Vegas versus Acid

mpd wrote on 8/23/2005, 7:31 AM

Hi all,

I am putting together a budget to give to my boss, and have a loaded question about Vegas.

What can Acid do that Vegas can't with regard to audio?

Ideally I would buy both, but I would really need a good reason to do so.

I would investigate this myself, but my trials for both Vegas and Acid both expired a few months ago.

Typically, I would be adding music to VO tracks. Most of my music is purchased loops. They typically don't have Acid properties when I buy them.

Thanks a bunch.

Comments

rraud wrote on 8/23/2005, 12:36 PM

Idealy you should have Vegas, Acid & Sound Forge.
Check with Red'nroll over at the Crossfade forum, He's real good at explaining the differences.
Unfortunatly Red was banned from the Sony forums for stirring up bees nests.
Who will be banned next? Maybe me, maybe you, maybe everyone who works in audio.

http://www.crossfade-forums.net/

bgc wrote on 8/23/2005, 1:15 PM

They have some similarities but really are complimentary tools.

Vegas is a true multi-tracking audio application in that it allows you to record and mix audio much like you would with a multi-track recorder and mixing console. It is of course a very powerful video editor. In Vegas you can have any audio that you want on any track, like a multi-track recorder. Vegas has a project tempo, but this mostly applies to the ruler values.

Acid, while it allows multiple tracks, is more of an audio creation tool that works well with Acidized loops. Acid allows the free control of the key and tempo of a project if you're using the loops. If you build an audio project with acidized loops, you can freely adjust the tempo and key - almost like a sequencer/synthesizer for audio. You can also record one track at a time in Acid (a limitation over Vegas).
Acid also only allows one type of audio per track (one loop or one recording). Acid also has rudimentary midi recording and allows VSTi instruments.

Both versions support DX and VST audio plugins.

Vegas allows external hardware control with a Mackie Universal Controller.

I use both extensively and find that one over the other wouldn't work for me. Depending on your needs (audio/video recording and mixing or custom music creation or both) one or both will suit your needs.

They are both very easy to use from a UI perspective and the editing capabilities of Vegas are the best out there imho.

bgc

mpd wrote on 8/23/2005, 8:20 PM

Thanks the reply here and over at crossfade.

The two things I liked about Acid aren't supported in Vegas. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to play with Vegas enough before my trial ended.

I really liked the pencil tool. It looked like it would be a big benefit for me when I am doing supervised edits.

I also liked the way project tempo worked in Acid, where I could set up my music as loops and vo as oneshots, and then easilly tweak the length of a piece by chaning the tempo.

Both are going in my budget.