Korg nanoPAD USB Drum Controller, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)Twelve drum pads. XY control surface. Flam. Roll. Small enough to hide in your messenger bag.
I plugged the nanoPAD into my mac, and GarageBand saw it immediately. After a few minutes, I left my MacBook on the desk, put the nanoPAD in my lap, leaned back, and started tapping out beats. When I finally put the nano down, well over an hour had passed.
The pad feel is great - not too firm but not too rubbery. The pads themselves are fairly small, but that makes it easier to work with more than two drums at a time. I'd almost like to see a drum controller with pads just large than the tips of my fingers.
After years of paying sky-high prices for audio gear that always seemed to have something missing, I'm blown away by Korg's nano series. Each controller does its job well and at a price that shouldn't break anyone's bank. Korg blew everyone away with the Electribe series a decade ago, and they are doing it again with the nano controllers.
These nanos are toys - not because they are cheap (though they are inexpensive) but because they are so much fun.

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Korg's nanoPAD is a compact pad controller featuring 12 highly responsive trigger pads, each one capable of sending up to eight notes--or eight MIDI control messages--simultaneously, in addition to an X-Y touchpad with roll and flam functions for realistic drum programming.

The Korg nanoSERIES The Korg nanoSERIES provide a keyboard controller, a pad controller, and a studio controller with dedicated transport controls. Each of these USB-powered, slim-line controllers is designed to make the most of your valuable studio space, and is small enough to take with you on any musical journey. Place one of our keyboard controllers in front of your laptop, rest a pad controller on your music workstation, park a studio controller on your recording console--or anywhere else you need versatile control over your DAW, virtual instrument, effect or DJ software. Although small in size, all three nanoSERIES controllers go HUGE when it comes to functionality, yet their intuitive layouts provide extremely easy operation for any user.
nanoPAD--A Small Pad Controller That's Big on Control When Korg set out to make a drum pad controller, they did their homework - with unique features and exceptionally responsive pads, the resulting padKONTROL became and remains one of the most highly sought-after pad controllers on the market. Enter the nanoPAD, offering 12 excellent feeling and highly responsive pads in a new, smaller footprint. In addition, a new Chord Trigger function lets you enter chords onto a single pad, helping you to make the most of the work surface as you create. The pads are also able to transmit control change messages, making this a great interface for soloing or muting mixer tracks, turning objects on and off, or triggering clips during your live performances.
nanoPAD's X-Y pad offers 'Roll' and 'Flam' modes, to help you lay down ultra-realistic drum grooves. The X-Y pad will also send MIDI CC (Control Change), making it a go-to interface for any parameter within your software that requires full range MIDI control such as pitch, cutoff, volume and beyond.
What's in the Box Korg nanoPAD, USB cable, Owner's Manual

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Akai MPD26 USB/Midi Pad Controller Review

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(More customer reviews)Where to start !
Ok the basics, This product boasts a lot of features, and for anyone who has dreamed of owning an MPC, but cant afford it this is a great alternative.
Straight out of the box this item looks good, its solidly constructed, and just looks cool.
It comes with a copy of Ableton Live LITE, which honestly is not worth using, it is very limited in what you can do and to take advantage of the MPD you really need the features of the full version.
When it comes to installation it couldn't be any easier, plug in the USB cable and away you go, the only other thing you need to do is set up Live or whatever program you are using, its just a case of selecting it from your midi devices section in your program preferences..
Once I had this set up I was already to go, or so i thought, I found that LIVE's preset instruments wern't all that great for the MPD, however after searching on the net i found some cool videos on youtube that show you how to set up preset settings in LIVE which work really well.
The next thing i found was that there was quite some delay when i would hit the pad compared to when i would hear it, which was very annoying, it made trying to time things right near on impossible, after a little more research i found out what the problem was, it is the latency, which is determined mostly by the quality of your sound card and its drivers. There is a fix for this that worked brilliantly on my setup, and on a mates who purchased the MPD 18, you need to download ASIO4ALL a simple google search and you'll find it.. This has got my latency down to near zero and i can no longer feel any delay at all.
Now that I finally have the MPD set up the way i like, and all my little hardware bugs sorted, I love this thing, It's mad addictive, and I find myself getting lost in the mix and time just dissapears.
In conclusion, this product is fan-freakin-tastic... For the price of this compared to the MPC it is definetlly worth it, Although all MPC owners out there will tell you how it is nothing like an MPD, the truth is it does everything an MPC will do but you need the computer set up in a way that allows you to do it... Im sure they will all disagree, I personally think they're just a pissed that they spent so much on something that you can do with the MPD for a fraction of the price.. Obviouslly there is the downside that you cant just pick it up and take it to a gig without having ya pc with ya, but for recording / beatmaking this thing is great.
Although it was a little tricky getting all my presets sorted, once that was done its sweet.


