Magix Music Studio 11 Deluxe review

We reviewed the latest version of Magix's full-on music creation program a couple of months ago, but how's its little brother doing?

  • £50
As if by magic, the chord appears!

MusicRadar Verdict

Music Maker 11 is definitely worth checking out - we´d hand over our cash just for the Harmony Agent.

Pros

  • +

    Simple layout. Easily accessible features. Comes with a music and photo manager. Impressively low price. Numerous export options.

Cons

  • -

    Automated features not particularly musical. Uninspiring samples.

MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.

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.

Music Radar Team

MusicRadar is the number 1 website for music makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, djs or producers...

GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high- quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts. TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars. STARS: We talk to musicians and stars about their creative processes, and the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music making that no other music website can.