Magix Samplitude Pro X Suite v12.1.1.129

Today's recording and mixing software can be so complex that most of us are understandably keen to stick with what we know. But how did we get to know what we know in the first place? I suspect that many people actually become Pro Tools or Cubase or Logic users by imitation and accident. Perhaps we had friends who used the same software, or it was taught us at college, or used in the first studio we visited. It would certainly be a rare newcomer who would sit down and put all the different music software through its paces, in order to make an informed and rational choice.

The result is that, in the UK at least, some very capable recording packages have remained minority options, never quite having snowballed through word of mouth. This category includes two long-established and well-featured programs: Magix's Samplitude/Sequoia and MOTU's Digital Performer. And both of these manufacturers seem determined that 2012 will be the year when this situation changes.

Both Magix and MOTU have identified cross-platform support as a key element in this plan. For the last two decades, Samplitude has been tied to the Windows platform, while Performer has been Mac-only. However, a Windows version of DP is expected early this year, while Magix have confirmed that a Mac port of Samplitude is in the advanced stages of development.

Magix have also reconfigured the Samplitude product range, to address a problem of perception they felt was holding back its acceptance in some markets. Last time SOS reviewed the program, in October 2010, the top-of-the-range Samplitude Pro 11 retailed for over £900: more than twice as much as most rival recording packages. The more affordable Samplitude 11 was a very capable package, but some users no doubt felt that for around the same price, they would rather have the 'full' version of Cubase or Pro Tools 9 than what seemed a cut-down version of Samplitude.

As a result, there has been a wholesale change. While Magix's related Sequoia package, targeted mainly at mastering houses and broadcast applications, will move to version 12, its music production-oriented sibling has been reinvented as Samplitude Pro X. The key point in this reinvention is that Pro X, which retails for around the same price as Samplitude 11, and is thus a direct rival for the likes of Cubase or Pro Tools, is not at all a cut-down or hamstrung product. Pro X is the flagship version of Magix's DAW, and includes the full Samplitude Pro feature set; and although there is still a Samplitude product at the higher price point occupied by Pro 11, this has been renamed Samplitude Pro X Suite, to reflect the fact that the basic program is exactly the same in both cases. The 'Suite' appellation denotes the inclusion of additional bundled plug-ins and sample content, which we'll come to shortly.

A related change is that Magix have abandoned the use of a hardware dongle. Existing users can still choose this method of authorisation (and it may be preferable for those who want to move between computers often), but new copies of Pro X can be activated using a simple Web-based procedure. I'm sure this will be a welcome move for many, especially as users are allowed to activate a single licensed copy of the program on up to three machines.