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The MPD26 is a MIDI-over-USB pad controller with genuine MPC pads. It's perfect for producers, programmers, musicians and DJs. Its blend of intuitive MPC controls and technologies meshes with easy USB connectivity to bring the feel of classic beat making to the world of computer music production.
A MIDI-over-USB pad controller with genuine MPC pads. Click here for a larger image

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Akai APC20 Compact Ableton Controller Review

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(More customer reviews)When I first saw a DJ at the San Diego Media Arts Center using this thing at a laptop jam, I thought it was incredible... but when he told me the price he paid on Amazon I thought it was doubly incredible. If you already have Live, the APC20 is a bargain by itself. But if you don't have Live, this package is TRIPLY icredible since it comes with an almost fully functional version (much more functional than standard Live Lite) thus saving you hundreds of bucks! I think the software alone would be worth the price for someone like me... a dabbler without deep pockets.
Caveats & Quibbles
I run XP and had trouble with drivers, but I got a quick helpful response from Akai support. I also had some VST plug-in hangups. They seemed to resolve themselves when I uninstalled and reinstalled. If that doesn't work for you, finding which plug-in is causing the problem can be tedious.
The included USB wire was kinda short (maybe 3 feet). And the USB doesn't power the APC20; you need to plug in an additional wire to a power source.
The biggest potential problem... once you fire up this sucker you can kiss normal life good-bye. You'll be lost for hours playing with infinite push-button permutations of polyphonic pow-ah!


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Hip Hop eJay Review

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(More customer reviews)This "Music Creation Game" is totally awesome. If you have ever wanted to scratch like a pro-dj, make phat raps, or even record your OWN raps this is the game. With over 1,000 loops, bass lines, raps, sound effects, voice recordings, your own scratches and more. There is two side screens other than the 6-line music creator that you drag&drop effects for the song the scratch and the recording studio. The scratch area is where you can scratch like a pro by draging your mouse to turn the record, drag your own sound effects into there and scratch the ... out of them. You can make a whole scratch line for your song or make a perfect scratch for your other songs. This is great if you can't afford all the expensive equiptment to scratch really! The recording studio is where you "record lyrics" or "effects" for your song. In all this is a phat 5 star game for anyone who has the talent of music creation.

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Create you own music on your PC with Voyetra's Hip Hop eJay 2. The program includes everything that you need, with over 3,500 professionally recorded audio samples that you can use to build your songs. Choose from drum beats, bass lines, keyboard parts, raps, vocal hooks, and sound effects to create your mixes. Record your own voice or samples, and drop them into your songs. Hip Hop eJay 2's powerful utilities give your mixes a professionally produced sound. Add life to your samples with robotize, echo, overdrive, and filter in the Effects Studio. Cut and scratch audio clips in the Scratch Generator II. Scratch live to the playback with your mouse, record it, and then manipulate the recorded sample. Blend your songs in the 16-Track Mixer. Control the volume and speaker placement of up to 16 different tracks during playback. Make virtually any audio sample eJay-compatible with the Time Stretch utility. The samples include a wide array of musical styles, like Old Skool, Nu Skool, East Coast, West Coast, and Freestyle.

