Cakewalk Pro inhabits the mid to semi hi end of audio and midi recording. I have always felt that Cakewalk Pro Audio was not the prettiest program but it was for me the most stable overall when compared to programs like Cubase and Logic Audio Platinum.

The new addition is not really prettier but it does add some great improvements. Most notably you can finally record a stereo audio track with just one track, it used to take up two. also Cakewalk has added a handy cpu meter.

Cakewalk 9 also includes a lite version of an amp simulator plug-in that is a lot of fun if you like to experiment. There is also a midi plug-in called style enhancer that makes your midi sound more natural by varying the midi parameters. Unfortunately it is a very limited lite version so I didn''t get a feel for how good or bad it might really perform (and whether it could accomplish the impossible task of making midi music sound non cheesy). That aside there is 12+ other audio effects and seven midi effects that you can add to your music providing ample creative possibility. Plus you can all the directx plug-ins you desire.

They also threw in the Guitar Studio features into Pro Audio with a fretboard midi tablature, and a guitar tuner.

One of the most interesting additions to Pro Audio 9 was a midi pluggin called ''session drummer''. It took me a while to figure out how to get it started, and the interface could be sleeker, but it delivers and endless amount of styles and drum possibilities that really add to a user''s music making power.

In this program Cakewalk basically gives you everything they have and they don''t disappoint.