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  • Riffmaster Pro vs. Song Surgeon Version 3

    Riffmaster Pro has been on the market since 2006. Like most slow-down programs available, Riffmaster Pro (RMP) can speed up or slow down the tempo without changing the pitch.

    Tempo or speed change settings range from 20% to 180%. Pitch change settings are done in increments of a semitone and range -80 to +80, although at almost a 7 octave change, the audio is unrecognizable. RMP also has a built in an equalizer and a loop editor. A screen capture appears below.

    RFP utilizes the same audio pitch and tempo change engine as the Version 2 of Song Surgeon. Consequently with pitch and tempo change, RMP introduces some amount of distortions. With certain songs, it is noticeable almost immediately; with others, it is not. For example, we opened an organ piece and attempted to change pitch, and immediately we heard a wobbling and distortion. Similarly with tempo, a small change in the tempo of this organ music resulted in undesirable audio distortion. We also tried a rock song and found that we could slow the tempo on that particular song down to around 50% with minimal distortion. These same two audio files in Song Surgeon Version 3 exhibited no distortion.

    The name Riffmaster Pro is not meant to designate that there is a Standard and Pro Version, like there is in Song Surgeon Version 3. Riffmaster Pro is most comparable to the Song Surgeon Standard version in terms of features. Song Surgeon's Standard version not only has superior audio quality but also a superior feature set, a better interface, and a much better wav area with customized loop settings not found in RMP.

    The new release of Song Surgeon, Version 3.0, contains dramatic changes and improvements from earlier versions. Song Surgeon Version 3 is available in both a Standard and a PRO model. The table below compares the differences between the Standard vs. Pro vs. Riffmaster Pro.

    Song Surgeon vs. Riffmaster Pro Comparison Table

    Feature

    Riffmaster Pro

    SS Standard

    SS PRO

    Excellent Sound Quality
     
     
     
    Most Recently opened file list
     
     
     
    Demo Model Available
     
     
     
    Repeat play button
     
     
     
    EQ Sliders
     
     
     
    Export Files (Save changes permanently)
     
     
     
    Pan buttons
     
     
     
    Stereo & Mono, 8, 16, 24, and 32 bit files Unknown
     
     
    Wav Form File Display
     
     
     
    Fixed and Floating Progress Needle
     
     
     
    Use of Project Files
     
     
     
    Two Sound Algorithms
     
     
     
    Resizing of User Interface
     
     
     
    Undo Redo Button
     
     
     
    Information Markers
     
     
     
    Multiple Presets for Tempo/Pitch
     
     
     
    Drag and Drop to open
     
     
     
    Tools/Options Button - Default Settings
     
     
     
    Ripping Multiple CD tracks
     
     
     
    Export Loop Data
     
     
     
    Vocal Reduction
     
     
     
    Export Multiple Loop Data
     
     
     
    Set Multiple Loops
     
     
     
    Insertion of multiple loop points
     
     
     
    Editing of waveform
     
     
     
    Editing (Insert Silence)
     
     
     
    Editing (Delete an area)
     
     
     
    Editing (Copy and paste)
     
     
     
    Editing (copy/paste between instances)
     
     
     
    Editing (increase/decrease volume)
     
     
     
    Performance Algorithm
     
     
     
    Ability to Sustain a Note
     
     
     
    Foot pedal Support
     
     
     
    Sniffer Tech (audio file downloader)
     
     
     
    Music Pad/Transcription Area
     
     
     
    Export File
     
     
     
    Product Support Unknown 6 months 1 year
    Product Refund Unknown 90 days 90 days
    Product Usage Unknown 3 machines 3 machines
    Cost $ 49.95 $ 49.00 $ 89.00
           

    The PRO version of Song Surgeon (SS) contains some unique features not found in any similar software.

    While the slow-down technology remains the most commonly used feature found in these types of programs, and musicians remain the most common users, the new version of Song Surgeon with its many new functionalities will certainly open the door to use it in many other fields such as dance, exercise classes, transcription, karaoke, translation, and worship music, to name a few.

    Song Surgeon provides a 4-hour, fully functional working demo. Four hours may seem like a lot of time, but we caution you to close the program when not using it to preserve this time. We also suggest that you watch the training videos found on the website before using the program, as these will help you get up to speed quickly with the operations of this very useful software. You can download the DEMO version from here.