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Behringer DDM4000 - DJ Mixer Review

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(More customer reviews)This mixer weighs about 2 pounds regardless of what the actual weight says on the box. My DDM 4000 was broke when I opened the box. I could hear parts rattling around when I picked it up. The DDM4000 is a cheap knock off of the pioneer DJM800 because of the midi connection and the similar features. The quality is absolutely horrible and I would not recumbent this mixer to anyone weather an beginner or pro dj. This is by far the worst dj product that I have ever bought. This product is straight weak and we should ship all of these mixers back to Germany and cut their products off until they can create a product with at least the quality of a numark product. Do not buy this mixer. Own 7 mixers from all different brands and I love them all. I know features and I know quality. It is very rare that a company will create a product that has both and this mixer is a perfect example of that. Get a Rane, pioneer, or high end Numark. Save your money with this crap.

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Korg nanoKONTROL USB Controller, Black Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a laptop musician and I've gotten extremely tired of staring at the screen, twiddling virtual knobs one at a time with my mouse. When Korg introduced the nano line, I practically ran to the store to check them out. The nanoKONTROL is almost perfect for my setup, and for under sixty bucks I couldn't walk out without one.
First off, this is definitely NOT plug-n-play, but it's a breeze to setup. I use Ableton Live and it immediately recognized the nanoKONTROL and let me assign functions to each button, knob, and slider with no issues at all. It revolutionized my live show because I can suddenly operate multiple faders and trigger multiple audio loops at once, all in a unit that's smaller than a carton of cigarettes. There are only nine fader/knob sets, but you can change 'scenes,' which essentially transposes the controls up to the next bank of nine, effectively giving you 36 fader sets. It even has lights so you can see what's triggered on a dark stage. I've had this for a good four or five months now and have never had any problems- after setting it up, simply plug it in and you're good to go.
The nanoKONTROL also ships with a copy of the Korg Kontrol Editor, which is a little program you can use to alter the firmware of the device. The Editor allows you to change the parameters of your nano- what kind of midi signal is being sent, the channel, the toggle, the high and low values, et cetera. You can even save multiple editor files, so you can switch between settings depending on what program you're using. Absolutely brilliant.
There is one con to this unit, and I'm not gonna lie: it feels chintzy. When I first picked it up, I had to laugh because it's such a lightweight piece of plastic that it feels more like a child's toy than a piece of equipment. I feel like one little drop and this thing will shatter into bits. The knobs and faders are cheap as hell and before you plug it in, you will feel a little ripped off. BUT AFTER YOU PLUG IT IN, you will realize that those tacky knobs and faders are extremely responsive and you just got a great controller for the price of a decent dinner for two.
I've heard mixed reviews of the other nano products, especially the keyboard (seriously, you can buy an old Oxygen 8 for almost the same price, so get some real midi keys), but I HIGHLY recommend the nanoKONTROL. You'll love it.

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Part of the super-compact nanoSERIES, Korg's nanoKONTROL offers nine faders, nine knobs, 18 switches, plus a full transport section for expansive control; even a flexible note input mode to help you lay down your next big groove.

