Ableton is known for making excellent audio software, with Ableton Live one of their star apps. This program will allow you to manage all the processes of audio production, from beat creation to adjustments, recording and live sets.

The application, which could compare to a powerful combination of sequencer and sampler, comes with a library full of instruments, MIDI and audio effects to start working with. Ableton offers two sorts of views, arrangement and session, the first being like a traditional timeline, while session lets you add and play around with effects. One thing that impressed me is that you can associate any key on your keyboard with any effect, which makes for a really intuitive track creation process.

Ableton Live includes real-time stretching and warping of audio and even video import to sync audio to video.

Although you'll definitely need some technical knowledge to use Ableton I found the application very well detailed, with the info view box on the bottom left giving clear explanations of everything. Ableton Live also comes with loads on tutorials to master the program.

Ableton is a highly flexible and powerful audio solution for music production. Fitted with a great interface, a wide library of effects and loads of help, you won't find many programs as good as this.

Download Ableton Live 7.0.7 in Softonic

HighC is a tool to create new sounds and musical patterns inspired by UPIC, one of the most popular music programs of the mid-80's designed and developed by Iannix Xenakis. With HighC, you can create databases and use electronic sounds as a tool.

Although it may seem complex, the program itself is ideal for apprentices as for professional composers. On the one hand, it makes it possible to create sounds and melodies in a graphical and intuitive way without having any idea of music theory. On the other hand, it allows you to compose and experiment with different techniques.

The default includes a series ofpatterns, envelopes and wave type defaults on which you can build and create new sounds and patterns.

An excellent composing tools for beginners and advanced users alike.

Download HighC 2.06 in Softonic

Serious music production requires serious tools. Reason provides all you need to set up your own virtual music on your computer: a synthesizer, arpeggiator, sequencer and groove mixer.

Reason's synthesizer comes with six oscillator types, four different filters, a step sequencer and a modular matrix. The monophonic arpeggiator can play in multiple modes and includes a pattern section. I was also very much impressed with Reason's sequencer, which features multiple lanes, vector automation and dedicated device types. The 32 channel mixer completes a set of powerful tools.

Reason is not for beginners, and this is obvious the moment you open up the application. However if you have some knowledge of music production, you'll welcome the wealth of tools available and the flexibility they give you when working with music and sounds.

Reason can easily be integrated with other software and hardware you already use, making it a versatile choice.

If you're seriously into music production, Reason is the tool you need.

Download Reason 4.0 in Softonic

Rubberduck is real-time synthesizer designed to help you produce electronic dance music. Loosely based around the TB-303 synth, the application consists of a wave oscillator with a filter for applying sweeping and resonance. Everything is packaged in an intuitive manner, meaning that it's pretty easy to start creating banging house, trance and techno music (as long as you have an ear for dance music, of course).

It incorporates many interesting characteristics such as: 24 dB filter, a totally configurable interface, support for skins, dynamic real-time resonance filters, four classic waveforms, dual generator, delay, distortion and many other effects. If you've never produced dance tracks before then you may find Rubberduck a little daunting but for production dab-hands, the program is pretty good.

Download Rubberduck 2.12 in Softonic

Anvil Studio is a freeware program designed for people who want to:

• Record music with MIDI and Audio equipment
• Compose music for MIDI and Audio equipment
• Sequence music with MIDI equipment
• Play with music using a computer and sound card

Download Anvil Studio 2007.01.03 in Softonic

Since its first release in 1998 Fruity Loops has done much more than changing its name to FL Studio. From a good midi pattern sequencer it has evolved into a powerful music editing studio for your PC. We’ve therefore decided to cover the features in this latest release.

Let’s first take a look at the interface. Users familiar with FL Studio will instantly recognize the dark green tone and rounded windows of past versions. However, the structure of the program can be difficult for a first-time user to grasp. The browser window on the left is your resource for any file you will need, from presets to projects and scores. Clicking on an item will open up a drop down selection of specific elements. This library can be filled with more of your own loops and samples and carries an impressive amount of plug-ins like DirectWave, EQUO or Fruity Squeeze. FLStudio has a smart search function to quickly find any track, tool or effect.

To edit your tracks you can use the original pattern window, which contains all the instruments you have selected. You will have to create the pattern desired for each instrument. You can also use the playlist window, divided into patterns at the top and audio tracks at the bottom. The playlist view features a handy paintbrush tool to color in your pattern. You can also decide to edit your tracks with the piano roll view, quite handy if you have a midi keyboard plugged in.

FL Studio can be tricky to manoeuvre at first; however those of you familiar with sequencers should have no trouble with it. All instruments and samplers are stereo so to have multiple outputs you will have to create the desired number of instances. Anyone interested in connecting real instruments will appreciate that FL Studio also handles multiple midi-ins and features foot pedal sustain support. The FL Studio mixer features a good number of presets and you can fine tune your track with a high degree of precision.

FL Studio is a very good sequencer for anyone looking to create beats. The handy browser view and multiple editing windows like playlist, piano roll or pattern let you work how you feel best. A finely-tuned mixer and a large library of plugins also make this a very exciting audio editing application.

Download FL Studio 7 RC6 in Softonic

Fasttracker 2 is one of the most widely used trackers out there. It has been around since 1995 when a demo group called Triton set about releasing their own tracker after breaking into the scene in 1992 and winning several demo competitions. Sadly they have not kept the dream alive as they are working on other projects.

There were attempts by independent programmers to revive Fasttracker into a fully Windows compatible version. This was known as Fasttracker 3. Sadly this has also disappeared - it never even got out of BETA despite the interest that surrounded it.

