If you're after a serious music making package, then Music Centre Pro from DataBecker is an excellent choice. You normally don't get this sort of functionality without paying 100 notes or more, so the price point really is a bargain. The excellent editing capabilities and 'from scratch' creation potential means that this is more for the user who knows what he or she is doing, musically speaking.

More suitable for the novice are the easy-to-use Hip Hop eJay 2 and Acid DJ 2. Of course, the former program is rather limited in that you can only knock out Hip Hop tunes with it, although there are other eJay programs (such as dance and techno) which are based on the same engine. Acid DJ 2 is an excellent program, both easy to use and powerful, even if it is a little basic in terms of the lack of special effects filters and customisation possibilities (a facet eJay 2 handles admirably).

Cutting Edj has a rather novel approach (which is a lot of fun to 'jam' around with), although behind the scenes it's much like the other track-based composition packages. It's an interesting piece of software, although edged out by Acid DJ 2 in terms of overall ease of use and interface. It does have the added attraction of being bundled with a decent 'virtual decks' package at a low price point, mind you. Music 2000 sadly falls a little short of the mark in a few departments, showing its somewhat clumsy PlayStation roots rather too readily for a PC program.

Company: Sonic Foundry

Contact: 020 7923 1892

Company: GSP Software

Contact: 01480 496666

Company: FastTrak

Contact: 01923 495496

Company: Codemasters

Contact: 01926 814132

Company: DataBecker

Contact: 01420 22707

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