The Korg nanoSERIES The Korg nanoSERIES provide a keyboard controller, a pad controller, and a studio controller with dedicated transport controls. Each of these USB-powered, slim-line controllers is designed to make the most of your valuable studio space, and is small enough to take with you on any musical journey. Place one of our keyboard controllers in front of your laptop, rest a pad controller on your music workstation, park a studio controller on your recording console--or anywhere else you need versatile control over your DAW, virtual instrument, effect or DJ software. Although small in size, all three nanoSERIES controllers go HUGE when it comes to functionality, yet their intuitive layouts provide extremely easy operation for any user.
nanoKONTROL--The Most Expansive Array of Controls For Its Size--Period The nanoKONTROL features a plethora of controllers to help you get the most control out of your software for the size and money. nanoKONTROL offers nine faders, nine knobs, 18 switches and a full transport section. For each of the four programmable scenes the nanoKONTROL offers, you can set the controllers any way you need them. That means that you can transmit a total of 168 different MIDI CC (Control Change) messages, as well as MIDI notes with the switches. The six transport buttons can each transmit either MIDI CC messages or MMC messages to control functions such as: start, stop, loop, or record on your DAW software.
Imagine taking full control of your software--transport, a full track's worth of faders, pans and mutes--or how about precise dedicated control over the many parameters of software synths, samplers or virtual drum machines. It's all possible with the nanoKONTROL.
To add to the nanoKONTROL's flexibility, an attack and decay time can be specified for the eighteen switches. This allows you to smoothly feed controller messages into parameters such as wet/dry levels for an effect, a filter for a synth, or a volume fader for that perfect fade.
What's in the Box Korg nanoKONTROL, USB cable, Owner's Manual

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UDG Creator Serator Record Sleeve - Black Review

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(More customer reviews)These were hard to come by for a while, but worth the wait. I wouldn't carry it to a gig with just one set of vinyl-it's much more rigid when it's full. Individual slots hold all the control vinyl you'd ever need at a gig. Keep your eye on it-cool stuff that says "Scratch Live" on the outside tends to disappear in a club...

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Korg PadKontrol USB Drum Pad Studio Controller, White Review

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(More customer reviews)The KORG padKontrol has only one purpose and that is to make the use of its input pads easy, flexible and reliable. The included manual is very thorough and explains every aspect well. The included editor software called Librarian, lets you program the entire pad very easily and requires little instruction, it is mainly click the image on the padKontrol on the screen and then set its parameters.
The pads are really what sets this unit apart though as they will register a hit even when they are struck on an edge or corner. If you've got sloppy fingers and are triggering things accidentally then just adjust the velocity curves to dial back the sensitivity. The pads light when the trigger which is a nice way to instantly see that you have a successful input. They can be set as momentary on/off or as toggle types. In toggle mode they act more like a switch where one hit turns it on and a second hit turns it off which is useful for sending MIDI events that you may want to remain "ON" longer than a split second like the momentary trigger gives.
The other buttons also light up as they are used which gives good feedback. The knobs are solid and have a very smooth action to them. The feet on the bottom of the unit are really sticky, not in a glue or tape sort of way, but rather in a it stay where you put it despite tapping away at it like mad. The touch-pad allows some very cool roll/flam effects but takes some practice to use well, it can also be reassigned to other functions.
Mine came with software samples from several manufacturers in the box. I am especially pleased with the one from Pianoteq and KORG's own M1Le synth engine. Those were unexpected, are very functional and have me thinking of actually upgrading them to their respective full versions.
KORG is a top tier name and this unit lives up to the reputation. Do not settle for cheaper imitations, you can see a big difference in quality.

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M-Audio Torq MixLab Digital DJ System Review

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(More customer reviews)I was a bit skeptical about actually mixing on a computer, but must say this delivers!! The Torq LE is a simple to use, and learn, program. The mixer does a great job, with a couple of exceptions. First, there should be kills on the EQ's and the headphone monitoring needs to be better thought out. You basically have to connect to 2 external audio outputs to hear the main mix and the monitor mix. I believe a simple headphone jack on the mixer itself would have been a great idea. Of course, since this is a MIDI controller, and not an actual mixer, I don't know the ramifications and troubles with doing that. Those are the 2 reasons I was not able to give this 5 stars. Overall, I think its a great product and for the price - its awesome!

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Torq MixLab� delivers everything you need to start producing and performing your own DJ tracks right away. Torq� LE gives you the features necessary to build a modern DJ station. And the included X-Session� Pro USB controller puts you in command of mixing and crossfader action. Easy to learn, Torq MixLab will have you up and running fast - ready to remix, and burn. Plus Torq is powerful enough for the big stage as well as small parties.

