen. Deluxe features include a six-foot stereo-patch cable; 10 colorful display themes; and 50 free songs from RollingStone.com, epitonic.com, and emusic.com. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Big Bug
I installed this program twice on my computer to make sure and in both cases it caused big problems. I am still working to fix them.

The Best Digital Music Organizer/Player/Recorder
I purchased a Diamond Rio and quickly realized I needed quality software to collect and organize mp3 songs (I've since switched over to a Nomad II and since Music Match has plug-in's for both I can use all the mp3 music I had organized for the Rio immediately with the Nomad II). One thing you find out when you start to accumulate a lot of mp3 files on disk is that the disk directory structure and directory and file names is important if you ever lose your database or want to move the files around on disk or to another disk (especially if you are going to "rip" a lot of CDs so you have them available to quickly download to a mp3 player). Music Match allows you to create a very organized disk directory structure to hold all your songs. For a given mp3 file ripped from a CD, the file is stored under the artist folder, then the album folder. This is more important that one would at first realize because it is often necessary to move the files around and then re-import them back into the music database. Music Match makes this trivial and it's easy to find your music on disk even if something happens to the Music Match database, you can just start over and import all or some of the files within minutes. This became very useful when I started to fill my hard drive and decided to use a re-writable CD in my CD burner to hold some of my music files. In a few minutes I was able to copy several complete artist directory structures to the CD, and re-import the songs back into the Music Match database. I guess I appreciated this all the more because I started off with Real Jukebox which stores all the mp3 files in a single directory by default and the original track order of a CD was lost once the CD was ripped so moving the files was tedious and retaining the original CD track order required creating a playlist for each CD (too much work!). Once you load the music to disk, Music Match lets you sort your songs by artist, album and original track order among others.

It's also very fast at ripping CDs and you can also burn new custom CDs from a playlist of mp3 files if you have a CD rom burner. This program really brings it all together. You can collect mp3 files either by download or ripping CDs. It's then easy to create playlist of any order to download to a mp3 player or burn a custom CD. This program is all you really need.

Great piece of software
This is the tool for creating MP3s! It couldn't be easier and can do a whole Auido CD in around 10-15 minutes depending on the length of the CD. You can also access the web so you dont have to type in the track listing - this works really well.

The Recorder works and the player is good but is no Winamp. A nice thing about the player is that is has a lyric sheet for songs if you want to put the lyrics in (as well as a bio).

There is also a database for organising your songs and what I liked was the ability to convert Wave to MP3 and back again. I found this very useful when I wanted to integrate waves in other applications.

A very recommended product. Loses out on 5 stars as I still use Winamp as my Default player - but then Winamp does rock!

Music Match beats the Real player Jukebox
After testing both this program and the Real player jukebox, I found this one to be the better of the two. The sound quality you get from this program beat the real player in almost every test. The recording speed is twice the speed of other programs and the net radio is the best I have heard. Plus any mp3 portable can be used with this program. I suggest you go to the music match website and check out all the specs. I dont think you will be disapointed. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Be it LP, cassette, CD or MP3, Clean gets rid of hiss and crackle. Its high-quality effects and advanced music processing features give you perfect sounding music. You can let Clean do the work for you by automating this process. New professional tools and the intuitive handling make it easy to restore your music, to optimize the sound, and to burn the result onto CD. Other tools include Wavelab Lite 2.5 for ultra-quick music editing, real-time crossfades, and mastering effects, IntelliAssistant for fully-automatic handling, and TubeSimulation which acts as a hi-fi amplifier simulator. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

AudioStation 5.0 facilitates recording, playing, and organizing your digital music library. The latest update of this convenient PC jukebox program adds audio and data CD burning; CD ripping in MP3, WMA, and uncompressed WAV formats; and AutoGain to ensure that all song files play at the same volume level. It also makes Internet radio listening easy, offers advanced file management utilities, and much more.

Playback features let you maintain your music library in one convenient place. The new AutoGain feature lets you automatically correct changes in volume levels on songs recorded from different CDs for a consistent listening experience. You can play audio CDs, MP3s, and WMA and MIDI formats, as well as AVI, MPG, and QuickTime video files. Voyetra Turtle Beach's radio Web portal makes finding and listening to favorite WMA and MP3 stations a snap.

