• You no longer need expensive recording euipment to create exciting new music.home recording studio/mixer image by DWP from Fotolia.com
  
  Professional recording studios once consisted of antiquated reel-to-reel tape players, mechanical sound effect devices and primitive, manually-operated mixing consoles. Today, computer users sitting in front of flat-screen monitors use professional recording studio software to create songs that rival those heard on the radio. Recording programs share common features, such as MIDI functionality and mix-down consoles. But each program adds its own special twist to the musical creation process.
  
  

FL Studio

• Formerly known as Fruity Loops, FL Studio is a full-featured recording studio that has a thriving community of global users and fans. Musicians use the software for everything from creating simple drumbeats to composing complex melt-track songs, complete with instrumentation and backing vocals. FL Studio is a pattern-based recording studio. Using keyboard input or pre-constructed loops, musicians build short musical patterns and combine them to create longer patterns and eventually complete songs. The mixing console supports 99 tracks and musicians have access to a variety of high-quality effect plug-ins and editing tools. FL Studio's learning curve is steep because musicians have so many functions, controls, synthesizers, sound generators and loops at their disposal that it takes a while to learn them all.
  
  

Music Maker

• Music Maker is a unique recording studio program that caters to users who are expert musicians and users who cannot play an instrument at all. Novice users simply drag and drop pre-arranged musical patterns onto a timeline and create songs. Advanced users can connect to the computer external media controllers, such as keyboards, and record their own musical ideas in real-time. Music Maker includes over 1500 loops, sounds, and instruments that cover a variety of musical genre, including rock, hip-hop and dance. The learning curve is small, but the software offers enough functionality to allow advanced users to create complex arrangements and high-quality songs. A full-featured mixing console emulates those found in higher-priced software packages and users can import additional synthesizer and effects.
  
  

Sonar

• Cakewalk, a pioneer in the digital recording field, slowly tuned its technology over the years and transformed its original Cakewalk program into the application known today as Sonar. The program is one of the most advanced recording-studio applications available. It not only supports audio and MIDI input, but it also comes with virtual instruments, such as pianos, guitars and drums. These software-based instruments rival the sounds that their real-world counterparts produce. Musicians can create rhythmic beats, import and edit sound loops, and perform complex mix-downs in the sophisticated mastering console. They also have a variety of effects to choose from while recording and editing. One of the more popular features is the automated mix-down tool. Musicians use this tool to speed up the mastering process and experiment with multiple sound arrangements.