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December 1996 Reviews This Month
By Martin Heller
I usually use software because I have to. But I run a few programs, such as Cakewalk Pro Audio 5.0, just for the sheer pleasure they provide. Cakewalk feeds my passions for computers and music, and it's a joy to use.
Many MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) sequencer programs let you record, edit and play MIDI music; several wave editing programs record, filter, edit and play digital audio; and a few music publishing programs record MIDI music and print musical scores. Cakewalk performs at least adequately in all these categories, but it's best as a feature-rich music workstation.
For example, I'm a fairly good violinist, but a poor pianist. Unfortunately, I do my MIDI playing on a keyboard. I can get the notes right, but my keyboard playing never feels right. Cakewalk lets me record my acoustic fiddle through a microphone, then allows me to use that as a "groove" for all my MIDI tracks.
Cakewalk's features are too numerous to describe fully here, but if you share my enthusiasm for music, you'll share my appreciation for Cakewalk.
Price: $399; deluxe edition, $479
Platforms: 3X, 95
Cakewalk Music Software
800-234-1171, 617-926-2480
WinMag Box Score: 4
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