Unlike all the other packages reviewed in this test, Music Studio Deluxe is not a single application. Instead it is a combination of two separate packages.

The first is Midi Studio, a slightly old-fashioned Midi sequencer, and the second is Audio Studio, a more up-to-date multi-track audio recorder.

Although they’re bundled together in the same package, they don’t have all that much in common. In fact, the only real integration between the two is the way you can export an audio downmix of your Midi tracks into the Audio Studio application.

The Midi Studio interface is based on that of the Logic sequencer, which used to be available on PCs before Apple snapped it up and made it Mac only.

It allows you to record Midi and audio side by side in the main arrange window. Midi tracks can be edited in a similar way to Steinberg's Cubase SE in that you can chop up longer parts in the arrange window and easily move them around on the timeline. You can also perform similar tricks with audio parts.

Unfortunately, the software looks and feels as if it’s been teleported from a bygone era and beginners will find it quite tricky to pick up even the basics.

Setting the software up to work with our soundcard proved problematic and it never really performed in a satisfactory manner during our testing period.

Often it simply refused to play back audio for no apparent reason.

Thankfully the Audio Studio application behaved a little bit better. It’s a multi-track audio recorder where you build songs by laying down audio files on different tracks in a timeline window.

The software includes a number of virtual instruments so you can create your own drum breaks or synth lines. These are then automatically added on to the track you have selected in the timeline view.

The virtual instruments are competent rather than outstanding, with none really on a par with the type you’ll find in, say, FL Studio. However, they are loads of fun to use, especially the Robota drum machine that comes with plenty of dirty-sounding drum kits.

On the disc you’ll find a decent number of loops and template songs that you can use to build your own tracks. They vary in quality, but a fair few of them are quite usable.

Naturally the software also has time-stretching features so you can fit loops of varying tempo into the same song. However, the time-stretching works in quite a clunky way, especially when compared with competing products such as Sony’s Acid.

Once you’ve completed your track, you can brush up the overall sound using the mastering tool before burning the results to your own CD.

As this bundle sits at the top of the pile of Magix’s home-music software, there’s no real upgrade path. Of course, that means when you outgrow its limitations you’ll have to move on and learn a completely new package such as Cubase or Sonar.

While there are plenty of good points about this software, it’s let down by the fact that it never feels like it’s a completely integrated package.

We can’t help thinking that Magix needs to add Midi support to the Audio Studio application and do away completely with the old Midi software. At the moment the package is just too much of a Jekyll and Hyde character to really recommend.

This article is part of a group test of budget audio-sequencing software. Others are:

Intro and Editor's Choice
Arturia Storm 3
Cakewalk Sonar Home Studio 4
Image Line FL Studio 6  
Steinberg Cubase SE 3
Setting up your home studio