MadTracker

Making music on your home computer sounds like a really fun activity and it should be just like that, but unless the right tools are at hand, it is quite a daunting job. Composing even a small sample track can take many hours if you want to get it right and usually this cannot be done right from the first try.

An application that was especially tailored for those who want to create new sounds or improve old tracks and give them a complete makeover is MadTracker. With a look that tries to bring a professional air while keeping things simple for most users, this program encases quite a lot in a rather light package.

Perhaps the strongest point of this software is its support for a variety of formats that include instruments, MIDI, samples, VST, pattern, envelope and many modules that can be imported inside the new or existing projects.

The “tracker” features are also impressive with 4 polyphony channels per track and a total of 64 tracks available for mixing. High-end functions like click removal or resonant filters for every instrument used in any project further increase the value of MadTracker.

The sound effects fitted to this utility include stereo delay, flange and two types of reverb. A three-band equalizer is also part of the package and the set of advanced functions includes support for ReWire 2 audio editing and VST 2.3.

Thanks to its instrument editor, track and VST plugin automation as well as the sample management facilities, MadTracker is one step closer to its goal of being ranked alongside professional music composition applications.

Even if it is not the most easy to use tool in its class, the software can be handled without major difficulties even by less experienced users. Also, there are many resources one can use in order to get acquainted with all the nuts and bolts of MadTracker.

The response time is quite good, the computer’s performance can be affected from time to time, yet this is to be expected from this type of product. Our tests did not reveal any errors or crashes.