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Subject:The wait is over !!!
Posted by: DjiDoe
Date:10/28/2004 4:39:35 AM

Great to see ACID back !
Rewire is there !

Good job SONY !

Thanx

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: Ben 
Date:10/28/2004 5:11:41 AM

WOWEEE!

Looks like they're on the ball, big time.

Cannot wait!

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: JohnnyRoy
Date:10/28/2004 6:04:52 AM

HORRAY!!! No more Where is ACID 5 posts!!!!

And man does it look sweet:

Groove Mapping Quantization
ReWire Mixer and Device Support
VST Effects Support
Multiport VSTi Soft Synth Support
MIDI Editing Enhancements
Tempo-based DirectX Effects
Plug-in Manager
Bypass All Effects

But wait... there’s more...
Free Native Instruments XPRESS KEYBOARDS VSTi Soft Synth Bundle!!!

Oh yea. Hammond B3, Prophet 5, and Yamaha DX7 emulators. It even has a Metronome. Way to go Sony!

~jr

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: jardeano
Date:10/28/2004 6:37:00 AM

Thats the way,, ah ha,, ah ha, I like it !


synth bundle ,,,nice surprise

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: Spirit
Date:10/28/2004 6:39:59 AM

Looks OK, rather than amazing. Pitched a bit low with those cheesey NI toys, but I suppose that'll help draw in new users. Doesn't look like much change to the chopper or midi which is a shame. I was hoping they might really turbo-charge those aspects.

Swf import looks good, but have to wait & see whether it can handle up to version 7.

BPM-based effects is also good - about time. VST effect support will be very nice.

Sony seems to have listened to requests :-) All those naggers have finally got their reversed sample functionality and rewire....

But the big question is: IS IT STABLE ?

Oh, those horrible memories of version 4.....

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: MacMoney
Date:10/28/2004 6:44:32 AM

Trigger oneshots from your computer keyboard and Reverse sample too
Way to go Sony!

Tony Mac

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: billybk
Date:10/28/2004 7:03:58 AM

Yes, it looks to be a major update too! Will it be everything to everybody, probably not, but many of the requested user features seem to have made it into ACID Pro 5. I would have liked to have had live input monitoring (for plugging in Amplitude or Guitar Rig plugins and jamming away on my Les Paul, in realtime), or some sort of multi-tracking ability. Some users would have preferred more robust MIDI capabilities and enhancements. Other than these few disappointments, I think overall it is a good solid, well needed update to the ACID Pro platform. Some of my favorite new features/enhancements:

Real-time Reverse: not only for events, but whole song/project too, with a simple keystroke shortcut.

Native VST support: We all know this has been a major request and now it is finally fulfilled.

ReWire Slave support: Another popular request that is now an ACID 5
feature.

Folder Tracks: This was a much needed feature, considering ACID's one loop per track paradigm. Having 20, 30, 40, 50 or more loops in a project, each with it's own track could get pretty out of hand and very cluttered real quickly. Enter Folder Tracks, now you can easily drag & drop your tracks onto created Folder tracks and tidy up and organize your desktop space for better track management. What was once 50 tracks of loops can now be a handful of Folder Tracks. Create Drums, Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Strings or whatever named Folder Tracks and drop the relevant tracks into it. One of my favorite new features!

Bus to Bus routing: This is something I have always wanted in ACID, a more flexible bus routing system. Now you feed a bus to a bus to a bus...... while retaining full PDC (plugin delay compensation) through the entire signal path.
There is also a nice feature where the effects button will turn a specific color to indicate if delay compensation is being utilized in a effects chain.
Green for when no PDC is being used and Yellow when PDC is active in the effect chain. Nice!

Innovative Groove Mapping/Cloning tools: This feature took me by surprise. It really creates a lot opportunities for re-working/re-mapping existing loops/ grooves and "painting" those "groove" attributes onto existing loops. Like the Chopper dockable window, there is now also a convenient Groove Pool/Editor window. It is nice to see Sony taking ACID to another level with this new technology.

Plugin Manager: I always thought is was more of a chore to add effects plugins in ACID than it needed to be. Borrowing the same technology from Sound Forge 6/7, the new dockable Plugin Manager makes it real easy to drag and drop your plugins onto your tracks and buses.

