For the last few years, Windows users have been clamoring for Apple to release it's vaunted GarageBand music creation software on Microsoft's OS. While we can't see this happening any time soon, we will say this: there are just some things GarageBand makes more difficult than they need to be, and for that, Windows users can be happy they have Acid Pro.

If you're a GarageBand user (and what Mac-based musician isn't?) then you've probably wondered how you can create your own digital instruments without spending an arm and a leg on software. Up til now, of course, making your own digital instruments was just too hard, but we suppose Apple figured their own digital instruments (and supplemental Jam Packs) would be enough aural eclectics to satisfy everybody. Sadly, musicians, like all artists, have ever-evolving tastes. What sounded good enough yesterday will sound horrible tomorrow.

That's why Sonic Amigos introduced their PolyPhontics Software Instrument Toolbox for GarageBand. This package will let you create your own software instruments--based on your own recorded samples. So if you think the built-in saxophone sounds like a dying mallard, you can now replace it with a software instrument of your own creation, perhaps sampled straight from grandpa's antique tenor sax... and the PolyPhontics package costs $25, so you could probably pay for it by selling grandpa's sax after you've sampled it.

Since this tool lets you assign an individual sample to each key on the keyboard (there are 88), you could create a very large drumset or percussion instrument with ease. When you're done sampling, PolyPhontics will compile and drop the new instrument into your GarageBand banks folder, and off you go. Check out the video tutorial and you'll be creating instruments in no time. Oh, and if you're a Logic or ProTools user who needs a little more power in your studio than what GarageBand offers, check out Sonic Amigos' high-end version of PolyPhontics, too.

Podcasters and pretty much anyone in need of low-cost (as in free) audio editing software have been using Audacity for years. It's not quite as full-featured as Pro Tools or Adobe Audition, but with each release, Audacity becomes a more viable alternative for music producers, podcasters, and radio journalists.

While the last stable release of the cross-platform audio editor was version 1.2.6, the developers recently pushed out Audacity 1.3.3 beta, and it's miles ahead of the stable version. Here are just a few of the latest updates:

• Import Quicktime files in OSX (mov, aac, m4a)
• Add metadata to OGG files
• Improved export option selection
• EQ and effects improvements
  
• Screen capture utility
• Improved spectrogram rendering
• Selection bar improvements
• New features for label tracks
• Auto-save and crash recovery
• Collapse and expand tracks
• Multiple clips per track

But if you're looking for a more traditional audio editor, you might want to check out Reaper. This audio editor from Winamp creator Justin Frankel is under constant development, but it's already a full fledged program. And best of all, it's uncrippled shareware. The full license is $40, but you can use it for free for 30 days. And at the end of the trial period, you can continue to use the program, but it will nag you until you register.