Roll Your Own ProductionsOverview:
Acid Pro is billed as a 'looping tool' and (for
non-live work) is probably the best programme out for this purpose.
However, Acid is also able to record audio and
MIDI. It can edit, 'chop up', process and affect the resultant .wav and
.mid files. It can be used as a host sequencer for DXi, VSTi and Rewire
devices and in its latest incarnation as a Rewire client. It can also
output files in a number of formats including .wav, .aif, .mid, .wma,
.ogg, .rm, .mp3, etc. as well as burning a 'track at once' CD.
Acid comes with a set of native effects, many of
which are quite useable, and it will work with any plug-in effects that
use the DX or VST protocols.
Set up/Installation:
Acid is supplied in two ways; either as a download
direct from the Acid site or
as a boxed CD with a manual covering the basics (installation,
registration, etc.) and a foldout card with the various keyboard
shortcuts listed on it.
Installation itself is very straightforward and (depending upon the
hardware) doesn't take long at all. Once installed, Acid
will open in demo mode until you supply the registration code, which
can be found on page one of the manual or in an e-mail if you've
purchased the download.
GUI:
When Acid opens it will load its default project,
which is a collection of audio and MIDI loops already arranged into a
'song' as an example of what it's capable of doing.
You will notice that the 'loops' occupy the top right-hand
area of the screen (below the toolbars, which run right across the very
top of the screen like any typical Windows-based application) - this is
akin to a typical 'arrange' page on any sequencer.
To the left of the 'loops' is a column of small grey boxes, referred to
as Track Headers. There will be one per track (as, I'm sure, you'd
expect) and it is here that you can control the parameters related to
each track (e.g. volume, panning, FX assigning, signal routing, etc.).
The bottom 'half' of the screen is where you'll find tabbed pages for
the Mixer, Explorer, Media Manager, Track Properties, Soft Synth
Properties, Chopper, Audio Plug-ins, etc. The reason I put half in
quotation marks is because this area and the other two areas I've
already mentioned can be re-sized by dragging their edges with the
mouse.
By default the Mixer will have two vertical strips; one called Preview,
which controls the volume of loops and 'one-shots' (single hits,
usually from drums but not necessarily) being auditioned in Explorer
and sets the record level (trim) for the signal being recorded, and one
called Master, which controls the main/mix output volume. Each of these
strips have dual faders that can be locked together or unlocked as
desired by clicking on the little padlock symbol at the bottom of the
faders. Next to the faders are digitally scaled meters for keeping an
eye on input/output levels. At the top of the meters the peak hold
values are displayed in dBFS. These figures will turn red when clipping
occurs, however this clipping isn't always audible, which suggests that
Acid has some extra headroom or some form of soft
limiting built in.
You can add new busses to the mixer. These can be used as output groups
or send groups, which is very flexible and powerful, especially for
getting mix effects and processing right. E.g. it's very easy to have
many rhythm loops grouped and compressed together, or to set up a
reverb send buss. You can even route the output of these busses to the
inputs of each other as well as the physical outputs of your audio
interface.
(Click to enlarge)
Automation is another great feature. You can automate volume,
panning, etc. and also the parameters of some effects, e.g. for filter
sweeps. All automation is easily drawn onto the track. Just right click
and 'show automation'.
Click on the Explorer tab to search for and audition loops and
one-shots, which can be in different formats including .wav, .mp3,
.mid, etc. When you've found the loop you're after, double clicking
will insert a new track (and Track Header of course) in the 'arrange
half' of the screen. At this point the actual track will be empty and
if you want to use the loop you will have to 'draw' or 'paint' it in,
but I'll get to this later.
Track Properties is where you can alter (non-destructively) the
original file (loop, one-shot, MIDI file, etc.) by, for example,
changing the pitch or tempo (or both). You can also change what type of
track it is (not MIDI) between 'Loop', 'One-shot' or 'Beatmapped'.
Beatmapping is where Acid takes a long file (e.g.
an audio track you've recorded either directly into Acid
or some other application) and calculates its tempo. Beatmapped tracks
have the option to 'preserve pitch when stretching', which means that
you can alter the tempo without affecting the pitch. MIDI files can be
edited in this tab using lists or piano roll and quantising and other
such MIDI processes can be undertaken here as well.
Soft Synth Properties allow you to load and swap VSTi's as well as
adjust any parameters that the instrument allows (e.g. patches,
effects, etc.) via its own interface. This means that on occasion
re-sizing of the SSP pane is required but I don't find this a major
issue.
Chopper is the Acid equivalent of Propellerhead's
Recycle, although I think it actually pre-dates it
(but I won't swear to that). However, even though it has an obvious use
for drum loops (like Recycle), it can also be
used for any loops (or one-shots, etc.) and does as its name suggests.
Audio Plug-ins is where you'll find the DX or VST processors and
effects parameters. It's also possible to string two or more effects
together in a 'Packaged Chain', which can be saved to apply to any
other track or group (or even to other projects).
