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You must have heard it at some time or other. I’m referring to the Frog ring tone that quickly gained a reputation as a status symbol that was loved by some but hated by others. (I place myself firmly in the latter category.) Love it or hate it, you may be wondering how you can become involved in the creation of your own ring tones that will reflect your personality or, maybe, you just want to fight back and get revenge on that darn frog. One possible solution comes in the form of RingTone Maker, part of the MAGIX range from FastTrak.

 RingTone Maker’s installation can be rather time consuming. This is partly due to the fact that the installation procedure insists of adding the Silver 2004 version of MAGIX’s Media Manager software to your system. While I have nothing against free bonus gifts from software companies, it would have been nice to have had the opportunity to by-pass this bonus item. Maybe the option was there but I could not find it.

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 The first time you run RingTone Maker you are given the option to watch a tutorial video which leads you through the basic layout and features that govern the way you work with the product. This video (more like a number of screenshots with a bolted-on narration) can be accessed at anytime from the Help menu. RingTone Maker divides its functionality into three distinct segments that are clearly indicated on the program’s main interface.

 You start off my making your selection of audio input which, in most cases, will be music tracks. Options are available to select from those tracks stored on your hard disk, CD or by visiting MAGIX’s online site. While RichTone Maker has support for a range of common music file formats, including CDs, MP3, WAV, AIF and WMA files, the program rejected 90% of the MP3 files (all legally purchased by myself) stored on my hard disk by claiming it could not read them. This was rather odd as all the MP3 files I had (including the 10% it could read) had been created with the same software.

 When presented with files that it was happy with, they would be immediately played and you could then transfer the music to one of the four tracks that RingTone Maker uses to mix its ring tones. You are not limited to music and can add your own voice. Maybe you would like to add an appropriate message to apologise to those around you who are disturbed by your phone ringing.

 Once placed in the editing tracks, you can select the appropriate segment of music, remembering that most ring tones are limited to 60 seconds duration. You can add further adjustments by playing around with echo, reverb and distortion settings using dials on an Audio FX Rack toolbar. Other editing options include a 10-band graphic equaliser plus pitch and tempo adjustment. A simulate Ringtone button can be used to check the results of your mixing and adjustments.

 The final stage involves the actual creation of the ring tone. Information is provided as to the accepted formats and transfer methods supported by a range of phone. These include models from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens and Sony Ericsson. A more up-to-date list will be available on MAGIX’s web site.

 RingTone Maker offers four different file formats for its ringtones however three of these require the user to either apply for an activation code or, in the case of SMAF format, download free software from Yamaha. The only file format with instant access is WAV with the user having to decide between the audio quality and file size within an easy to use wizard-style environment.

 Priced at £19.99, RingTone Maker should save you money if you download ringtones on a regular basis. The product is fun and easy to use despite having to apply for activation codes and/or download additional software. My main concern would be regarding the software’s rather picky attitude towards MP3 files. The product requires a 400MHz processor with 64MB of RAM and 350MB of hard disk space. The software will run on Windows 98SE or later.

 http://www.fasttrak.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=87&osCsid=c8787cb7db294d032035941f785c161e