Enhanced Keyboard Mapping: Most tasks can now be mapped as keyboard shortcuts, for power users.

Bypass All Effects: I went ahead and re-mapped this function to my F10 key. Now I can instantly turn on/off all effects with one keystroke.

Media Manager: This is a media database add on module that is installed separately. Once installed you can activate/deactivate it from ACID's Preferences tab. For users that have huge loop/media collections this is a godsend. Once you have scanned and tagged your media files you can very quickly find and preview just like the Loop Explorer. In fact, I would catagorize the Media Manager as the Loop Explorer on steriods. Basically the Loop Explorer with a very refined searchable database. Once I initially scanned and tagged my 23GB of ACID loops (which took about 40 minutes), I could then find any loop I wanted, based on my search criteria, in a matter of seconds. I entered my advanced search criteria:

Rock | Bass | Key of A | 90-110BPM |

.....and in a matter of seconds I had all the loops that fit that criteria, from my 23GB loop library, in my Media Manager window ready for preview. What a time saver!

Disc at Once (DAO) CD Burning: Yes, now you can finally burn Redbook standard CD's, with CD track markers straight from ACID

Enhanced audio time stretching and beat detection: I am glad to see ACID 5 has made some improvements in this area as well.


Overall, I think Sony did a good job of covering most of the user requests and adding a few surprises as well. The added software bonus (1,001 Loop Library and Native Instruments Xpress Pack) is a pleasant surprise, as well.

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: JohnnyRoy
Date:10/28/2004 7:09:33 AM

> Looks OK, rather than amazing

Here is a detailed list of the new features taken from this Sony page:

Over 1,000 music loops in multiple genres
Media Manager technology
Metronome for playback and record
Customizable UI and keyboard mapping
Flash™ (.swf ) file format import
Enhanced media previewing
Save project paths in rendered media
Nestable folder tracks for enhanced project organization
Real-time event reverse
Bus-to-bus routing
Downmix monitoring
Improved audio timestretching and beat detection
Drop one-shots in real time
Customizable project media folders
Envelope changes applied to multiple selected events
Groove Mapping quantization tools with Groove Cloning
ReWire support (mixer and device)
VST effects support with automation and tempo sync
Multiport VSTi soft synth support
MIDI Piano Roll snap-to-scale filtering
Tempo-based DirectX effects
Audio Plug-In Manager
Bypass all effects command
Integrated disc-at-once CD burning

That’s a pretty impressive list of new features from a company that just took this software over a year ago from SoFo (which was going under and probably not investing in it). As you suggest, they are clearly listening to their customers. I’m very happy with the new features. I would have like to seen more done with the Chopper too like Melodyne does but, hey, there’s always ACID 6.0! (where is ACID 6 anyway?) ;-)

> Pitched a bit low with those cheesey NI toys

I disagree. I own the full version of NI B4 and Pro-53 and I can tell you, that the last thing I would call these are cheesy. They are lite versions some of the finest analog emulators that you can buy. In fact, I own a Hammond B3 and Native Instruments is the ONLY company to accurately model the interaction between tone wheel harmonics when you press more than one key. If you own a B3 or have spent much time playing a B3, you can quickly hear the difference between it and all other “wannabe” Hammond emulators.

I applaud Sony for selecting a top quality company like NI to partner with and provide a starter set of VST instruments for ACID Pro customers. It’s win-win scenario because ACID customers get some quality instruments to get them started and NI gets exposure and the prospect of new customers who may upgrade to the full versions.

~jr

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: Rajah
Date:10/28/2004 7:14:18 AM

Looking Good.. Now, how much is the upgrade from v4?

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: Spirit
Date:10/28/2004 7:15:48 AM

Most of that list is catch-up stuff from the past two years, but sure, there is some good enhancements in there, a few surprises and good multimedia support. The lack of a track "freeze" function is a bit sad, and midi looks as if nothing's really changed.

But if it's stable then my jump from AP3 to AP5 will be very significant...

Subject:RE: The wait is over !!!
Reply by: ATP
Date:10/28/2004 7:19:10 AM

well, i have to admit i was rather sceptical all this time, but a lot of stuff i wanted in there actually got implemented. bus on bus, group tracks, real-time reverse etc. very nice. can't wait to try out all the new stuff. :)

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