Burn music CDs with more than 150 MP3 or WMA tracks. Transfer songs from your hard disk drive to CDs with ease. Use WAV or compressed MP3/WMA formats to transfer CD tracks to your PC. CDDB support lets you automatically download titles from the Internet, eliminating typing. This program also organizes your music library by category, including artist, album, track, genre, mood, and more. Download collections of songs from your library into any number of playlists.

AudioStation 5.0 also includes AudioView Wave Editor, MIDI Orchestrator, and SoundCheck bonus programs. Print custom jewel case covers, or use AudioStation's templates. And, this program is compatible with Voyetra Turtle Beach's remote controller (not included). With it, you can control AudioStation on your PC from just about anywhere in your house. The remote controller uses radio frequency (RF) technology, so it can even transmit through walls. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A great product, If you're not retarded!!!
I own a copy of Audiostation 5,(actually the version I have is 5.2), and it works as advertised. I can't speak for the other people who reviewed this software, perhaps they have a different version, but I have never experienced a single problem with Audiostation 5 (ver.5.2). Loading the software was a breeze and using it was just as easy. It rips tracks from my cd player to my harddrive flawlessly and I've never had the software crash either during a download or during the software installation process. I'll lay 10 to 1 odds that the other people that reviewed this product either have hardware that conflicts with Audiostation software or they are, how shall I say...RETARDED!!! This software does everything it advertises and it has performed without a hitch for me. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the software does NOT allow you to transfer your downloaded mp3 tracks to a portable device ie. a portable mp3 player. That being said, it's still a great piece of software, one of the best I've ever used for what it claims to be able to do. As far as the tranferring of mp3 files to a portable mp3 player, that's more of a wish on my part since the software doesn't claim to be able to do that, however I think that Audiostation 6 will transfer mp3's to portable devices. I highly endorse Audiostation (version 5.2)

Sometimes "Bad" is bad.
This is one bad product. Backed up by bad support.

It comes in the box with the Turtlebeach AudioTron (which is a GREAT product) and I've tried using it in each of four different incarnations. The latest version adds a bunch of flashy things, but the basic problem remains the same.

The reason I give only 1 start is that the product crashes while playing songs and makes a LOUD screaching noise repetitively until you manage to kill the program. It does this on every machine I have tried it on (about 10 different types of hardware). Other programs, and the AudioTron, play the songs fine.

It has done this in each and every PAID upgrade I have tried. Customer support has either told me it is my hardware or they ignore me completely.

If they would fix it and give updates to their current customers I would re-consider my rating. I like the User Interface (much better than MediaPlayer and/or iTunes), but if it doesn't work it DOESN'T WORK.

I'm doing you guys a service by telling you to...
Stay A-WAY from this!!

Take it from me, a person that's had to put up with this for the last year, you will be sorry if you buy this unstable POS. Pardon my French. Well, now that I have XP and I've updated it with the latest updates from Windows Update, so I have the latest XP, here is what I've experienced:

1.) Long launch times. When you click or double click on the AudioStation icon to open/launch it it sits there for about 5-7 minutes with the busy cursor spinning. You can't do anything with it until it wakes up.

2.)Installing it was an adventure. A bad one. It will crash on you just before the end of the installation process. I found that you have to install the rest or repair it by using the Add or Remove Programs control panel under the Change or Remove Programs pane.

3.) Don't let the "upgrade" from the Voyetra website fool you. It's even more unstable than the previous version. Crashing when you attempt to copy some MP3s off a CD. And this version's hang time is even longer.

Until I can find a better MP3/CD-DA player/ripper/burner, I'll have to use the 5.0 version for copying MP3s at a reasonable bit rate. Windows Media Player doesn't even let you rip MP3s unless you buy a seperate MP3 codec. Whatever! So iTunes (which is free) can rip MP3s out of the installer (analogous to out-of-the-box) on a Mac, yet Windows Media Player requires you to buy that feature? Why?

Just stay away from this software. Stay away. You'll be sorry you bought it. I sure am.

I do not recommend this product.
AudioStation 5.0 by Voyetra Turtle Beach is a waste of money because it offers little more than what the free Microsoft media player has. To me it just seems like a cheep copy of MS media player.

Also, I had problems with it crashing under Windows ME. However, it is more stable under Windows XP.

