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| ACID Pro 6, with Kompakt sampler at bottom right |
But the concept was too good for other developers to ignore. As DAW application developers added advanced looping tools and ACIDized file compatibility to their programs, ACID Pro's specialty niche began eroding. And it didn't help that the DAW programs had multitrack recording capabilities that ACID Pro lacked. Even though it was still one of the best pure loop-creation environments around, ACID Pro could only record one track at a time, and required a new track for every file.
With the release of ACID Pro 6, however, Sony Media Software has turned the tables on everyone. ACID Pro 6 (MSRP $399.96) is a full-fledged DAW application, with a revamped audio engine that can simultaneously record multiple audio and MIDI tracks with the best of them. It was a quick transformation, but it shouldn't really surprise anyone -- after all, this is the development team behind Vegas, which has long had advanced multitrack recording capabilities. It was simply time for ACID Pro to gain this functionality.
Multitrack recording has been so well-integrated into the application that experienced ACID Pro users may need to rethink how they use the program in their workflow. Its capabilities have expanded dramatically, and so has its potential role in audio production. There's no longer any need to export tracks from ACID Pro into another application to incorporate them into a multitrack recording session, for instance. It's a novel experience for anyone who's used previous versions of ACID Pro to enable multiple tracks for recording and watch the waveforms paint themselves across the interface simultaneously.
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| Multitrack recording with two top tracks. |
With newly added support for dual/multi-core processors, and the 24-bit/192k sampling upgrade added in the previous version, ACID Pro 6 is ready to run like a Ferrari. I encountered no performance issues with up to 30 tracks of mixed media, including recorded audio, MIDI and loops. Installation was problem-free on a typical single-proc Pentium 4 3.2 GHz machine with 1.5 GB RAM running Windows XP Pro. The program comes on two DVDs, one with ACID Pro 6, a Preset Manager and a huge collection of loops, and the other DVD containing a special version of Native Instruments' Kompakt sampler and an accompanying collection of samples.
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| Browsing saved takes from continuous loop recording |
The punch feature is solid; in fact, I tried abusing it by recording four tracks simultaneously, and alternately taking individual tracks in and out of record mode without stopping. There was no stuttering or any funny behavior while I did this -- the overall recording proceeded ahead, with gaps where I had taken the single tracks out and then reenabled them. This is a very good sign of how robust the new audio engine in ACID Pro 6 is. I tried other demanding processes while recording, such as making multiple parameter adjustments to reverbs and EQs with input monitoring enabled, and ACID Pro 6 coped without a problem. The same was true for inserting effects or virtual instruments during playback or record.
Speaking of effects, you can hear them on tracks while recording now, thanks to a record input monitoring mode. They can be manipulated in real-time as a recording is underway, without actually processing the recorded data. This will help satisfy lead singers or guitar players who need temporary effects for inspiration, while the final effects can be selected later on. As noted above, new effects can be added and adjusted while recording, or removed from the chain, as you're monitoring them.
And since users are going to be doing all this recording, it's only fitting that they should have a top-of-the line virtual instrument to use. ACID Pro 6 delivers, with a special ACID version of Native Instruments' Kompakt VSTi. Hook up a MIDI keyboard to it and you've got 120 instruments playable from high-quality samples, with effects and synth parameters that you can apply. This is a major new dimension in ACID Pro's sonic palette, and it's great fun to play not only because of the sample quality, but because of the modifications that are possible. Any sample loaded into Kompakt can be extensively tweaked with an array of filters, effects, LFOs, envelopes and amp options, which can create a wide range of tones and textures from just one sample.
Kompakt comes with a library of pianos and keys, basses, guitars, drums and percussion, organs, ethnic instruments (bagpipe, Shakuhachi), loops and synths. In addition, Kompakt can import other sample library formats, including Gigasampler, EXS, AKAI, and Kontakt. After an instrument sample has been modified, Kompakt allows it to be saved in the library with a new name for later use. Kompakt's inclusion in ACID Pro 6 is the latest fruit of an ongoing relationship between Sony and Native Instruments that led to the bundling of several Native Instruments soft synths in the previous version of ACID Pro.
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