Magix Music Studio v12

[ZoxX]

First it's inexpensive, well below $100, you can buy a nice microphone and converters for the rest of money. Second there's no protection, you can install as many instances of the program as you wish, and the application wouldn't stop every now and then to check the protection device. Third its stability is tremendous, it crashed only few times in four years, and every time with a message which goes something like this "I'm about to die now, but you didn't save your work, would you like to save it now?". Below are all unsaved items with check boxes checked. You can uncheck some or all if you like.
Magix is a German company (as Steinberg, Ableton, and eMagic). Their top sequencer, Sequoia is the most expensive native sequencer (€3000 in Europe). MMS is just cut down version of Sequoia and Samplitude, but should be good enough for a very nice home studio.
There are three strong points of Magix:
1. A lot of good of the box DSP devices.
2. Object editor.
3. Full featured audio editor with red book mastering (PQ Codes and burning).

So let's see what exactly was cut down.

1. Up to 48 kHz sampling frequency (expensive siblings up to 384 kHz, even Cubase LE4 goes up to 96 kHz). I do everything at 44.1 kHz, thus I don't care.
2. 16 channels in and 16 channels out.
3. Up to 64 tracks of audio.
4. Unlimited number of MIDI tracks, but only up to 8 VSTi, which gives 128 instruments if all of them are multitimbral. Three MIDI instruments come with MMS: Revolta, Yellow Tools Vita (sampler), and IK Multimedia SampleTank SE.
5. VariVerb (great reverb) is not Pro as within expensive siblings, sophisticated parameters (as ER) are missing.
6. Robota (step sequencer, drums) is not Pro. You are limited to just four drum elements (of your choice) but Robota sounds very good, almost as a real drummer. Unlike other built-in step sequencers like LiVid, Bass'n'Drums wich are the great toys, but you cannot use them for a serious final product.
7. FFT EQ is Easy. However you can match FFT curve of something else, and/or draw your own using the mouse.
8. Elastic Audio (Autotune plus Harmonizer) is also Easy version. I'm not a fan of autotune, I prefer yet another recording. Harmonizer works fine if you want Donald Duck to sing along with you. It's OK for background vocals, though.
9. Just 4 AUX tracks (Cubase LE4 has 8 Sends). Think of hardware mixer with 4 AUX channels.
10. Just 4 groups. Drums, background vocals, what else? Like an 8 buss mixer. Not so bad.
11. Just 4 VST/DX insert slots (Cubase LE4 has 8). Not everything inside MMS is VST. You have 4-band parametric EQ, 10-band graphic EQ, compressor, reverb, delay, amp simulator, dynamics on each track, even more on stereo track. And there is an object editor with 4 more VST/DX slots, plus vocoder, pitch/stretch, elastic audio and FFT EQ. Every clip is an object and you can treat every object just like any track via object editor.

What's great:
1) Inexpensive.
2) No protection. They don't treat you as a thief, they trust you. You won't find yourself far from your home, with all your gear but your USB dongle which you forgot at home.
3) Very stable, you won't lose your work.
4) Decent DSP, a lot of built-in processors, like multi-band dynamics, vocoder, pitch correction, FFT EQ.
5) Decent customer support.

What sucks:
1) Be prepared for some German in both program and manual (English version).
2) Minor bugs, MONO button missing (you can get it back if you switch to the 2006 skin), a built-in master limiter cannot be open for editing.
3) Vita doesn't work with AMD64. There is a patch but for v14 only.

The current version is Magix Samplitude Music Studio v14. There was no v13.

[Audie1966]

I Agree. I have tried a few products, LE4, Cakewalk and still like the stability of Magix MS12. Cakewalk requires me to go out of the program to change the audio engine for reviews each time. LE4 is cumbersome. Magix MS12 is an all in one great package. I do not do much post production effects. I do not need to rework most of our audio. Straight recording with an easy way to bounce down each track and cut a CD quickly. One could say that it is "Brutally Simple and Effective". I also use it for my LPs to CD. Love it...

[Audie1966]

PS. Has anyone upgraded to version 14? Is it better or more of the same. Too often if you are happy with one version, newer versions are a disappointment.

[ZoxX]

Originally Posted by Audie1966

PS. Has anyone upgraded to version 14? Is it better or more of the same. Too often if you are happy with one version, newer versions are a disappointment.

From September 2008 there is a newer version 15 (not yet available in the States, but you can try Amazon UK, Magix Samplitude Music Studio 15). Nothing spectacular.

v14 (15) pros:
1) VST parameter automation
2) external MIDI controler support
3) up to 8 inserts on master channel

cons:
1) still 16 bit freeze
2) no more install as many instances as you like, you can register up to three (I need only two, the desktop and laptop, but what if I buy new computers, both of them)

For now v12 does everything I need. It works fine, and I don't plan to upgrade yet.