One more thing to add is that the tech support took something like 8 business days to respond to very simple questions. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

MP3 Wizard 3.0 is a fast and easy way to download and swap music files, convert them to audio, and burn them directly to CD with one simple interface. The software supports all popular audio file formats, including MP3, WMA, WAV, MID, and CDA. Rip from favorite CDs for encoding, archiving, or creating custom mixes. Also play your MP3s with the free MP3 player. Other features include the ability to seamlessly crossfade between songs with a mixing function, add in effects like echo, reverb, flanger, and normalizing, and edit numerous songs at once using batch process editing. Even create MP3s with a free trial version of MP3 Encoder. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

MP3 Wizard 3.0 Error Message Parade
I bought the Wiz and it does not work on Windows XP. When I fist installed it it gave me a couple error flags. First was it couldn't see my burner and the second was "run time error 680, DAC not initialized". On the Data becker site they offer a few patches to solve the problems. Unfortunately, they only solved one. My burner is now seen but "run time error 680..." is still stopping the program from running. I sought tech advice from Data Becker but they don't respond.
My recommendation: Don't buy this if you're using XP.

Don't Bother
A big waste of ... The most confusing and frunstrating interface and software program I've come across in a long time. Run, don't walk to look for other alternatives!

Sad waste of 19.99
Of the things it claims to do, I couldn't find one that I couldn't download FAR superior as freeware.

Disappointed...
When it comes to ripping CDs into MP3 files, I'm a nut about getting the best sound quality possible. My old MusicMatch program only goes up to 160kps, so I was hoping to find a cheap program that would enable me to create MP3 files in the 200 range or above. MP3 Wizard IS NOT IT. There were no reviews for the MP3 Wizard, and I was a little hesitant to order it. But since Data Becker's MP3 Editor had great reviews, I thought their Wizard would be up to the task. I received the box in the mail earlier this week, opened it up and found a lone CD-ROM. No manuals, no flyers, no nothing, just a CD in a plastic sleeve. I thought that was odd. I installed the software, and woah...it is the most UN-user-friendly program I've ever seen! I guess the programmers tried so hard to make it look "hi-tech" they didn't realize how confusing it was. I consider myself a very computer literate person, but I was struggling for two days to figure the MP3 Wizard out. And when I opened up the help menu, some of the words are in a different language (German?), which totally threw me off. But the instructions are indeed in English. Salvation? Nope. The help menu didn't help me anyway. So now I have an open software product sitting on my desk that I wish I could return, but I know I'm stuck with. Anybody know any good programs to rip CDs into 200-and-above-range MP3 files? Because MP3 Wizard is not it. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

SoundJam MP Plus is a full-featured, all-in-one MP3 player and encoder for the Macintosh. It features a customizable user interface, a 10-band graphic equalizer with presets, and even plug-ins that display graphics to the beat of the music. The application can encode your entire music collection--be it on CD, vinyl, or cassette--into high-quality MP3 files. SoundJam MP Plus encodes quickly on all Macintosh computers, and the G4 optimization makes it even zippier on the PowerMac G4 with Velocity Engine. Users can change the look of the MP3 player by changing its "skin." And you can build easily custom music playlists that can track your music by artist, track, song, style, track length, or date recorded. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Extremely stable!
I have SoundJam playing music in the background all the time, and I haven't heard it skip or stutter once, even while opening applications or large documents. Amazing.

Does many things...
Bought SoundJam to convert .AIFF files to either .WAVE or MP3 files. Am new to computer music and am doing composing/arranging via MIDI which allows me to save in .AIFF files (QuickTime style).

SoundJam allows me to convert AIFF, WAVE, MP3, MP2 to any other type if the list (from one to the other).

My object is to make playable music CDs which is doable with MP3 or WAVE. The WAVE format can be hard to come by for Mac users.

SoundJam MP Plus not only does an excellent job of conversion, but it also: 1. plays all of the above in any number of lists you want to make. 2. enables you to record/play from microphone of line in/out. 3. record/play CDs.

I recently bought a new G4 Mac (they don't have mic or line in out built in) & i also bought a Griffin iMic USB adapter which does a dandy job of microphone recording as well as allowing me to record old 33 vinyl records & cassette tapes using SoundJam

I am very pleased with SoundJam MP Plus and think it is a super deal at the low price. It does all of the above & i keep discovering new features. If you hunt around the internet you will also find a free demo to check it out.

