There has never been a more exciting time than now for music creation on the computer. Now more than ever, the "all in one" self contained software studio battles are really heating up, with manufacturers presenting new and improved versions of their products, topping their previous achievements and offering all new ways to compose and create music on the computer. The competition is getting fierce, with new versions of Propellerhead Reason, Arturia Storm and Fruity Loops upping the ante for cool features to make music making more fun than ever.

An excellent example of an evolving all in one studio program is Sonic Syndicate's Orion Pro 3.03. Just released as a free update to registered Orion Pro 2 users, version 3.03 has provided most all of the feature enhancements that we were missing in version 2.75 and previous. Most notable is the new and enhanced MIXER which now has level meters.

Orion Pro 3.03 now sports an improved mixing interface with level meters. Click to enlarge.

Orion Pro by Sonic Syndicate is a PC only virtual studio running on Windows 95/98/ME/2000. It is feature laden with it's own unique "generators" that really pack some serious muscle, plus it is unique in that it is perfectly happy to work with VST and DX Instruments (as well as effects) with full automation of parameters. This feature alone brings Orion Pro on par or even well above Reason and Storm in some aspects, plus puts it on par with Fruity Loops (which has supported VST and DX instruments and effects for some time). And best of all Orion Pro is only $99.!

Yes, Reason and Storm are fine products with some excellent sound generators and great flexibility in creating sound, but if you are like me, the one thing that has been missing from those products is the capability to integrate VST and DX instruments to take advantage of the flexible pattern based composition features these all in one studios offer. Granted, Reason and Storm can be used with your favorite sequencer program (Reason via rewire or VST in the case of Storm). But a lot is to be said for being able to open up your favorite VSTi such as Battery or FM7 within Orion Pro (or Fruity Loops for that matter) and using patterns, arps, randomization and chords and such, which Orion Pro implements very well. It is truly a blast just to open up a VSTi such as Battery or Reaktor, open up the easy to use STEP GRID and create custom loops and then easily export (stream to WAV in Orion speak) to a 16 bit, 24 bit or even a 32 bit floating file.

Two kinds of sequencers are available in Orion Pro - the polyphonic piano roll facilitates writing chords and melodic pieces. The monophonic step-sequencer is particularly useful with the built-in bassline synthesizer and drum generators, allowing per step setting of accent and slide bits (on Bazzline). Both sequencer types are velocity-sensitive and grid, snapping and zooming is available. The grid can also be configured for other beats like 3/4 etc. Events (knob movement etc.) can be recorded and edited within both sequencer types.

Orion Pro's generators all offer storage of 64 patterns each with variable pattern length and loading/saving of presets. It is possible to create "odd-length" patterns. Plus you can also take advantage of patterns with VSTi and DXi as well.

Orion Pro is perfect for easily creating loops which can be utilized in other programs. It's a blast to use all the included sound generators plus VST instruments to create pattern based loops. It is super easy to get great sounding results and export the wav files. Opening Orion Pro and tinkering around with the program can yield a ton of fresh new sounds. Create your own custom loop libraries with ease.

Orion Pro is much more than than simply a loop generator, but we have had so much fun using Orion Pro to generate our own unique and original loop libraries we've somewhat neglected the powerful song composition capabilities. You can create your own complete songs all within the program.

The Playlist window arranges all patterns from all used generators to form a song. Patterns can be inserted, deleted, copied and moved around conveniently. You can also optionally move song automation data from generators or mixer channels along with copied blocks.

Orion Pro provides a lot of tools to help you create original music and generate your own loops, such as their excellent arpeggiator and auto-chord feature. There are also Randomize, Humanize and Groove features that allow you to tweak and mutilate to your hearts content. Especially notable are the randomize options which allow a few preset randomization types to be selected as well as selecting chords from a pop up list. Great fun! You can even randomize the generators sound parameters to get all new original patches. Our only complaint is that the randomized patterns all seem to appear in exactly the same key. It'd also be nice to offer some more random options like Fruity Loops (chords & % of randomization would be cool), plus perhaps an ALTER option that only slightly adjusts the patterns like Reason does.

Orion Pro includes a healthy amount of effects, plus you can use all your favorite DirectX or VST effects.

Orion Pro is a very stable program. It installed easily and worked flawlessly on our test machine, a P4 1.7 Ghz with 256 RAM. It worked fine with the MOTU 24i audio interface using ASIO and exhibited no problems with latency. The sound is sparkling. Orion Pro is easy on the CPU, however, we did experience one crash when trying to add Spektral Delay as a VST effect to an already full palette of generators. Aside from that, there were no other crashes, crackles, pops or any other problems.

Orion Pro is so cool in so many ways, but unfortunately it misses the mark for it's lack of a proper manual. It does offer a few basic tutorials and information on generators and features via it's online help system, but we feel a program as complex and deep as Orion should have a detailed manual. While the program is very intuitive to use, it would be helpful to have better explanations of utilizing it's many features. That small complaint aside, we love Orion Pro.

Orion Pro is an incredible value for only $99. If you're counting your cash there is also a $49. basic version available. Orion Pro 3.03 is an extremely useful and fun program that has provided us with many hours of fun creating songs, loops and all new sounds for our sample library. And the resulting songs, loops and files sound excellent. If for nothing else other than creating unique and original loops and for artistic inspiration, Orion Pro is a must have program for anyone interested in making music with their computer. At the price it should be irresistible! Even if you already own Reason, Storm or Fruity Loops, you will still find a place for Orion Pro in your music making efforts. It is also the perfect compliment to programs like Acid or Ableton Live giving you the ability to easily generate you own home rolled loops and sounds.

We hear that a new Orion Platinum is due any time now with more advanced features, most notably rewire support, plus new sound generators. It's coming soon with a price of $199. available on cd-rom. We look forward to that one, but are more than happy to play around with Orion Pro 3.03 in the meantime.

Warning: Hours will melt away and disappear once you install and experiment with this fine program. It's truly a blast to play with! But it is far more than just a toy!