[Audie1966]

It is good to know that someone else out there has respect for this little piece of wonder. I find it to be simple to use yet capable of being powerful enough if one pushes the learning curve. I can put together finished tracks faster and with less hassle with my MG MS12 than with any of the other DAWs I have tried. I do not spend much time with plugins or tweaking the sound in the DAW. I spend more of my time up front at the sources and the mixer, getting a better "Live " sound and as such do not feel that there is as much need to twiddle with the tracks after they are laid down. If you are awre of any plugins or great tips for me in the use of the MG MS12, I would be very appreciative.

[ZoxX]

Originally Posted by Audie1966

If you are awre of any plugins or great tips for me in the use of the MG MS12, I would be very appreciative.

It's a long story. The less plugins you use the more familiar you are with each of them. The more familiar you are with your plugins the better sound you get.
Life is too short to learn all the plugins in the world.

If you plan to spend some money on plugins, I suggest SSL Duende PCIe. It's just €400-500 here in Europe. There're just two plugins, and you can buy more, but don't. You'll save you CPU a lot. The main reason is not the fabulous SSL sound, but spartan yet superb plugins. Use just those two you got with Duende, the SSL C200 (Series 4000) Channel Strip and the Bus Compressor. Channel Strip has HPF, LPF, and 4-band parametric EQ plus dynamics. Each of the filters can be used on dynamics side chain instead on main signal. Any combination of the three filters.
Solid State Logic | Music
We always pass through three stages of learning a new tool.
1. We know what the tool does. We know what each parameter does. We play with the tool until we get the best possible result.
2. We know what we want to achieve, and we tweak until we achieve the result which is close enough to our goal.
3. We can see/hear the final result before we started to tweak. We know exactly what to do to get us there. We don't play, we don't guess, we don't think, we just do it.
It takes months, sometimes years to get to the stage three with the specific tool, and that's the time when we can move our focus from audio engineering to music (which is the only thing that matters).

There are freeware plugins so you can save your money, and buy mics and pres instead. My favorites are:
EQ
- NonameEQ, a regular 7-band parametric, linear phase
- Leftoverlasagne Pushtec, not your regular EQ, Pultec emulation
- Magix built-in FFT EQ
Dynamics
- Nebula3 Boeing 747 (sampled Avalon AT747SP)
- Kjaerhus Classic Compressor
- Magix built-in
Reverb
- Magix built-in is great
- Nebula3 (sampled Lexicon PCM 70)

Nebula3 is a dynamic non-linear convolution processor. Nebula3 I'm using came with the Computer Music magazine (Nebula3CM). There is a freeware (Nebula3Free, 1 GB of download). Commercial Nebula3 is just €80. Nebula3 is extremely CPU hungry.
Acusticaudio
Also worth to check out:
Jeroen Breebaart | Home
There is a lot of freeware processors. Ferox is by many reviews the best tape emulation plugin. Commercial processors are only €10 each. You can download demos. Demos are fully functional (no pink noise or beeps), just some of the parameters are blocked. The best demos I ever saw. You can actually use them as freeware if you don't need the rest of the parameters. However, for just €10, you won't think twice if you like what you hear.

[Audie1966]

Your input is greatly appreciated. We did some more work on some new material last night and are still using Magix. It is almost bulletproof. I continue to try to wrap my head around Cubase and I can see that it is also very good, but I am so familiar with most of Magix that I stick with it. As for you being in Europe, where, might I ask. I grew up in England and haved lived in Germany for many years. I am now in America.

[ZoxX]

Originally Posted by Audie1966

Your input is greatly appreciated. We did some more work on some new material last night and are still using Magix. It is almost bulletproof. I continue to try to wrap my head around Cubase and I can see that it is also very good, but I am so familiar with most of Magix that I stick with it. As for you being in Europe, where, might I ask. I grew up in England and haved lived in Germany for many years. I am now in America.

I'm from Zagreb, Croatia. I traveled around Europe, I was some 12 days in the States (Morristown, NY and NYC; strictly business), and spend a year in Africa (Sierra Leone). I'm a singer-songwriter for 35 years and mostly I'm recording my own songs (acoustic guitar and voice) and some friends of mine. I'm an amateur, at least that's what I want to be. I'm in IT consulting professionally. I have master degree in psychology and I'm teaching IT and psychology at the Open University here in Zagreb. Six months ago I started teaching IT to a group of audio engineers at the Open University. That ended with me leading the workshop as well. I was forced to learn things that I definitely didn't ever want to know. Like close miking the drum kit (I used a matched stereo pair on drums before), mixing a lot of tracks (I prefer stereo recording of entire band with just lead vocal overdubbing).

[Brell]

I've used Magix Audio Studio 10 for years. Very good program, I'm thinking of upgrading to a newer version.