Soundjam MP
The program, Soundjam MP Plus, is an incredible program which allows you to easily download the names of all tracks on your CD, turn all audio tracks into the hot new MP3 format, as well as the ability to create and manage your own personalized play lists, based on the music that you like to hear. Soundjam MP Plus also allows the user to download and utilize custom created "skins", which alter the appereance of the players display and controls. This program is a must buy for music fanatics and casual listeners alike. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

SoundJam MP is the first full-featured, all-in-one MP3 player and encoder for the Macintosh. SoundJam MP converts music quickly into high-quality MP3s from CD, AIFF, QuickTime, and WAV formats. Don't get caught paying more to buy a separate encoder and separate player; SoundJam MP does it all--it plays and encodes. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

soundjam honest review
Sounjam rocks just because cassady & greene is always updating the soundjam player. and also because you can make mp3s from you own cd and share them with your friends :O). And also because it has now many more features that makes the soundjam player the best mp3 player of its kind for the mac SOUNJAM TOTALLY RULES!!!

This is the best MP3 software
Anyone will love this Software, anyone will recognise the menues, extra skins are fast downloads, and have a wide range of styles. The Equalizer has more options than you might think, with presets like, Hip-Hop, Arena (good for live songs), Rock, Pop, Piano, and Deep maximises sounds, also make your own pre-set.

I've used this program from when I had my 20th mp3. Now I'm over 1000 files, this program has covered my needs through out. Playlist are totaly costomisable, quickly change the order from by Album, to by Size. Anything you want. Also Auto-create playlist is avalible.

The mp3 encoder is wonderful, with intuitive controls, varitable bit rates, and optimised to work with the G4s so encoding works as fast as your drive can spin the CD. BTW, when you insert a disk, it calls the CDDB and fills in the track names, ablum, artist, and more.

Extra tools such as convert ID3 tags, graphic plug-ins are all included and the company encorages you to try your hand at building your own and download others from Casady and Greene's web page. Not to mention, the program wont miss a beat, load IE or Navagator, and it plays though. Even when I loaded Baldur's Gate!

This program didnt skip a step, included everthing you need, and more. Buy this software and you will never need another MP3 player again. EVER.

The finest piece of Mac software for many years.
Even if I didn't like music, I'd love the SoundJam MP3 player. Its playback is consistently better than other players. It also handles being backgrounded elegantly, even if a lot of I/O is going on. And it has all the bells and whistles we got used to with the freeware MacAMP, including audio and video plugins, equalizers, dynamic indicators, telltales, etc. out the wazoo.

But where it really shines is the user interface. This program is the best example of the Mac UI to come along for many, many years. Drag and drop to and from the Finder and other apps is seamlessly supported. Want to play an mp3? Just dump it on your desktop alias of the SoundJam icon. It plays.

MP3 file management is greatly simplified by being able to form unlimited playlists; playback options include truly random shuffle, repeat 1 song, repeat all, and EQ on/off. Display is fully customizable by means of 'skins'.

Encoding is also top quality and extremely speedy. And if all that weren't enough, the program is seamlessly integrated with the Rio500 portable MP3 player - it's literally plug and play. As soon as the Rio is plugged in and the app launched, the Rio window opens; when the device is unplugged, it disappears.

I would buy this piece of software again, if only to support Casady and Greene's unquestioned dedication to the Mac software standard.

Great product, and for a Mac!
Sound Jam is a great Mac product. Easy to learn, easy to use, and well-designed. Convert unlimited CD audio files to MP3, and automatically play downloaded MP3s. Easy to create & modify playlists. Nice keyboard alternatives. I've tried a few other Mac MP3 products, and this is the best.

Without doubt, THE best in its class.
I've tried a bunch of other MP3 players for MacOS, and been disappointed each time. SoundJam on the other is a sheer pleasure to use.

The application is well designed, the integrated encoder and CDDB access is wonderful and it never skips while I'm working. I've encoded my entire CD collection onto the hard disk of my PowerBook G3 and am loving every minute of it.

Just buy this software... its worth the twice the price. ... Read more

Features

• Burner Plus is the ultimate solution for creating MP3 and audio CDs
• Add artist, album and song information to your entire MP3 collection with Super Tagging
• Create full-color custom jewel case covers and inserts with CD cover art
• Easily record MP3s from vinyl, cassettes or any line-in source with line-in recording
• Create personalized montages of photos and graphics that play along with your music

Reviews (2)

Don't Bother!
Okay, As I'm typing this review, MusicMatch is chewing away, trying to organize my modest library of 1400 songs. It won't abort, it won't display, but it's chewing away on the contents of my music directory, and I can feel another memory error in the works. It has already crashed twice.

