Radio Disney Music Mix Studio is a solid music composition/editing program with tiny flaws

So you want to create your own music videos, and you want to ‘star’ in them, at least vocally. Well, there is hope for you PC program-wise, although you may have to work a little harder at getting into the flow of the program.

Why? Imagine this scenario ...

You have a disconcerting feeling, as you sit and stare at the screen, wondering what it is you are supposed to be doing. So you click through the options in the player interface, hoping that somewhere you get the idea for what you can and can’t do. Again, you check the program box, looking for instructions, which aren’t there. You flip the jewel case over and over, look for a missing manual, and then you see it. Tiny letters that talk about the electronic manual and how to access it. That’s it! There is no manual, per se, but rather a file that you can’t hold in your hands while you run the programs, but with simple instructions nonetheless. Now, if you can just remember what it told you when you launch the product.

That’s the main drawback involved with Radio Disney Music Mix Studio, from Disney Interactive. While it is built solidly, and features many of the nice functions and options one would expect from a Disney product, the lack of a manual may be a bright idea to save a few dollars, but can be hampering to someone who doesn’t want to take the time to handwrite out what needs to be done, nor relishes frittering away printer ink and paper for the instructions.

The concept of the program is quite simple: edit existing music tracks (or create your own), add your own vocal track, then throw in some animation and save it. You can boot it up on your desktop, or e-mail it to relatives or friends to show them how creative you are. The product itself comes with enough tasty tricks and licks to make you look like a musical genius. What musical style do you fancy? Will it be pop dance, pop ballad, techno, rap, rock, blues, jazz, world music or retro?

You can always discard the three pre-programmed tracks (which play over and over) in favor of tossing the dice for a “new” sound. Mixing the instrument track is a drag and drop affair, that is very simple to use.

In fact, once you understand the basics of the program, it is very user-friendly. After you’ve found the right mix, you can record your voice onto the track – adapt other lyrics or write your own, it doesn’t matter. The review program came packaged with a small Labtec microphone to plug into the computer to use for this.

When you are done with the details of creating your song, you can add animation to it – simple drawings that bob and weave in relationship to the tempo, and save your song.

Radio Disney has solid Web support, and contains a nice mix of the music of some of the younger (or newer) recording artists. It does feature the music of Youngstown, Myra and Lil’J. You can also create your own desktop player for listening to your favorite MP3s.

Of course, this program is rated for everyone.

Music Mix Studio is a nice program. However, when compared to MTV’s Music Generator, by Codemasters (http://www.gzkidzone.com/gzreviews/r14387.asp) – a summer 2000 release, it does come up a little short. That product featured better cuts of music to choose from (when creating, mixing or editing a song), and nice animation for creating videos. But that product was geared for older “kids,” while Radio Disney will appeal to a younger audience.

Install: Easy.
The full install is only 102 megs of hard-drive space. It goes on quickly. You will have to reserve other space for completed songs.

Gameplay: 8
While play is not really an applicable term here, this product does not need to pause to load sequences or animations. Everything comes up quickly.

Graphics: 7
This features some nice Disney-esque animations. But remember, the graphical element here is not the draw.

Sound: 9.5
Full-bodied and rich, this program is wonderful in the audio department. Each sound is delivered with crisply and cleanly.

Difficulty: 7
The electronic manual is well designed. And you can print out the sections that interest you rather than the entire manual. Once you grasp the general idea of what the program wants you to do, it is easy to actualize those concepts.

Concept: 7.
Disney brings its own brand of magic to the genre. It is a nice, reasonably inexpensive way to teach kids about music.

Multiplayer: N/A.

Overall: 8.5.
Whereas the MTV product was more fitting for an older crowd, Radio Disney Music Mix Studio will appeal to the younger composers. However, that shouldn’t put older users off. This is a solid program, with a nice array of elements, and a Disney feel. The graphics are colorful, and the program contains wonderful sound patches. The lack of a manual isn't really a deterrant, because the program is rather easy to use once the concepts are understood.