PC Plus reviews Sony Acid Pro 5 and write: “This new version aims to keep the upgrade momentum going. But if that’s the theory, the reality doesn’t quite match it.” VST and ReWire support are welcome but overdue, they say, and they are disappointed with the new Groove Mapping feature: “In practice, this is something of a toy feature that has its uses – some of the funk grooves sound excellent on funk-style loops, but doesn’t live up to its full potential.”

The new timestretching and beat mapping tools are “worth playing with” — “Acid remains a fantastic demo and song sketching tool, and it’s exceptionally good at both,” but the sound quality is “a notch or two down from what would be needed to put together an entire song if you were trying to work at a high professional level.”

Overall, they think the upgrade is “something of a missed opportunity. Ableton-style live arranging, playback and a general spruce up in the sonic department would have been very welcome, but unfortunately the changes on offer here are rather less adventurous.” It’s true that the startling advances made by previous Acid upgrades are missing in Acid Pro 5. They conclude their rather lukewarm review by saying the upgrade is not really worth it, but Acid Pro 5 is still a good program for beginners: “if VST compatibility doesn’t matter to you, there’s no hugely compelling reason to trade up from version 4. … But for beginners who want the sheer joy of putting together something that sounds almost as good as a radio hit, and for anyone else who enjoys dabbling with music making, Acid will provide months of entertainment.”

Buy Acid at SameDayMusic.com