Z-Maestro
Encyclopedia
Z-Maestro is a MIDI and digital audio
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...

 sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...

 designed with a focus on ease of use and power for the Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

 platform. Developed by Z-Systems, it has seen over a dozen regular releases spaced two to six months apart.

History

Z-Maestro development began in 2006 in an attempt to introduce a product that could compete with Apple Inc. Garageband
GarageBand
GarageBand is a software application for Mac OS X and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts. It is developed by Apple Inc. as a part of the iLife software package on Mac OS X.-Audio recording:...

 for ease of use and professional products like FL Studio
FL Studio
FL Studio is a digital audio workstation developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface based on a pattern-based music sequencer...

 and Logic Pro
Logic Pro
Logic Pro is a hybrid 32 / 64 bit digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software application for the Mac OS X platform. Originally created by German software developer Emagic, Logic Pro became an Apple product when Apple bought Emagic in 2002...

 for features. Pre-1.0 releases were released as free betas. Z-Maestro is developed in VB.NET for the Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 platform.

Z-Maestro 1.0 was released as the first commercial version on April 26, 2009 with a price of $30. This first major release still had the prototype interface of the betas. Version 1.1 introduced a newly polished interface similar in style to the Adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...

 Creative Suite
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe Creative Suite is a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications made by Adobe Systems. The collection consists of Adobe's applications , that are based on various technologies...

. This new interface is adjustable through the options dialog.

Features

  • Sequence instrument (MIDI), drum (MIDI), and audio tracks
  • Edit instrument and drum parts in a roll editor
    Piano roll
    A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. A piano roll is a continuous roll of paper with perforations punched into it. The peforations represent note control data...

  • Edit audio in both a waveform view and a spectrum view
    Frequency spectrum
    The frequency spectrum of a time-domain signal is a representation of that signal in the frequency domain. The frequency spectrum can be generated via a Fourier transform of the signal, and the resulting values are usually presented as amplitude and phase, both plotted versus frequency.Any signal...

  • Apply audio effects destructively in the audio editor or non-destructively to entire audio tracks
  • Renders MIDI tracks using SoundFont
    SoundFont
    SoundFont is a brand name that collectively refers to a file format and associated technology designed to bridge the gap between recorded and synthesized audio, especially for the purposes of computer music composition...

    software instruments
  • Edit audio in the audio editor using on-clip controls, including for the spectral view

Free version limitations

Z-Maestro may be downloaded as the free of charge "lite" version, subject to some limitations. The "lite" version may not be used to create commercial works and projects are limited to three tracks. Audio import and export features are also limited to WAV files.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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