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Akai Pro MPD18 Compact Pad Controller Review

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(More customer reviews)Just started messing around with beats. This thing is awesome and crazy affordable. Im not to the point where I can justify spending the money for the MPC's and such so this was right up my alley and does everything I need for my level of music production. Was a little difficult to set up and assign samples to pads at first cause the instructions are minimal at best, after a bunch of trial and error and youtube tutorials I was able to figure it out for the most part.

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Novation Nocturn Compact Intelligent Plug-In Desktop Controller with Automap Universal Technology Review

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(More customer reviews)This controller uses the novation Automap software. When using the hardware as intended, no midi messages are sent to your DAW. Midi is sent to the automap virtual server, which then sends automation data to your DAW. You may use the controller as a midi device, but you lose all functionality with automap. In Ableton Live 8 this type of implementation is buggy and has considerable latency. With Ableton 8.2.1 and Automap 3.7 it is not possible to use this controller to record automation unless you MIDI learn your controller parameters to instrument rack functions. This being the case, you might as well save yourself 50 bucks and buy a korg nanokontrol or the lpd8 which do not use automap type technology. Don't let this discourage you if you want it for live performance only or for use with another DAW.

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Pioneer CDJ-400 Cd/Media Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I love the cdj400, as a dj for 20 years i recommend it too any one pro or new jack !!

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BEHRINGER BCF2000 USB MIDI RECORDING+MIXING CONTROLLER Review

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(More customer reviews)For this price you will not find another control surface with this flexibility. I've got it controlling Adobe Audition 3 and it is working flawlessly. My ratings for ease of use and features are relative to the price.
Programming the unit is not as simple as some would have you believe, although you can find presets online for most DAWs and I found a template detailing what the default functions are for AA3. Easy to get up and running and with a little googling its simple to figure out what you need to. I would buy it again and have recommended it to everyone I know who has a similar setup at home.
mhlavinatgmaildotcom

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Akai Pro LPK25 Laptop Performance Keyboard Review

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(More customer reviews)Akai Pro LPK25 Laptop Performance Keyboard
OVERALL IMPRESSION: NOT A TOY! This is an excellent songwriting tool, that makes music making on the go a reality. Not intended to replace your main MIDI controller.
DISCLAIMER: I am an amateur musician making songs mostly to share with family and friends. Also, guitar is my native instrument, and my keyboard skills still leave much to be desired. That being said:
I LOVE THIS DEVICE!!
PROS:
-PORTABILITY AND SMALL FOOTPRINT. I can take this thing with me anywhere and it does not take much space in my laptop bag or work-surface. I have a 20"x20" wood board that I use as a work-surface for my laptop, mouse, LPK25, and headphones. Using that setup I composed whole songs in my bed, sofa, dinner table, backyard chair, passenger seat of my car (at work during lunch time), hotel room, in-laws house...you get the idea. I also have a room with a full size desktop piled with recording equipment in my house, but I only use that setup for recording vocals, guitars, mixing, and mastering (when I have time). Most of my music creation is done with the LPK25 and my laptop.
-PLAYABILITY. Although the keys are small they are still comfortable to play without hitting more than one note at once with each finger (and I have thick fingers). The keys also have great sinth-like action.
-BUILT-IN ARPEGIATOR. I am a novice at using arpegiators but I have found the built-in arpegiator on the LPK-25 very useful and simple to use. An excellent tool to develop ideas, particularly if you (like me) are lacking serious keyboard skills.
-USB POWERED. No power brick required, and it does not drain my laptop's battery quickly either.
-PLUG & PLAY: No drivers to download and fuss with.CONS:
-VELOCITY RANGE NOT AS WIDE AS I WOULD LIKE. The difference in loudness when you press a key fast/hard VS. soft/slow is not as noticeable as more expensive controllers I have used in the past. If you are a very expressive player you won't like it this very much.UNKNOWNS:
-QUALITY & LONGEVITY: I have only owned it for a few months so I don't know how well it will stand to the test of time. But that being said as far as I know AKAI products are pretty reliable, and well built, and this product feels solid.
FINAL NOTE: Although this will be obvious to most, I think it is worth mentioning that this is a midi controller and NOT A STAND ALONE KEYBOARD. The unit makes no sounds of its own and you need a separate computer program (i.e. virtual instrument) to use it.
UPDATE 12/08/2010: I am happy to report that as of today (12/08/2010) my Akai LPK25 is still working as good as the day I bought it.

