[Review] Make Your Own Music with MAGIX Music Maker 2013 Premium
I’m sure at some point in our lives, we all want to make music. Unfortunately, not all of us are musically inclined, so that makes things tough. Thankfully, MAGIX has come to the rescue with its Music Maker series of software, letting you “Make Your Own Music.” I first came across MAGIX, late last year while returning to video editing. I needed better software than just Windows Movie Maker. An acquaintance on Twitter, Constantin Gabor @highballsport suggested I try Movie Edit Pro. I did and subsequently bought the software. Initially, I was skeptical because it was only $70. Normally media editing software that cheap isn't very good. BOY WAS I WRONG. I love it! If I knew beforehand I would've purchased Plus or even Premium.
Music Maker 2013 Premium gives the user a host of features, including over 6,000 sounds & loops, rock drums, string ensemble, bass machine, world percussion, a mastering suite, and the ability to work with unlimited tracks. Overall, installation of the software and add-ons took about 25 minutes, give or take.
Music Maker’s interface is fairly straightforward. On top, you have your arranger, which is like a timeline, but instead of just one track to work with, you have an unlimited number to work with. On the bottom, you have media pools which showcase your sound clips. The software primarily uses loops, sound clips of vocals or any instrument that can be played in a seamless loop. To use a loop, you click on it once to listen to it, and if you like it, you can drag it into the arranger.
You can also stretch and shorten the loop to your liking, adding as many loops as you want as long as they don’t overlap in one track. You can move them to another track, if need be. You can also use the built-in mixer to adjust the loops in a multitude of ways.
The sound quality is very good, the loops are well-made, recorded well and at high quality. Plus, you have many loops to choose from, and there are more to download from the Catooh marketplace. They may not be free, but given the overall sound quality, they’re worth it. You can also import your own sounds.
The drag-and-drop nature makes the software very easy to use, even one-handed. Even if you’re not exactly musically inclined (like me), it’s easy to experiment with the different loops. Who knows, you just may have a happy accident and create something that sounds good just from experimenting.
There is one negative factor that I feel needs to be pointed out, and that is use. You are free to use your creations for free as long as they’re not for profit. You are also free to share your creations on sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and SoundCloud. However, if it is for profit or used in an advertisement for something that's for profit, then you need to purchase the commercial-use license. The license costs $100 for one song, and $250 for unlimited use. While that sounds pricey, it is ultimately a good deal for beginners trying to get their music out there.
Would I recommend MAGIX Music Maker 2013 Premium? Yes, because it is very easy to use, which also makes it quite fun. For the price, it’s not bad either. As of this writing, Music Maker 2013 Premium is on sale for $99.99 USD. However, if you don’t have $100, the regular version of Music Maker 2013 is also on sale for $59.99 USD, and there are free trials on MAGIX’s official site.
Software Rating: 4.5/5 Stars (Loses 0.5 for having to purchase additional loops and the license, but that’s a minor complaint of mine, and not necessary.)
Accessibility Rating: 5/5 Stars
MAGIX has been providing high-quality multimedia software to millions of homes & offices around the world, enabling the creative integration of music, photos and videos into everyday lives, for nearly 2 decades. They graciously gave me a copy of Music Maker 2013 Premium for review, and I would like to thank them for doing so.
