why would i use ACID?

[not Cereal]

i recently came across a digidesign audio card for free. i tested it in my B mac, then put it in my PC to see what would happen. it sounds and works great.

 

i already have the 32track beta PT on my A mac.

 

i loaded up the ACID demo and i am floored but confused.

 

floored because i messed with the tempo slider and i am amazed by that. the whole song changes tempo, audio tracks and all. PT cant touch that. also i learned each track can be pitch shifted ON THE FLY audio tracks included. damn. thats really cool. i can see how this would be very useful in house music or dj'ing.

 

but what about for me? i dont think i'll ever do that stuff neat as it is.

 

is there any reason i should look into buying ACID? it looks really neat, i just dont see why i wouldnt just use PT.

 

i been using PT for 6+ years and i am getting set in my ways. something new could be fun.

 

what cool things can i do in acid? does it have vst plug ins and stuff?

[Rog]

Why not go with Garageband?

 

It's cheaper and does much the same thing (obviously it's OS X only)

[kitaristi0]

I reckon Acid is a really good program. While it doesn't have all the choices that Cubase has, it's much easier to use and it's great value for money.

 

The effects are a bit sub-par though.

 

ps. I've been using it to record my band but you can also use for techno, computer music stuff.

[Sp3nc3r]

Loops of all sorts can be made with ACID. I've had ACID for well over a year now, and I still find the quirkiest things to do with it.

 

I don't ANY dj'ing or anything similar, but it's still a handy program to have for the one or two occasions a year that I get to do wacky loops of some sort. I just recently put an orchestra pad loop underneath a folkish singer/songwriter tune a couple of weeks ago that set the whole track ablaze!! DRUM loops aren't the only thing you can do with ACID - depending on your ACID Sample collection.

 

ACID, the program itself, doesn't contain any sounds (some will come on a CDr when you buy the program). So when you buy the software, also buy a handful of CDs of loops that are available at the website or at your favorite pro-audio dealer.

 

And, yes, you can use VST plugs.

 

The MIDI function side of ACID is still not completely reliable. I still run into a quirk or two when trying to sync via MTC or something like that (and that's on ver 4.0f).

 

But, if nothing else you can have a bit of fun trying some new stuff for a song that wouldn't normally have something like that.

 

Cheers!

Spencer

[bvdd]

Originally posted by Mr. Nice Crass Coaster Guy:

i recently came across a digidesign audio card for free. i tested it in my B mac, then put it in my PC to see what would happen. it sounds and works great.

 

i already have the 32track beta PT on my A mac.

 

i loaded up the ACID demo and i am floored but confused.

 

floored because i messed with the tempo slider and i am amazed by that. the whole song changes tempo, audio tracks and all. PT cant touch that. also i learned each track can be pitch shifted ON THE FLY audio tracks included. damn. thats really cool. i can see how this would be very useful in house music or dj'ing.

SHIT. Pitch shifted on the FLY? BOTH midi and audio change tempo? I could really use that feature.

 

Is ACID a sequencer, wave editor .... all of the above? In my case, would it REPLACE Cakewalk?

[not Cereal]

SHIT YES, and with nearly perfect results. similar sounds to serato pitchNtime, which takes forever. acid does it realtime on the fly, while the song is playing. i am utterly amazed.

 

acid LOOKS like PT, vision, other daws, etcetera but mostly it looks like VEGAS.

 

looks like a daw, but i know its not really a "daw" but something else. thats why i have the questions too.

 

it sure does look neat.

 

and this from a mac person

[Loopy C]

The real kicker is the preview function. When using Acidized samples you can "shop" your library while hearing the loop in question in the proper key and tempo, a real timesaver and a generator of happy accidents (i.e. working on a techno track but passed through the blugrass folder on the way, hey that banjo loop actually works).

