VideoSystems review Acid Pro 5: “if you are looking for some cool new features that will make you think about using the program in new ways, then Acid Pro 5 dishes up some interesting surprises.” One such surprise is Groove Mapping, which looks to be their favourite new feature. With Groove Mapping, you can alter the “feel” of a track, rather than just the pitch or tempo. It works by automatically making tiny adjustments to the tempo all the way through a track or song, based on another track. So you can create a straight 4/4 song, and quickly use Groove Mapping to give it “the live sway of jazz or the immediate kerbump of hip hop”. Very nice.

They also especially appreciate the new media manager, and recommend investigating Sony’s loop CD collections. I can agree with that — I especially like all of the distorted, industrial sounds on CDs like Electronic Point-Blank, Extremely Abrasive Beats and Electrocution. Nowadays they sell ’em in packs like their Electronica Pack 1. They also talk about the acidplanet.com community, which features work by many Acid users around the world. Including me!

On the downside, Acid Pro 5 does not export to MP3 out of the box — you have to pay more money for this. They also think the interface wastes too much space. But overall they really like this new version: “It has a few new killer additions that keep it the powerhouse it has been, as well as lots of little touches that users have been asking for. … It’s the king for a very good reason. The program is smart and makes it very easy to be creative. Acid continues to be the leader in loop scoring. I highly recommend it for a first purchase, and the upgrade price is low enough to make it a no-brainer.”

Buy Acid at SameDayMusic.com