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Create melodic and harmonic riffs in seconds, anywhere, with the Akai Pro LPK25 Laptop Performance Keyboard, a scaled-down relative to the MPK series of keyboard performance controllers. Made up of 25 miniature, velocity-sensitive keyboard keys with synth action, the LPK25 is a great choice for keyboard players who want to work with software on their computer. Measuring less than 13 inches across and weighing less than a pound, it easily fits into a laptop case, backpack or messenger bag for extreme portability.

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Music Maker 16 Review

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(More customer reviews)The new Music Maker 16 comes with really cool new sounds and effects. For me the guitar amplifier Vandal se is the absolute highlight on this software! Furthermore I like the new option to play the instruments via the pc keyboard, with this I can play around and try some new melodies, if there is no midi keyboard close at hand.
5* because it is easy for beginners and extensive for pros (pros should have a look at the premium version of this software)!
Cheers

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MAGIX Music Maker 16 turns making music into a real experience. Easily get started and make your own exciting songs from scratch! Use practical info videos and numerous support options to develop your own musical style right away--without any prior skills. Thousands of sounds, realistic instruments, and great effects to create explosive drums, crunchy basses, and super melodies--simply get started in the world of music production.

Newest features to make your own sound
Sound archive with about 1,500 Sounds & Loops The new sound package features new loops and samples from every musical genre, e.g. rock, pop, dance, hip hop, disco house, techno, chillout, ambient, film music, minimal electro, and many more! Over 1,500 professional sounds provide the ideal basis for your sound experiments.
All sound building blocks can be combined without any problems and adjust automatically to the current song tempo--this ensures that you'll always be on the beat to let you concentrate completely on making your own sound.
Vandal SE: Top-quality guitar sounds With Vandal SE, the authentic guitar and bass amplifier, making music becomes a real experience.
Thanks to unbelievable sound fidelity and plenty of effects, your own songs become real hits with fantastic vintage sounds--that makes discovering new sounds a blast.
Helpful learning tools Music programs often seem so technical and complicated that the fun of making music is usually left out. With MAGIX Musik Maker 16, it's a different story: To ensure a seamless start, you may request support starting from the very first step!
The useful Infobox and the new interactive training course help you get to know everything about the program in the shortest space of time. Simply switch it on by clicking it and learn even more about making music during the process!
Get professional audio effects With the new essential FX effects series, any sound can be changed quickly and easily. Effects like chorus or flanger make exciting tones and real sound design a reality. Get the sound of the pros on your own PC--without any prior skills or technical knowledge.
Play any instrument right away with your PC keyboard Get started right away with the new version--play and record all instruments directly via your PC keyboard. Recording your own melodies, basses, or drums and mixing them into your own songs is even easier now!
Practical tools To make your own recordings easier to edit and perfect for your own music projects, every loop and sound can now be cut sample-exactly and positioned perfectly in the song with the object microscope. The object inspector also enables all settings and adjustments to be made directly in the Media Pool, which makes working with sound objects easier than ever before.
Simplified export dialog Exporting a finished song or video is even easier now, since the new export dialog provides a clearly laid-out list of the most important export options!
Transfer your own songs to your MP3 player, cell phone, or post them online on MySpace, YouTube and even on your own website in minutes!
Easy-to-use music composition software
Create your own music: It's easy
1. Select soundsPreview and select sounds in the Media Pool--or import your favorite songs from CD or MP3 and use them in your own song project.
2. Combine themAll sounds and loops can be easily cut, edited, copied, and arranged into your own song.
3. Mix themEasily add effects, vocals, and adjust volume with the new mixer.
4. Publish itExport the songs you create as MP3s, burn them to CD, or publish them on the web.

