ACID Music Studio 7

Customer Rating:
Summary: great for intermediate-level music production
Comment: ACID Music Studio is a useful tool for intermediate-level music production. With this software you can record & produce your own music as well as layer your song with loops, which are bundled with the software to help you hit the ground running. Loops are also available for free online, just do a search for "royalty free loops."

ACID Music Studio also gives you the ability to remix, create mashups, make your own loops from scratch, collaborate with other artists from afar, etc.

In the beginning it can be frustrating; it isn't very intuitive and the tutorial is sub-par, but, with some picking & poking, you will understand the basics in no time.

Sony's own acidplanet.com is a wonderful community of musicians for musicians. So many other like-minded artists are willing and able to help out one another and, of course, there is a forum where you will find an abundance of tips & tricks. This website is perhaps the most important "tool" for any beginner with ACID music studio. I've been a member of that community (DJ Bizzly) for a few years now.

If you want something more advanced then keep looking. Of course, if you are looking for something more advanced, you already knew that; and, you already own (or have owned) ACID Music Studio :)

Customer Rating:
Summary: Works with VISTA (32-bit) if...
Comment: I use it for recording guitar. It works perfectly with my desktop computer (multi-tracking with no latency [all tracks syncing together with the beat]). My machine is 2.3 mz processor w/ 3 gig ram. HOWEVER, with my laptop i spent 3 weeks trying to get it work and could not (1.5 mz w/1.5 ram). Even with adjusting the latency as instructed, it did very little to help; thus your computer must be fast for it to work. Super easy to use also. You can try it for free if you download the demo version from Sony to test your computer with it.

Customer Rating:
Summary: I Hate Midi's
Comment: The old one (5) had wav files which were about as easy as pie. The midi's are a pain in the neck because you have to pick an instrument...otherwise you get a drum beat that sounds like someone pounding on a piano.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Just ok
Comment: Only got this because Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio didn't contain all the features I needed.


Make sure you download the trial versions from Sony's website BEFORE making a purchase. Make sure you know the difference between the Sony Audio products (many of the features seem to overlap).

Does what I wanted it to do, and didn't find many good alternatives. No crashes or other problems. Has a very old, sad looking interface. Not that intuitive to use. If you want to import a video mpg file so you can edit the audio, you'll need to buy a $30 Sony codec!!! Considering there are very good opensource mpeg codecs out there, this seems crazy. BTW, the audio file you edit this way will be saved as an audio file (wav). You'll then need to add that file back into the video with a video editor.

PROs
Does the job
Cheap?

CONs
Sad, old, counter-intuitive interface
Extra cost of plug-ins (codecs etc.)
Don't think this can capture audio streams from the Internets

Customer Rating:
Summary: NO SUPPORT
Comment: So far I've spent hours trying to learn this product, and I finally got the hang of it to do very basic stuff. The biggest issue that I have with this product is that Sony does NOT give any technical support, not unless you buy a technical support package, which consists of $14.95 fee each time you call for help!

I called Sony before I purchased the product and asked them if they had a certain feature, the sales rep said yes. She told me to try it out, download a free trial and a Tech Support person would help me with any questions. Because she told me they had the feature I was looking for, I went ahead a purchased the product instead. Well, now I'm finding out that Sony will help those with trial versions, but not those that have already purchased.

If you're not familiar with the normal jargon for music software, you'll have a harder time figuring this out. Especially since no one at Sony will walk you through anything. The tutorial is a joke! It doesn't address a lot of issues, so now I have this new product I paid Sony for and they won't even help me figure it out without shelling out more money.

Anyone that writes a positive review about Sony's technical support or tutorials is probably a manager at Sony trying to make their product sound better than what it really is.

If you already know terminology such as loops, BPM's, Track FX, Soft Synth, snapping, crossfades, compressors, Marker, Region....then you'll breeze through this product. If music software is new to you, buy another product where they'll actually support you after you buy their product.