Now with both Fasttracker 2 & 3 no longer being developed, a group of programmers set about picking up where Fasttracker 3 left off. The task of creating the next generation of tracker grew in the form of Skale Tracker! Skale is based upon the old Fasttracker interface and breathes new life into old software.

Download FastTracker 6.2 in Softonic

In the world of digital music creation, ACID Pro software has always stood out from the crowd. Its automatic loop time-stretching and tempo-matching technology is second-to-none, and its straightforward pick, paint, and play functionality has helped make ACID Pro software the favorite loop-based music creation tool for millions of users worldwide. Now reformulated to add multitrack recording and full MIDI sequencing to its superior looping functionality, ACID Pro 6 software delivers a new formula for ground-breaking music creation: loops + multitrack + MIDI. Together, these key components add up to a full-featured professional music workstation unlike any other.

Download Acid Pro 6.0c in Softonic

SynthMaker is the ultimate sound synthesiser. Create your own instruments and effects to use in your music or to share with others. Learn about and experiment with sound synthesis and digital signal processing techniques.

SynthMaker is an audio programming tool that allows anyone to create their own sounds, virtual instruments and effects without having to write any code. These instruments and effects can then be exported and used for playing live via MIDI or as VST plugins for use in making music using any of the popular recording

Download SynthMaker 1.0 in Softonic

orDrumbox is a software drum machine desktop application. It features an audio sequencer to create drum patterns You can compose music and beats with this new generation of sound tracker.

Features:

• Pattern oriented
• Automatic composer
• Automatic sound assignations
• Drum kits/ loops
• Importing/ exporting

Download orDrumbox 0.6.5 in Softonic

Create the most powerful rhythm for your musical dance, techno, house compositions and get the most plausible 303 sound in your PC. Virtual BassLine is a complete bass synthesizer very easy to install and use. Use it as a totally independent program of any other musical software or if you prefer, integrate it in your VST host program with its new module VBLVSTPlugin.dll.

With Virtual BassLine 3.0 you will get the most realistic sound without needing plugins or additional programs because it has integrated reverberation, echo and distortion effects. Also you can control your Virtual BassLine using MIDI with the rest of your synthesizers. Virtual BassLine gives you great quality samples and loops to use in other programs or samplers in real time and without any adverse effects on its performance.

Download Virtual BassLine 3.5 in Softonic

RiyazStudio practice suite combines freeware Tanpura with licenced Tabla (with a 30-day moneyback guarantee). It's the first software that actually sounds like a real tabla player - because it uses real recorded tabla loops, rather than mechanically placing tabla bols at regular intervals. Coarse and fine pitch control sets both Tanpura and Tabla. Tabla tempo is finely adjustable and can even be set by tapping a key at the desired speed.

Practising with RiyazStudio is the ideal preparation to performing with live tabla - first because it gives the aural cues that real tabla players provide - but even more because the organic feel of the tabla loops encourages rhythmic play and helps develop your improvisational skills.

Download RiyazStudio 1.00 in Softonic

Ever wanted to try making your own beats? Then you should know there are loads of excellent and accessible music editors out there. Samplisizer is one of them, and while it’s mainly aimed at newcomers to the music-making trade, it has enough qualities to keep you excited.

Samplisizer’s biggest asset is its samples library which features more than 3,500 loops and samples (drum, bass, chords, effects), divided in two drag-down menus. A third drag-down list acts as sub-category to refine your search. If you’ve chosen drum loops for example, you can select house, drum’n’bass or downbeat only.

Making a track is easy. Start off by selecting a drum beat and drag it onto the working field. Next select a bass line or chord loop. Add extra sounds at particular points of your track. Make sure you place each different sample on a different channel. This will make it easy to tell them all apart and will give you a good overview of the structure of the track. It helps to see where a sample is missing or if you’re offbeat. The key is to measure the beat and know when is the right time to introduce or end a sample.

When you’re happy with the construction of your track, you can play around with the sound volume and BPM settings of each sample to tweak your piece. Setting channel volume in Samplisizer is easy, just drag the small button on the left of each channel. To set BPM you need to click a button at the bottom right of the sample library. General volume is controlled by the big rotating disk at the bottom right of the interface. Maybe if all the sound settings were united in one part of the application it would make it easier for the user.

That’s when we come to the problems with Samplisizer. As you might have guessed from our previous observation, the application suffers from a cluttered and confusing interface. Buttons are scattered all around the program window and the interface is of the same gray metal-like appearance, making it hard to make out what buttons correspond to what function.

Editing tracks is fairly easy, thanks to the drag and drop, cut and paste feel, but there’s no way you can extend or reduce elements and you can’t even zoom in on them to get more precision. Samplisizer limits you to 12 channels, giving you much less scope than most music editors, which often offer up to 36 channels. Exporting is another issue. While the operation is very easy to do, click on the main menu button at the bottom left and choose export, you’ll soon realize you’re limited to the wav format. Mp3 would have been a much appreciated option.

Let’s not bash Samplisizer too hard though. Behind blatant shortcomings, which should put off seasoned beat makers, Samplisizer is an enjoyable and hands-on music editor that novice music makers should quickly take to their liking.

Download Samplisizer 1.2 in Softonic

Gungirl Sequencer is an easy to use Audiosequencer. It includes a simple Filemanager and uses Drag & Drop to arrange Audiosamples.

Download Gungirl Sequencer 0.3.1 in Softonic