Sonic Foundry • Acid Pro
Sonic Foundry's Acid is a top-notch breakbeat editor and loop-based sequencer for the PC. It comes with tons of loops to get you going, and you can just as easily add your own loops! Imported loops of any tempo are instantly time-stretched to match the tempo of your song. All the basic processing you would want to do to a sample are available such as pitch shifting, reversing and so on. In the track editor, loops are arranged in tracks with independent volume and pan controls for automated mixing capabilities. Click and drag to add or delete loops within an unlimited number of tracks. Up to eight effects are available as well, including reverb, delay, chorus, and time-effects.
Here are some other examples of what you can do with Acid Pro: Create and edit your own loops. Perform real-time changes to pitch and tempo. Preview any loop before adding it to your mix of unlimited tracks, while automatically matching the tempo and key in real time. Synchronize audio to video files. Develop streaming media for the Internet. Convert sound files into a wide variety of file formats. Publish to your Web site or to ACIDplanet.com. Generate and chase MIDI Time Code for use with your favorite MIDI software. Acid Pro also supports multiple audio outputs and multiple sound cards.
A bonus feature of Acid Pro is integration with SoundForge XP with which it is 'bundled'. This Audio-Editor application gives you total control over a sample or loop where you can chop, slice, truncate, rearrange and edit the heck out of any loop. A feature many will find useful is that you can now Burn a CD directly from Acid! However, it only burns one track at a time and does not feature the proper Mastering tools to control the levels, EQ and time-gaps between the tracks you burn to CD. Acid is basically designed to make music creation available to anyone with a PC. So for the musically untrained, it can be the first real all-in-one tool that makes making music fun, quick and easy. But professional musicians may find Acid to be limited unless they're into loop-based music, in which Acid's ability to sync with a Sequencer will come in very handy.
As for the Acid Series of Products: Acid Music is similar to Acid Pro except that it does not include adjustable stretching properties, DirectX Audio Plug-In support, export of each track as a single file. There's 8 and 16-bit but no 24-bit depth. There is only one single audio output. Only one effect instead of eight are available per track. And there are no editing tools (no Sound Forge XP) and no MTC sync or Midi Clock out.
Acid DJ/Hip-Hop/Rock versions are similar to Acid Music except that they do not include Effects Envelope Automation, CD Burning or Effects. They also come only with loops suited for their particular genre.
Acid XPress is the free version and is like Acid DJ except that it is limited to just 8-tracks, has only RM and WMA Save-As formats and does not include Volume and Pan Automation. There are no royalty-free loops released with this version either.
Whatever your level of musicianship, whatever your budget, there is a version of Acid that's right for you (unless you're a Mac user, no Mac versions available). It is used by Richie Hawtin.
