Produce music: software in comparison

Nowadays, producing good music is no longer just a question of practice, but also of the best software - here is a comparison:

For beginners: the best free music making programs

As so often, there are some limitations with these free tools:

1. "Linux Multimedia Studio": The free program runs with Windows and Linux / Ubuntu and is a MIDI sequencer and composing tool with many instruments and effects. In addition to the feature-rich program, you will find a lively community with forums and tutorials to get you started. This is important because at first glance it offers less ease of use than the competition. But soon you will not only be creating music and sounds with the LMMS, you can also re-arrange rhythms and sounds using drag-and-drop.
2. "Magix Samplitude Music Studio 2014": The freely available program supports up to 128 MIDI tracks and 24-bit audio at 96 kHz. However, the user interface is a bit confused and the functionality always comes up against limits such as four editing slots for effects. These can be expanded somewhat, but that is also complicated. The most disturbing thing is that the mixer panel cannot be docked. The keyboard player has 256 presets that you can only edit to a limited extent. One advantage: the program speaks German.
3. "Studio One Free": The demo version of the ProSonus program has some restrictions. So there is no VST support; pitch correction and an MP3 import or export are also missing. This limits the usefulness, but the digital audio workstation still has many fans with its clear Windows user interface. This will make it easier for beginners in particular.
4. "MuLab": A small but nice program for music production with a MIDI sequencer. To unlock all features, you have to buy the full version. It doesn't look quite as chic and intuitive, but it convinces in the details. You can have an entire music studio on your PC and also produce your own beats using the rhythm module, which you can automatically adjust in terms of height and tempo.

For ambitious people: the best buying programs for music production

1. "Magix Music Maker Deluxe 2014": You can create your own songs without any prior knowledge! The Berlin-based company Magix specializes in multimedia programs and brings out annual updates of its programs. The "Magix Music Maker 2014" also benefits from this experience with up to 99 tracks for creativity and 3, 000 professionally pre-produced sounds and loops. You can test a demo version in advance, the premium edition costs around 80 euros.
2. "Ableton Live": The most popular music software among professionals and DJs, which is not only ideal for stationary use. However, the program is a bit too complicated for beginners and too expensive at over 200 euros. Real-time effects let you use the program optimally for live performance - hence the title.
3. "Steinberg Cubase": Another program that is aimed more at professionals and offers you professional sound quality and a complete, virtual sound studio with a high-end mixer. The full version accordingly costs over 500 euros. Who can afford it, however, has the possibility to produce one or the other hit, at least in theory. A basic version is available for testing for around 80 euros.

Learn how to insert your self-produced music as a ringtone on your iPhone here.