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All Reviews by hermit01

By hermit01
On 28th December 2007
Version: 4.2.2

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Yes | No		 Cakewalk Music Creator

Music Creator is Cakewalk's replacement for the older Cakewalk Express, a light version of whatever is their main sequencer product at the time. In the times of Sonar, it is MC.

This program is very poorly supported. I suspect Cakewalk's rationale for that is its very low price compared to Sonar, but that is really just an excuse. It's simpler than all that: if you are not going to support a product -- don't put it on the market. There is a major MIDI bug in MC4 4.2.2 (latest as of Dec '07) which tech support simply will not deal with. The bug makes it of limited use as a VST/VSTi host. The bug is, if loaded into MC4 VST/VSTi's do not listen to MIDI patch(program) changes. Program changes recorded on MC4 tracks will be transmitted by MC4 via whatever MIDI out is assigned, but any loaded VST/VSTi's ignore them. Cakewalk is not forthcoming in any way about fixing this bug, so, if you have any plans to use patch changes at any time, this program is not a wise investment.

All the other features I have used seem to function correctly. But as complex as the Sonar program is (and this program is essentially Sonar) it's hard to tell what I might have missed. If another bug is located, the only thing I can count on is I'm on my own. So if you're looking at budget sequencers, I would not recommend this one to anyone who is concerned about long-term support. There are realistic alternatives. Look at them. Search KVR for sequencers by price and try them first.
 
    

By hermit01
On 27th December 2007
Version: 4

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Wusik Wusik Station

The Wusikstation version 4 series is a surprisingly versatile synth. Its interface is very typical of traditional synthesizer interfaces and quite easy to use. It is 4 voice multi-timbral and the 4 voices are each presented on separate pages which eliminates any confusion that could be caused by such a complex system. It's modulation matrix makes for easy hook up of LFO's, envelopes, and on-board effects. It could list them but it's better that you try them and hear for yourself.

The sound generation of WS is created from manipulation of samples (called WusikSounds) and/or standard .wav files, user's choice. The 16-bit 44KHz processing is immaculate and provides an amazing depth of resonance and pitch. As a result of this attractiveness, there are over 3500 presets already directly available for it Wusik.com. The range of sounds, the types, is so wide it clearly demonstrates the versatility mentioned. While, due to the brilliant preset design of sound packages by Vera Kinter (Art Vera) and like programmers, it has gotten quite a reputation as an "atmospheric pad synth," this is a very misleading commendation of a synth that will, in fact, produce virtually any type of sound desired from analogue emulation to razor-edge digital sounds. It can even be used as simply a 4-voice .wav file or sample player, if desired.

My experience has been, in over a year of dealing with William K and Wusik.com, support for the product is superb. It is in constant development, as well has sporting excellent peripheral devices provided by Wusik.com (many skins, file handling software, a steady flow of new presets, a product specific magazine with added features, etc.), but the stability does not seem effected. Beta products don't seem to mean the same thing to Wusik.com as I am accustomed to. They rarely crash or even malfunction and seem to be just a precautionary step rather than a true bug elimination process. In so many words, this is a very stable piece of software and seems to remain so through version after version.

Wusikstation is my first experience with serious shareware softsynths. I've tried a few trial versions over the years but never found one by which I was so impressed as to spend the sort of money involved in their purchase. Wusikstation broke the mold for me. It is priced competitively low for the marketplace but comes "out of the box" with over 3500 presets, built-in effects of the same quality as its sound generation, and excellent support. It was a bargain I couldn't resist and have never regretted. I highly recommend it to beginners and accomplished users alike. And subscribe to the magazine, too. It's filled with articles on use of Wusikstation as well as general music and composition discussions.
 
    
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