In use:
The main attraction of Acid, for me, is how quick
and easy it is to get something out of it, and yet at the same time it
can be used right up until the final mix.
Acid can work with 8, 16 or 24-bit word lengths
and at sample rates ranging from 32 KHz to 192 KHz (assuming that your
hardware can too). It also works with WDM, ASIO or ASIO2 drivers. These
parameters as well as buffer sizes (latency) can all be accessed from
the 'Audio' tab in the 'Preferences' box, which in turn is opened from
the 'Options' drop-down menu (at the top of the screen). These settings
can be altered at any subsequent stage in the project should the need
arise, as indeed most things can.
Open a new project from the 'File' menu or by clicking on the icon in
the toolbar and you'll be faced with a 'blank' arrange section (i.e. no
tracks/Track Headers). At this stage (or probably beforehand) you'll
decide what your project will contain (audio recordings made by you or
MIDI files made by you or royalty-free samples or any combination). I
normally start with the drums using one-shots (I don't have a drum kit
or the microphones to record one let alone the room for one... yet) and
then either the bass or some chords that will form the basis of the
track (song).
In addition, one of my favourite features (for the way that I work) is
the ability to swap files in the Track Properties tab. For example, I
used to build my drum tracks using one-shots. If at some stage I
decided that I didn't like the snare or kick or whatever, I would go
into the Track Properties and 'Replace' the original one-shot with any
other file of my choosing. In this way, Acid
processes audio as if it were MIDI. This is something that I haven't
(yet) come across in any other application.
When I started, I didn't have any actual instruments (not including
VSTi's, of course) so all of my 'playing' and recording was done in
MIDI. I now own an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass and
a set of bongos plus a rack synth, which uses MIDI (of course) but also
outputs audio. The only audio recording I did in Acid
beforehand was vocals (usually rapping as opposed to singing), for
which I found it to be quite capable. Overall, I find that audio
recordings are accurate representations of the source, as they should
be.
Using MIDI in Acid, whether to trigger VSTi's or
external synths is very straightforward and, as mentioned previously,
editing MIDI is also a doddle. Like audio, MIDI can also be manipulated
on the track (in the arrange section) as well as (or instead of) in the
Track Properties tab at the bottom of the screen. Recording MIDI is as
simple as pressing the red dot, selecting your input and 'thru' devices
and clicking on 'Start'. The MIDI implementation is not up to the
standard of its rivals but, it's not what Acid
was primarily designed for and the fact that it handles MIDI so well at
all is a definite bonus as far as I'm concerned.
Conclusion:
I've been using Acid for a few years now, more or
less since version 4 came out, and so I can't compare it to previous
versions. As always there are people who prefer things 'as it used to
be' and the 'bring back version 3' mob can still be found lurking on
the
Acid forums every once in a while.
However, I have to say that I've enjoyed my time with it, even through
all its updates (currently on 7.0b)
and am very glad that I started with something so simple and yet
complex. It encouraged me to step up (which I'm slowly doing) but no
matter how much equipment and/or other programmes I acquire I can't see
myself abandoning Acid altogether.
For fast (and fun) composition, there's still very little out there to
beat it and now that it can do multi-track recording, it can be
literally all you need. It's also worth pointing out that there are
various levels of Acid from the limited but
usable free version through the 'Studio' version (think Cubase SE) all
the way up to the 'Pro' version.
Try it, you might like it. And if you don't, you've lost nothing but
the five minutes it takes to learn how to use it.
An alternative point of view
The following is a quote from the ACIDplanet Forum
in response to my review:
"I have 6.0 and it
crashes incessantly. INCESSANTLY. You also forgot to mention that it
has no track freeze, most other sequencers have had this for several
versions. This is an almost essential function if you do any recording
or sampling and do not have a dual or quad core monster compy. ACID is
fine for looping, but Ableton does that same thing a bit better.
For editing CUBASE, Logic, and SONAR absolutely smoke ACID in every
conceivable way. It's not even close. ACID has nowhere near the power
or the editing options of these programs at all.
ACID is good for looping and light duty recording. If you loop, or do
light recording, you'll be fine with it when it doesn't crash, which is
almost always. If you are recording a multi-synth rig, bass, piano, and
whatever else you can get your hands on, and laying a good number of
tracks per tune as I am you will bang your head against the wall until
you bleed to death. It was frustrating enough for me with the crashing
and lack of editing/processing options that I quite writing for two
months altogether while I saved for CUBASE. I deluded myself for quite
some time that it was competitive with CUBASE, SONAR, Logic, and
Ableton for a long time. This was because I hadn't actually tried to
work with any of those. Once I did I saw how far behind the times ACID
was. And I felt very dumb for not moving to one of those programs years
earlier.
If you perform live, Ableton offers you a multitude of advantages as it
is designed for fluid live performance, not just sequencing. ACID
doesn't touch Ableton in that regard. Not even close. No linear
sequencer does."
Doctor
Funkenstein
If you have any comments or observations to share, please feel free to
contact me and I will add them to this page.