Once it choked on a bad file with a checksum error. Yeah, I would expect it to hiccup on a bad file, but not take down XP. I have about 100 programs on my computer (don't ask) and nothing has ever taken down XP except this program.

I feel like an idiot for having paid for this ridiculous pile of crap when MS MediaPlayer does largely the same job for free.

Don't make my mistake.

just terrible !!!!
I have a Dell xps with 1024 ram, windows XP pro and 120 GB. I installed musicmatch pro and it immediately disable my Nec 1100a read and write drive. I tried to enable the driver through my "Device Manager" (which showed my read and write drive disable), and when I tried to I got error message that there was a program conflict and windows could not enable the drive. I sent a e-mail to tech support two days ago and still have not heard back.
The only other product I have that uses the drive is Roxio 7.
I have uninstalled musicmatch professional and used the windows "restore" to get my computer back to where it should be.

My advice is to stay away from this product because of conflicts that may arise and the piss-poor tech support !!!!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Music Creator 2002 is an excellent tool for creating and editing MIDI music, and does a fair job of handling digital audio as well. The interface is somewhat overwhelming to the uninitiated, but with a little practice and the use of the many tutorials included with the software, you'll soon be making sweet music with ease.

This product's strong suit is MIDI audio, and recording, rearranging, and playing MIDI tracks is a snap. If you have an instrument with a MIDI interface, just connect it to the PC, fire up the software, hit the record button, and start playing. If you don't have a MIDI-compatible instrument, just use the included loops and samples, or import your own to create an infinite variety of music tracks. Once mastered, the interface makes it easy to layer tracks any way you like, dragging and dropping them into position to make a final multitrack session that's as complex or as simple as you like. Music Creator 2002 is also compatible with Virtual Sound Canvas DXi files, granting access to literallyhundreds of different instrument sounds.

Fixing mistakes in a MIDI recording is as simple as activating the program's editing mode, which lets you record only a certain segment of a piece without disturbing the music that comes before and after it. Once a recording is made to your satisfaction you can edit it in nearly any way imaginable, from changing the tempo to adjusting the volume levels of individual tracks.

One of the nicest features of Music Creator 2002 is that it lets users easily create, edit, and print sheet music. Notes appear automatically on the staff when played on an attached MIDI instrument, and it also is possible to simply drag-and-drop notes onto the staff. Lyrics can then be added for a professional-looking result.

Music Creator 2002 can be used to record and edit digital audio from any sourceyou can connect to a PC, but doesn't offer the professional functionality of tools like Cakewalk's SONAR or Home Studio 2002. If you really want to tweak your digital recordings, consider investing in one of these separate packages, each which integrates with Music Creator 2002. A basic mixer is included with Music Creator 2002 that lets you apply real-time audio effects like reverb and flange and otherwise adjust digital audio files. Finished recordings of all types can then be exported in a variety of formats, including MP3, Real Audio, and WAV, for playback or output to a recording device.

Music Creator 2002 is not for the dabbler who wants to quickly throw together some music, but anyone willing to put in the time necessary to exploit all the program's features will discover that in many ways it is a professional-quality product selling at a consumer-friendly price. If you already have some music editing experience you'll find that this is one of the easiest products to use of its type, especially for working with MIDI files and sheet music. --T. Byrl Baker ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Good, but suffers from a couple MAJOR problems...
First let me say, this program did make everything relatively easy for me. I was up and going in little time, and the book does a pretty good job of helping you out. But then I learned of the software's largest, almost unforgiveable problem. No support for the ability to add instrument definitions!... What is an instrument definition? It is sort of like a computer driver, you add it into the program so that the software recognizes (communicates) with all of the sound banks (beyond general midi) on your instrument. I was INCREDIBLY frustrated to learn, after much searching, and waiting several days for a reply from Cakewalk's tech support, to learn this fact, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE MANUAL SAYS YOU CAN DO IT!!, it even gives you directions how. So for the time being (until I can save money for one of the better programs) I can ONLY use boring old general midi, making 5/6th's of my synth's sound bank useless.