 

Beat matching and key matching in realtime on a arrangement grid is it's forte. You can also run linear (non looping disk tracks). A tempo detection function is available on import for these longer tracks. Also is a great tool called the chopper for micro slicing loops on the grid. If you are playing with Acid then the reference to Garage Band is unneeded, it being Mac only. Most likely Live will get mentioned but again my understanding is YOU ALREADY HAVE this program to use and are looking for context. Aside from the obvious breakbeat and electronica implications we often use it to add textures and unusual elements to performed tracks (from a Radar/PT rig). With the preview to project key and tempo we can quickly identify interesting layers and ear candy. It is also great for preproduction, building up some quick grooves for a song in progress to later be enhanced or replaced at the appropiate stage (no more hours wasted on what should be the creative stage). We have done entire pop and rock albums within Acid, scored films (not using a single loop but as a cutting board for existing orchestral/choir performances that we commisioned and own). We have had up to 300+tracks running from RAM, a stretch for sure but just to show there is more to this program.Whether you use it to quickly create tracks to export to another program (which is an automated track by track option) or build whole albums within it, speed and creative options at your fingertips would be the top two reasons for me. Hope that helps.

 

Acid was actually before Vegas for the record.

[Alndln]

Originally posted by Mr. Nice Crass Coaster Guy:

looks like a daw, but i know its not really a "daw" but something else.

Your getting closer to the "Sonar" solution.

[meccajay]

Ok, Im a new acid user and I have couple questions..

 

I have used the loop stretching tool, and have enjoyed the spedd in which the whol programworks with you. My question is when your importing vocal loops and need it to have it stretched to tempo, how can you do this without changing the pitch? Or, if it changes pitch, how do you get it back to the original pitch?

 

My second issue is when importing vocal wav files, I stretch them to match tempo, then try to paintbrush(copy) it across the field to make one loop repeat to make a full chorus etc, but the paintbrush doesn't work properly. It will paintbrush, but not back to back like the other loops. So in essence, I have a 2 measure loop and try to make it 4 measures using the paintbrush but it stops painting the wav after the very 1st one, then if I reclicj in another section on the same track it will start painting again... What do I need to do?

 

Im new to it, so please forgive me if it doesn't make much sense.

[the stranger]

Originally posted by meccajay:

Ok, Im a new acid user and I have couple questions..

 

I have used the loop stretching tool, and have enjoyed the spedd in which the whol programworks with you. My question is when your importing vocal loops and need it to have it stretched to tempo, how can you do this without changing the pitch? Or, if it changes pitch, how do you get it back to the original pitch?

 

My second issue is when importing vocal wav files, I stretch them to match tempo, then try to paintbrush(copy) it across the field to make one loop repeat to make a full chorus etc, but the paintbrush doesn't work properly. It will paintbrush, but not back to back like the other loops. So in essence, I have a 2 measure loop and try to make it 4 measures using the paintbrush but it stops painting the wav after the very 1st one, then if I reclicj in another section on the same track it will start painting again... What do I need to do?

 

Im new to it, so please forgive me if it doesn't make much sense.

Right click on the track you want and click properties. You will get a dialog that allows you to change the loop from one shot to loop or beatmapped.

That dialog will answer your other question, too.

[the stranger]

Originally posted by Mr. Nice Crass Coaster Guy:

i recently came across a digidesign audio card for free. i tested it in my B mac, then put it in my PC to see what would happen. it sounds and works great.

 

i already have the 32track beta PT on my A mac.

 

i loaded up the ACID demo and i am floored but confused.

 

floored because i messed with the tempo slider and i am amazed by that. the whole song changes tempo, audio tracks and all. PT cant touch that. also i learned each track can be pitch shifted ON THE FLY audio tracks included. damn. thats really cool. i can see how this would be very useful in house music or dj'ing.

 

but what about for me? i dont think i'll ever do that stuff neat as it is.

 

is there any reason i should look into buying ACID? it looks really neat, i just dont see why i wouldnt just use PT.

 

i been using PT for 6+ years and i am getting set in my ways. something new could be fun.

 

what cool things can i do in acid? does it have vst plug ins and stuff?

I've done some wicked remixes in Acid. It rules for remixing. It also rules for cooking up beats.

