Magix Samplitude Pro X offers lots of tools and features that are perfectly positioned for musicians running Windows OS that don't want to pay top-end prices but want the best DAW features. The preview of encoded files like MP3, AAC and Mastered for iTunes is also a welcome addition. The restoration tools for clicks, hiss, noise and smoothing works really well and means this DAW will take you right up to WaveLab. The spectrum visualizer is a nice addition which can be pulled onto the main page with a single click. The on-board effects options are decent with a suite of analog rack tools for compression, shaping transients, mastering dynamics. Talking of, the Mixer view also offers easy plug-in and built-in parametric EQ access. The plug-in browser is a welcome addition which sorts the program's instruments into categories. It's also quite a cluttered layout that might feel a little overwhelming to some. Plenty of power is required though as you can cause this to stutter if you move the page arrangement a lot during playback. Like a big on-screen keyboard when you don't have physical keys plugged in, for example. If you don't have hardware attached, there are on-screen instruments that make this easy.

You'll see the waveform grow or shrink as you do so, allowing you to judge visually how it will sound in relation to the rest of the audio. MIDI editing, for example, is very flexible, allowing you to scale, mirror, stretch and shrink automation data as well as to smooth curves easily.Ĭhange the gain level easily by grabbing the centre arrow of an audio clip and simply pulling it up or down. Magix Samplitude Pro X is powerful while remaining accessible to use. And since there is ARA support, this is integrated in the environment so you don't need to send the track out and back in again. Melodyne 4 Essential comes as part of the bundle which is really useful for correcting pitch on single tracks. Powerful features include ultra-low-latency recording, MIDI editing in an advanced way, and lots of virtual instrument support. This is great for lining up an album full of tracks ready for mastering, for example. As such you can play with audio in a non-destructive way. What makes Samplitude unique is that it stores audio files, it calls objects, allowing you to carry out operations that in most other DAWs could only be done at the mixing stage.

The mixer itself appears in a separate window to keep everything clean and organized. There's a helpfully large transport area and a useful inset section that allows you to bring in additional editing views as you need.

Samplitude x5