Our colleagues over on MusicRadar publish in-depth music-making hardware and software reviews, tutorials and features powered by industry expert magazines Computer Music and Future Music.
From DAWs, virtual instruments and plug-in FX to hardware synths, grooveboxes and controllers, here are MusicRadar's top music-making tech picks this week…
The 11 best DAW software apps
Based on the results of a poll voted for by the MusicRadar community, these are the most-popular Digital Audio Workstations on the market today. Read the 11 best DAW software apps to find out which one reigns supreme, or scroll down for an in-depth review of each product.
It's not without its faults, but this is by far the most powerful Live yet - stunning Groove Engine, enhanced workflow, improved warping and an awesome Looper.
Easily the best version of GarageBand yet - slicker interface, fantastic artist lessons and very decent guitar amps and effects.
The well-conceived audio features, amp and pedal plug-ins, time-saving tricks and massive content library make Logic Pro 9 one of the best all-round DAWs your money can buy.
Existing users will still have a few gripes with this DAW (LE and M-Powered versions still slightly hampered and we'd like the full AIR plug-ins to be included), but this update is definitely the most musician-friendly version yet.
Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer review
Don't be fooled by the name: Sonar 8.5 is essentially a full new version in disguise and a must-have upgrade. In particular, the Percussion and Vocal Strips rock!
Lack of audio editor aside, major DAW manufacturers have good reason to fear the Reaper: it's a viable alternative with some distinct advantages. Quick to load, extremely reasonably priced, very portable and light on resources.
It's perhaps not as immediately impressive an update as FL8 was, but this is another solid step up for the fabulously fruity DAW. The new vocoder plug-in is particularly impressive.
Magix Samplitude 11 Pro review
It doesn't feel as focused as some of the DAWs here, but Samplitude remains strong in terms of power, flexibility and sound quality.
Propellerhead Software Record review
When Propellerhead launched Record in 2009, it was keen to point out that it wasn't a DAW. Yes, it can't host plug-ins, but it does enable you to produce complete audio/MIDI productions (and very easily, too) – so run it with Propellerhead Reason 4 installed for a formidable combination.
Sony Creative Software Acid Pro 7 review
Balancing ease of use and power, this is a great update (a proper mixer, at last!) to a solid app, though it's not likely to convert users of other DAWs.
Cubase remains a front-runner in the great DAW race thanks to its integrated VariAudio pitch editing, great virtual MIDI keyboard and time-saving VST Expression feature. Just a shame there's still no sampler included…
It's expensive, but Nuendo is now a fully-functional, flexible audio and post-production system, and a genuine alternative to Pro Tools HD.
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