[Hendmik]

I had a great use for ACID that Cubase wouldn't do. Thankfully, the ACID demo worked for this and I didn't have to buy anything.

 

I had a client who groaned and whined about playing his keyboards to a metronome. I let the loser play it loose, then I popped it into ACID and easily synced a tempo clock to WITHOUT having to quantize the performance. I imported the new MIDI file into Cubase, and off I went, adding more parts in time.

[mikegrijak]

You might also want to have a look at LIVE by a company out of Berlin called Ableton; I cant LIVE without it! (pun intended)

 

http://www.ableton.com/

[Salyphus]

GarageBand is much better than Acid IMO.

[Philter]

Originally posted by SaloSicle:

GarageBand is much better than Acid IMO.

How come?

[Alndln]

Originally posted by SaloSicle:

GarageBand is much better than Acid IMO.

And Ableton live is better than both,and Sonar is better than all 3.

[the stranger]

Originally posted by Philter:

Originally posted by SaloSicle:

GarageBand is much better than Acid IMO.

How come?

Word is, the time stretching is even more transparent than Acid.

[FrankieP]

Originally posted by SaloSicle:

GarageBand is much better than Acid IMO.

I've been asking mac users the same question and I would like to know why too. Aside from price of course. I heard that the person who wrote Acid also wrote Garageband so the time-stretching algo should be almost the same. So, Sal, why is it much better than Acid? What's the big difference?

[Loopy C]

Originally posted by stranger:

Originally posted by Philter:

Originally posted by SaloSicle:

GarageBand is much better than Acid IMO.

How come?

Word is, the time stretching is even more transparent than Acid.

Apples and oranges. The import /export capabilities, mixing, busing, file saving and much, much more all make Acid the pro product. Garage Band is a great beginners program to quickly make sound. After that it is wanting in so many ways as to make this discussion silly. And yes I have both (and Live and everthing else mentioned). They are all DIFFERENT, to debate better or worse is to debate personal preference, not useful features.

[hard truth]

Tell me if I am wrong (I'm sure someone will), but I don't think Ableton's Live does the pitch shifting functions that Acid does. Acid will automatically pitch shift Acidized audio files to match the song or the section of the song. As far as I can tell from the promotional info, Live does not do this.

 

I believe Sonar does do everything that Acid does and much more, but it costs a lot more. Garageband may do much of what Acid does, but it is Mac ony.

 

I find that Acid is a huge time saver. I used to spend hours and days trying to get my drum machine to do what I wanted. Now I use Acid loops

and get better results in minutes. I may be borrowing some elses' work, and it may not be as original, but it gives me more time to concentrate on the areas that I am more competetnt in such as playing guitar and keyboards, aranging, mixing. Is it really cheating any more than hiring a drummer?

 

BTW the more Acid loops you have, the more fun it is and the more creative you can be.

[Salyphus]

The Apple Loops format is far more robust and flexible than the Acidized WAV format. There is an excellent discussion at OSXAUDIO.COM which goes into this subject in great detail.

 

GB does a lot of things that ACID can't do, but GB is also intentionally 'crippled' in order not to cannibalize the 'pro' market, so there are some respects in which it lacks some capabilities present in Acid; IF there were a 'GarageBand Pro' this would not be an issue, but I have no idea if that is in the works.

 

The user interface of GarageBand is another stunning achievement IMO. There has obviously been a lot of thought put into this aspect and they succeeded fantastically IMO.

 

Finally, the price aspect can't be ignored. What doest his app cost, like ten bucks?

[TeleCarlos]

Hard Truth said it best....

 

I wish I could program drums quickly but I can't, so think I'll borrow some Acid loops to get the idea rolling (maybe replace them with original drums or something later).

 

Yeah, I'll rather concentrate on guitar, keys and singing than finding the "magic groove".

 

Haven't used Acid but I'm certain it would be useful, even only if for "song starting" purposes.

 

Can I plug my guitar and use Amplitube within Acid 4.0????