Easy mode If you want, only the most important areas will be shown to make it immediately clear to you so that you won't have to wait too long to make your first songs!
PLUS! Practical help videos that help you make music like the pros in the shortest time possible.
Over 1,500 Sound loops and samples
Sound archive The new sound package features new loops and samples from every musical genre, e.g. rock, pop, dance, hip hop, disco house, techno, chillout, ambient, film music, minimal electro, and many more! Over 1,500 professional sounds provide the ideal basis for your sound experiments.
All sound building blocks can be combined without any problems and adjust automatically to the current song tempo--this ensures that you'll always be on the beat to let you concentrate completely on making your own sound.
What are loops? Loops are audio building blocks that are edited so that they play over and over without interruption. Melodies or drums are often played in loops to repeat multiple bars.
With an audio program like MAGIX Music Maker 16, slightly different loops can be combined to create your own songs. That's how you can make your own hits in record time.
Virtual instruments: Drums, Keyboards, Strings and More
Virtual Instruments MAGIX Music Maker 16 offers ultra-realistic simulations of real instruments like acoustic guitars, electric guitars, electric basses, bass, drums, grand pianos, electric pianos, power chords, synth bass, and much more
Thanks to the professional sound engine from Yellow Tools, making music with real sounds becomes an acoustic experience!
Get into the details when you want to The practical MIDI editor enables melodies to be simply drawn in and changed! You'll also receive more exciting synthesizers like LiViD, the first-class virtual drummer.
NEW! Play any instrument right away with your PC keyboard
Music Mixing and Sound effect solution
Mixing & effects Use the integrated studio-quality effects to get the most out of your smash hits!
Mix your music like a pro: All of the tracks can be adjusted to suit each other with the integrated mixer, and a click adds enriching real effects--that's how to make your sound brilliant, pumping, and crystal clear! TIP! Thanks to numerous effects and templates, which have been provided especially by pros, it's easy for everyone to find their own perfect sound.
Vintage Effects Suite Vintage effects provide even more possibilities for your own sound!
Make music with a personal touch--thanks to typical effects for any musical style. Numerous professional effects templates make using the Vintage Effects Suite child's play, and exciting results are produced quickly.
Sound effects and custom guitar sounds
Top-quality guitar sounds With Vandal SE, the authentic guitar and bass amplifier, making music becomes a real experience.
Thanks to unbelievable sound fidelity and plenty of effects, your own songs become real hits with fantastic vintage sounds--that makes discovering new sounds a blast.
Audio effects: essential FX With the new essential FX effects series, any sound can be changed quickly and easily. Effects like chorus or flanger make exciting tones and real sound design a reality.
Get the sound of the pros on your own PC--without any prior skills or technical knowledge.
Great all purpose sound editing solution
Music for videos, photos, websites, and much more MAGIX Music Maker lets everyone add their own unique polish to their work, without prior skill and without long learning period. You'll create perfect slideshows, video clips, and much more.
Who wouldn't like it? Hollywood-style cinematic sound, made by you and perfectly tailored to all of your needs. The songs you make will turn your own videos and slideshows into a unique experience.
TIP! Anyone who is already familiar with MAGIX photo and video software will be able to get started with MAGIX Music Maker quickly and easily.
Export your sounds and music to any source
Export and publish Find new listeners quickly--who doesn't want that? Publish songs directly on the web, transfer them to an MP3 player, and create your own demo or album CDs. Everything is possible with one click.
Feature your own songs online on video portals like YouTube or NEW! MySpace--directly from within the program.
Online extras Catooh--the Online Content Library is the online sound archive. Whatever you're looking for--drum loops, instruments, vocals, or sound effects. Direct connection to this massive sound library supports every song idea with the right material. Special tips about audio software are available at magix.info.
magix.info--the Multimedia Knowledge Community: Quick and direct answers to all of your questions about producing music: Simply write the question into the text window and submit it online--you won't have to wait long for the answer!
Fully compatible with Windows 7 MAGIX Music Maker 16 has been tested for operational conformity and functional security in Windows 7.
The advantage: If you switch to the new Windows operating system, you will be able to continue to use this product as usual.

