Has anyone used Music Maker by Magix (version 10 or 11, which just came out), or Sony Acid?  I'm curious to compare them, the advantages/disadvantages, what you can do with them, etc.  Any help would be great.  Thanks!

I used Acid, but I didn't care for it..

I love Adobe Audition... formerly called Cool Edit

Jeff, I've never used Music Maker but, tried Sony Acid (demo) a few times a few years ago. It was basically a loop-based software. I don't use loops when I record so, it wasn't for me. I have used Cakewalk and, their more recent version, Sonar, for a few years and, am very happy with the versatility and sound quality.

I just went to the Music Maker website and checked it out. Sounds like it's pretty comprehensive, it's got loop capabilities, as well as play-it-yourself capability. Some of the additional features sound pretty cool too.

There wasn't a demo available, at least I couldn't find one on the site so, I couldn't really test it out.

My advice would be to check out some of the forums on it. That will give you a more in-depth idea of its' pros and cons.

Sorry I couldn't be more help, Jeff.

Rick, Dominel, thanks!  I did see the latest version of Music Maker came out in April, so it's pretty new.  I wish they had a demo, but it does seem to compare well to Acid.  I'll check around on some other forums, buy one of them, and let you know how it goes...

The program for my computer is Garage Band, but I think that's only for Macs...

The program for my computer is Garage Band, but I think that's only for Macs...


Thanks, I looked it up, it does look like Mac only...looks good though.

I've got My Voice and Steinberg Cubase LE w/ Lexicon Pantheon Reverb.

I haven't tried the Steinberg yet, but gave My Voice a quick run-through tonight for an hour or so.

My Voice is Vocal Removal Software - it doesn't completely eliminate the vocals (tested on Nirvana's "All Apologies"), but what was left was nearly inaudible, and while there was a discernable 'flat spot' in that frequency range, it still sounded better than a MIDI. This is very entry level software, but is easy to use and seems ideal for recording parodies. You can even enter your own lyrics and time them to the music.  Of course, the included microphone is garbage, but for 30$ it isn't bad at all.

The limitations on this are that live and "very old" recordings cannot be scrubbed with the software. My guess is anything originally released on vinyl qualifies as "very old" (thier words, not mine). Digitally remastered songs, like "Stairway To Heaven", came out decent, though The Beatles' "Love Me Do" (from the #1 CD) was turned into a muddy bass line - harmonica gone completely.

The two live CDs I tested it on had most of the vocals, and all of the crowd noise, still intact.


Has anyone used Music Maker by Magix (version 10 or 11, which just came out), or Sony Acid?  I'm curious to compare them, the advantages/disadvantages, what you can do with them, etc.  Any help would be great.  Thanks!


I believe one of the features of MM 10 was a karaoke type thing like My Voice' software. Chances are it has the same limitations as stated above.

The Steinberg/Lexicon Software came as part of a Lambda desktop recording studio, which I'll report on more when I figure out how to hook it up.  ;)

Thanks!  I imagine another issue with the vocal removal software is that you'd eventually run into copywright issues (not that I'm anywhere near creating something at that level).

A buddy of mine has a version of Cubase and seems happy with it (although it was pretty expensive in comparison, might have been closer to a professional version).

I get Music Maker Version 11, I'll report back also.

Virginia...close to DC?


I've got My Voice and Steinberg Cubase LE w/ Lexicon Pantheon Reverb.

I haven't tried the Steinberg yet, but gave My Voice a quick run-through tonight for an hour or so.

My Voice is Vocal Removal Software - it doesn't completely eliminate the vocals (tested on Nirvana's "All Apologies"), but what was left was nearly inaudible, and while there was a discernable 'flat spot' in that frequency range, it still sounded better than a MIDI. This is very entry level software, but is easy to use and seems ideal for recording parodies. You can even enter your own lyrics and time them to the music.  Of course, the included microphone is garbage, but for 30$ it isn't bad at all.

The limitations on this are that live and "very old" recordings cannot be scrubbed with the software. My guess is anything originally released on vinyl qualifies as "very old" (thier words, not mine). Digitally remastered songs, like "Stairway To Heaven", came out decent, though The Beatles' "Love Me Do" (from the #1 CD) was turned into a muddy bass line - harmonica gone completely.

The two live CDs I tested it on had most of the vocals, and all of the crowd noise, still intact.

I believe one of the features of MM 10 was a karaoke type thing like My Voice' software. Chances are it has the same limitations as stated above.

The Steinberg/Lexicon Software came as part of a Lambda desktop recording studio, which I'll report on more when I figure out how to hook it up.  ;)

Virginia...close to DC?



I'm about 2.5 hrs away from DC.

The Lambda Desktop Studio was 200$, and includes a 'box' that has the mic/MIDI inputs, outputs,  level switches, etc, and has 48V phantom power, which most condenser microphones will need. A Rode NT1-A microphone (great reviews on this and 200$) w/pop screen and stand round out my gear.

Though I'm not sure how much a difference it will make, I also upgraded my sound card to a Soundblaster X-FI Platinum. If anyone is considering this soundcard, know that the front face that comes with it is 5 1/4 and more than likely will not fit into your tower w/o removing one of the DVD drives.