[mikegrijak]

Originally posted by hard truth:

Tell me if I am wrong (I'm sure someone will), but I don't think Ableton's Live does the pitch shifting functions that Acid does. Acid will automatically pitch shift Acidized audio files to match the song or the section of the song. As far as I can tell from the promotional info, Live does not do this.

 

I believe Sonar does do everything that Acid does and much more, but it costs a lot more. Garageband may do much of what Acid does, but it is Mac ony.

 

I find that Acid is a huge time saver. I used to spend hours and days trying to get my drum machine to do what I wanted. Now I use Acid loops

and get better results in minutes. I may be borrowing some elses' work, and it may not be as original, but it gives me more time to concentrate on the areas that I am more competetnt in such as playing guitar and keyboards, aranging, mixing. Is it really cheating any more than hiring a drummer?

 

BTW the more Acid loops you have, the more fun it is and the more creative you can be.

LIVE does the pitch shifting very well

[Alndln]

Originally posted by mikegrijak:

LIVE does the pitch shifting very well

From what Iv'e heard,it's time stretching is much better than Acid's,but Sonar's integration of loops in my main DAW suits me fine instead of having to use a seperate app.Also the Cyclone instrument is killer for loops,you just load a bunch of loops and assign them notes on your keyboard and trigger away.Sonar also has midi groove clips which I'm using even more than audio these days.

[DanS]

Didn't read the threads to see if anyone else mentioned it, but the beat mapping function is really slick too. Let's say someone sends you a rough idea for a song in the form of a guitar wav file, but isn't sure if the exact tempo. Acid will load it up, and then ask you if you want it beat mapped. This will allow you to figure out the tempo, and then all your loops & other instruments will sync perfectly with the original file.

[TeleCarlos]

Sorry for repeating the question but...

 

Can I plug n play my gueetar thru amplitube within Acid????

Just wanna jam a little you know.

 

How about in Abbleton LIVE???

 

I think that will be my deal breaker right there..

 

Take care...

[Salyphus]

Originally posted by TeleCarlos:

Sorry for repeating the question but...

 

Can I plug n play my gueetar thru amplitube within Acid????

Just wanna jam a little you know.

 

How about in Abbleton LIVE???

 

I think that will be my deal breaker right there..

 

Take care...

GarageBand has built-in amp simulation, if you have a Mac that is.

[Vortex]

Here's a few thoughts on the ACID, LIVE, SONAR issue as I have experienced it.

 

I was a heavy ACID user for years. It is an amazing program, capable of complex arrangements and easy to run. Great for keeping the focus on creativity. ACID has been a fantastic creative tool for me.

 

I have since switched to Sonar and it bugs me that Sonar glitches while I tweak on the fly. Acid is cool in that it keeps the active loops stored in RAM and remains elastic while in playback.

When new versions of Acid were released, MIDI was added to the program. Unfortunately the MIDI editing in ACID is pathetic and remains so to this day. I waited for Sonic Foundry/ Sony to put decent MIDI editing into the program, too bad that this never got addressed properly.

 

Sonar seems a bit lame in it's abilities to "Groove Loop" compared to ACID. Many times I find that Sonar spoils a cool chunk of audio that ACID would easily render.

 

IF ACID WOULD REWIRE TO SONAR it might remain a

vital product!!!!!!!! At least until Sonar got it together on the Groove clip/loop rendering.

 

I have tried LIVE and it is probably the "New Acid". I think it eclipses Acid in many many ways, particularly as a "live" (duh) instrument. However, the simple beauty of Acid is lost. Oh well, progress marches on... I can deal with it.

 

Finally, on the Sonar end of things, I can't help but wonder why a company like Cakewalk who have released what? 9, 10 versions of Calkwalk Pro still have bugs in the Midi aspects of a program like Sonar? Why can't they can trot out a seamless app on the midi front!

 

Truly, I am glad that I live in a time when this much Audio recording power rests in the hands of artists like myself. Humbly, I am open to all knowledge and help that is offered. These are simply my experinces with the noted software.

 

If I pay for software, I don't expect to be the beta tester. I just want to use it as the "creative artist/engineer"