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Akai MPC 5000 Music Production Center Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Imagine having a synthesizer added to your MPC (assuming you have used a MPC before). Same capabilities as the previous models, but my favorite addition is the arpeggio function. When a MIDI keyboard is hooked up you can play out chords and press the arpeggiator button instead of just holding down the note-repeat button. I actually ordered and installed different color pads to give my MPC that customized-look. The internal hard drive is loaded with more than enough soundsets. The ability to chop and edit samples has been simplified with a few auto options. It also has a built in multitrack recorder (which I have yet to mess with), but seems easily accessible at the click of a button. I save my sounds on the internal hard drive and back them up on computer via USB port built on the back of the unit. The option to save and/or load is available for both Compact Flash cards and internal hard drive. Optional DVD Drive can be installed, too...this made my beat CD creation a cinch. The internal ROM is loaded with basic drum sets and synth presets. Make sure you update the Operating System for I heard the original OS was "buggy" (unstable). Like I mentioned in my title...the MPC5000 is quite pricey, but the power of this machine is unrivaled.

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The Akai MPC5000 has a greatly expanded feature set and that legendary MPC feel! The MPC series set the standard for beat production. What would it take to make the ultimate MPC? Dozens of engineers, 20 years of experience and a new synth and drum sampling engine unlike any MPC ever. Introducing the MPC5000; the new standard for music production. Purchase the Akai MPC5000 today and get a FREE Download of the MC5000 OS 2.0 from www.akaipro.com! Check out the in-depth comparison chart for all the MPC's that Akai makes. Use it to find out exactly how much power you need! The MPC5000 is the first MPC ever to include 8-track streaming hard disk recording, a 20-voice, 3-oscillator analog synthesizer with arpeggiator, a new sequencing engine with 960 ppq resolution, pad and track muting and mixing, 64 continuous sample tracks. There's even a new FX engine with 4 FX buses and 2FX per bus. Akai MPC5000 Features 64-voice drum/phrase sampler with 64MB memory (Expandable to 192MB) Three-oscillator virtual analog synth engine with built-in arpeggiator Over 300 Virtual Analog synth presets included Eight tracks of Direct-to-Hard Disk recording Over 40 all new effects available within a modular 4-bus effects processor Master compressor and equalizer Built-in hard disk drive Optional CD-R/DVD drive USB 2.0 port for computer con

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M-Audio X-Session Pro DJ Midi Mixer Controller Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this product because I had no dj experience, and wanted to learn how to mix songs, and the basics of being a dj. My only complaint about this product is that they should take the word pro out of the title, because it is hardly a professional product in terms of price, build or features. But none the less, this product performed well for me. Setup is basic and easy, install the software, and the rest is plug and play. I also ended up purchasing the connecitv audio interface, and still use the X-session for midi controlling the mix. The best aspect of this product is the uniqueness of it. No other pure midi control mixers exist. And although many analog mixers have midi control as a feature, they are too expensive and complex for a beginning dj. After using this product, I am now comfortable getting around a professional analog dj mixer. For only $100, this is a great introduction to dj software and hardware. On the other hand, the software it comes with only limits you to 3 effects and no sampling, so I would recommend at least upgrading to the full version of torq, or using the x-session with other software (serato, ableton live, traktor). Overall, I am glad that I invested in this product, it got me through my first dj gig, and hopefully many more.

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