My final opinion, if you are using anything besides KORG or Roland hardware, which are the only ones preprogrammed into the software (I use Alesis), go with Home Studio '02, or better yet, XL.

Must Have For Music Makers
This has got to be one of the best music creator programs I have EVER seen. Lots of programs have a good outline and look simple to use, but when you have a question, you have to go to the "help" menu. A lot of help those are. They might as well be written in Japanese. However, Music Creator 2002 has an organized, simple tell-how (not in Japanes or jibberish... or Japanese jibberish0 that can get you making music in no time. The day I bought it I was already making the piano track for a song I had in mind. In a matter of minutes I had the first 20 measures done with the EXTREMELY easy note writer. But just because it's easy doesn't mean it's weak. You can make anything from a classical concerto of trumpets to a hardcore head-bangin' hippie band. With the free trial of Pyro Mp3 CD maker, you can make your own CD ready for shipping to that record company you've wanted a contract with since you were 12. With a good sound card (the one that came w/ your computer will work but you probably won't be able to change MIDI to Wave or Mp3) and a little time and thinking you can make an orchestral overture or a jumpy jive beat in minutes.

All Talk, No Action.
I keep reading about what a powerful program this is. On the best days, I can only marginally agree. I have used other inexpensive programs that gave me the same type of results that were MUCH easier to use. (I use these types of programs on a regular basis with little to no trouble.) The screen is busy with all types of displays, but seldom will many people actually use most of the stuff. Looks good, but basically useless. The "help" section of the program is usually pretty helpful...the only problem being when you look up a topic, it tells you that you can't do that particular function with this program. That has happened SO many times, I have begun to think that you can't really do ANYTHING with this program. Though this program is really written to do midi-input, the company advertises that you can also do manual notation. I tried that function as well, and it is absolutely the worst I have ever used, bar none. There are so many things that it won't let you input, it is nearly completely useless. I'm certain that if someone wanted to pursue a false advertising claim, that there would be plenty of room for it. I have used children's notation programs that produced better results with less than half the effort. The bottom line is that this program is basically all talk with little worthwhile result.

Good for writing music
This is a great product. i used it not only to create my own symphony, but to play and record it. if you really care about music, check under the couch cusions for lose change cuz this CD ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, don't own it.
I know you may think that I am stupid, but this looks like something that I might want to get. I am an aspiring c++ game programmer at the age of 13 and I hope that I can make my own music with this so I can sell my games without being sued by someone. ... Read more

Features

• Magix Remix Agent for using AutoCut & AutoLoop tools on beat-based audio sources
• VAX9 Synthesizer combines flexible synthesizing with perfect modulation options
• Full ReWire support -- synchronize Music Studio deLuxe to ReWire products
• Audio Cycle recording carries out recordings even when a cycle is activated
• Tremolo and Tube Saturation plugins

Amazon.com Product Description

Audio CD MP3 Studio 2000 makes organizing and recording your libraries of audio files easier than ever. The application stores and manages .wav files using a special compressed format that dramatically cuts space requirements of your hard disk. Space taken up by audio files is reduced to one quarter of the size. So, you can store the data for a 60-minute audio CD in just 150 MBs instead of 600 MBs.

Audio CD MP3 Studio 2000 also supports MP3 files, which achieves much higher compression ratios. It can write MP3s to audio CD, and performs audio processing functions in real time. Rip music CDs to Wave, and then convert to MP3. Use the MP3 and Wave player to play music directly from your hard drive. This program supports most standard CD writers. ... Read more

Product Description

Pocket Tunes turns your Palm OS 5.2 device into a portable audio player! Play WMA, MP3, OGG and WAV audio files from a flash memory card or listen to Internet Radio, live over your wireless Internet connection. Use Windows Media Player to copy files from your music CD's or hard disk using our new FastTunes¿ conduit directly to Pocket Tunes. Use the Hi-Fi Graphic Equalizer to optimize your listening pleasure. Easily create Playlists and be your own DJ with the powerful Crossfade ability. AND MUCH MORE! ... Read more

Features

• Fast WMA, MP3, OGG and WAV playback & streaming audio support for networked devices
• Supports background playback so you can work in other applications uninterrupted
• Hi-Fi Graphic Equalizer
• Download custom skins or create your own with PocketSkin technology!
• Large screen device support and Power-saver screen blanking mode to conserve battery power