In the history of music technology, new musical instruments were often charged with futuristic images and utopias of new musical worlds. Co-constructed by producers, the media and popular musicians, these imaginaries are part of the dreamscapes of their time and shaped the diffusion and appropriation of the instruments. As a dominant process of the past decades, digitalization has not only led to a comprehensive transformation of the everyday use of music and the music industry, but has also changed the way music is made. Promising unlimited aesthetic possibilities and the democratization of music culture, digitalization has contributed to the proliferation of a consumption culture and has challenged the very ideas of artistic creativity and virtuosity as well as the relationship between man and machine. This article looks at the digital transformation of music making as a sociotechnical co-construction and argues that there is a productive, mutual relation between imaginaries, technologies and the practice of digital music making. By analyzing the design of music software applications, magazines for musicians, and interviews with musicians, developers and experts, the article looks at central imaginaries and promises of digitalization. While digital music production has opened up new possibilities for music creation and performance, it has been shaped by a predominantly white, western and male industry. Thus, the article argues for a differentiated view on the ambivalent and dynamic effects of digitalization for musicians. On the one hand, the computer expanded the artistic possibilities of musicians while, on the other, it facilitated the continuation of precarious working conditions.