Warning - this is long, but I mean every single word.

A few years ago, I was searching for a way to translate my songs to something I could actually hear, after years of scribbling down my compositions in my own made-up code and struggling to interpret these into my amateurish keyboard and guitar efforts - marginally satisfactory but since I don't read music well, it was the best I could do.

Then I found easy beat.. and I could barely believe how much power is hidden within. I was skeptical, but after a very short use period, I was converting songs I'd written decades ago into something I could hear, tune, perfect and replay.

Just to make sure, I did some serious testing of several other products which touted similar capabilities. After less than a week, I gave up and committed to easy beat entirely. There is not a better music composition software product available for the Mac.

At first I thought sixteen tracks was going to be a significant limitation, but the more I worked with easy beat, the more I realized that this is no problem whatsoever, and I have been able to compose and export richly orchestrated compositions without even once feeling that my efforts have been restricted by the software. Everything about the program is intuitive and smooth - from its graceful interface, to template and inserting bars, duplicating bars, add tracking and setting controller enhancements on each independent of another.

Most of my compositions run five to six minutes long, using six to seven tracks. They work, because easy beat works - and works seamlessly and intuitively. The tools I need are either there right in front of me, or easily within reach. Reading the manual is fun but not at all required - I was up and running full speed within a few minutes of launching easy beat the first time.

Over the years of use, I have had no problem moving my composition masters from one version to the next, and their latest (2.2) is at this moment playing one that I initially wrote while OS 9 was the latest and greatest thing. It sounds as rich and sweet as the day it was first composed - whenever a new version comes out, I load this master and play it as my benchmark. Sure enough, it works perfectly.

I'd like to see a few things added, like Open Recent and a Preferences panel, and have suggested these recently. Perhaps in future those minor conveniences will show up. Trust me, they're not desperately needed - the product works perfectly as is.

I've been using Macs of one flavor or another since they first hit the street, and have lived through hundreds of encounters with software developers and tech support staff. Some encounters have been great - some not so great. But I can honestly say without a doubt that Macility tops them all. When I see a product come out with their name on it, I do not hesitate to reach for my checkbook. Their fees are reasonable, and their support is at the professional level I have come to expect for a product costing ten or twenty times the low license fees they charge.

The very few times I have found myself stumped and had to call for help from Macility's support team, I have been entirely satisfied. Their responses are always swift, accurate, polite and complete - and with the utmost respect and concern. In one case, I had added a setting in Controller to an entire score where I should have placed the setting on one or two notes. The results was not good, and I wasn't able to do a full export and conversion to MP3. Their representative looked into my song file, found the problem, fixed the problem, sent the song file back with a full and highly understandable explanation of what the problem was, what the fix was, and how to avoid the problem in future. Now that, folks, is customer service.

So, bottom line: get easy beat. If you compose music seriously or as a hobbyist, get easy beat. If you have a tune running through your head and want to hear what it sounds like to the rest of the world, get easy beat. You will not be disappointed - ever.