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Before I left Singapore, my aspired DJ-to-be Malaysian buddy, Chee Kiang, burnt for me my favorite Ministry of Sound ' The Annual 2005 Deluxe CD. He attempted some modifications to the hits, not without the Zouk influence, the club everyone talks about in Singapore where he is a frequenter.

I didn't quite feel any distinction from the original record.

Perhaps he is not too familiar with music editing yet (after all, Chee Kiang only has a laptop equipped with a Windows Media Player burner). What negligence, when music morphing features are already so comprehensive, covering almost all there could be to audio morphing!

And the developing music editing softwares are making the list even longer. Not long ago, mixers used to be limited to only 5 file extensions (.wav, .mp2, .mp3, .ogg and .wma). Now, the products of Audio4Fun and Sony support almost all the extensions there are (up to 14). Conversion of songs under different formats into as many types is no longer an edge, but a norm with these music editor-players.

Not only in quantity, but the quality of the output is also enhanced, with special attention to the pitch and timbre of the sound effects. And don't be surprised getting to know that some music morphers now allow you unlimited freestyle mix-and-match of customized extractions of songs (yes, you can extract all the best verses of your favorite songs to create your own mega-hit). This defining feature is perhaps best demonstrated in the AV Music Morpher Gold.

A hip mixer is one who plays not only good music, but his own good music as well. These music juke boxes take as good care of specific wants of the demanding DJ as that of his above-mentioned special needs. He could drive clubbers hysterically spinning by mixing his voice into any hip-hop favorites, and further adding built-in juke effects or any of his pre-mixed sounds. That is how far the music editors have been developed, to help DJs keep clubbers screaming for more.

Perhaps what distinguishes the music editing concept from other high-end digital streams (DVD morphing for instance) is that the technology is so user-friendly and complete that any average home DJ now can produce his own CDs, fully personalized, from music to CD cover. All Music Morphers of Audio4Fun support such thorough form of customization, though it is hardly seen elsewhere in the market.

So how has the market embraced these creative editing tools? There are over 10 major music software producers, with big names such as Audio4Fun, Adobe and Sony (Audio4Fun is more specialist, as Adobe is more known for its PDF readers while Sony is an omnipresent titan). Products are for sale from a mere $9.95 to only $99.95, about the price of a DVD player. Free downloads of music editing softwares are also available on the web (legally, of course).

The combination of an extensive supply chain, low pricing and numerous support features might herald an age of home recording audios, where home DJs savor unique mix-medleys that even the Zouk clubbers crave for.

Oh my, Chee Kiang is going to love it if I get him one such Music Morpher for his coming birthday!