I tested MM Deluxe on a 200MHz Pentium PC with 64MB of RAM (see System Requirements) and was able to run a healthy number of audio, video, and plug-in components before my aging PC began to choke up. Installation was easy. The manual does a decent job of explaining the basic operation of the program, though at times I was baffled by the Germanglish nature of the writing (as well as the fact that many of the screenshots were from the German version). The online help index is good, though, and the program's intuitive operation minimizes manual surfing.

MM Deluxe imports and exports WAV, MPEG, and MS-Audio formats. It also lets you integrate AVI videos into your arrangements, a multimedia-savvy feature uncommon in this price range. The package includes three CD-ROMs stuffed with over 2,600 license-free WAV audio, AVI video, and bitmap graphics files. The program also allows you to import media files from audio CDs and optional Video and Sound Pool discs are available from Magix. In addition, MM Deluxe supplies an FTP connection to Magix's own server, where a frequently updated database of MP3 files can be downloaded and used in your music. If you want even more material, you might want to look at the Professional version of Music Maker, which comes with 14 license-free CD-ROMs (see Why Upgrade?).

Select a WAV file from the directory window, and you'll instantly hear its audio play back. When you drag it into the arrangement, the software automatically creates a part in the display that can be lengthened, shortened, and mouse-edited with ease. Creating tracks this way is fast and easy, but if you try to audition additional WAV files while the current groove is playing, you'll hear a second or two of delay as the new file loads, which can slow the creative flow. Programs such as Sonic Foundry ACID make the process of auditioning multiple audio files more seamless.

One standout feature of the program is the Internet button, which when clicked takes users to the Magix IRC chat server. Once there, they can ostensibly work on songs with other Magix users who possess the same bundled WAV files and video clips. It's not a way to swap huge media files, but give MM Deluxe credit for utilizing the Web creatively.

Silver Synth, a Music Maker Deluxe plug-in, is a fat-sounding, 303-style module.

Software Synthesis

Music Maker Deluxe includes some very useful and creative plug-in instruments -- cool enough in their own right to justify the package's price of admission. Silver Synth is a virtual analog synthesizer module based on Roland's legendary TB-303. (I found Silver Synth easier to program than Steinberg's popular ReBirth, which is designed to emulate the same unit.) The low-pass filter and resonance controls produce thick and rich sound, and the 16-step grid sequencer is a treat to operate.

Beat Box is a grid-based virtual drum machine based on the Roland TR-808. You can control each drum sound's distortion, cutoff, resonance, pan, pitch, and volume setting individually, allowing you to build very dynamic drum tracks. You get five drum kits: Dance, Electro, Hip-Hop, Pop, and Rock; you can also drop your own WAV files into the mix and use Beat Box to trigger the samples.

Sampler, a basic WAV sample playback machine with a scrolling piano-roll note interface, rounds out the module set. You can import your own audio samples and trigger them with Sampler, or select from the fifteen included waveforms. It supports mouse and QWERTY keyboard note entry, but not external MIDI input.

Music Maker Deluxe includes this intuitive grid-based drum event editor.

The Deluxe version of Music Maker also includes this simple WAV sample playback and editing plug-in. The random melody button at the top right is handy for coming up with new parts.