Subject:Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Posted by: TheBlackDragon7

Date:5/2/2006 12:33:00 PM

I'm thinking about getting Acid Pro 6 at the promo price (129.99, 'cause I have acid pro 5c...) but in the advertisment, I didn't see anything really major that 6 had over 5... Is there anything that was improved that they didn't mention in the e-mail messages?

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: H2000

Date:5/2/2006 12:51:15 PM

I'm not sure what email you are reading, but this is the most substantial update to Acid ever.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: Patrick@Denman

Date:5/2/2006 12:59:22 PM

This might sound like I work for Sony, but I don't. IMHO the upgrade is worth every penny. There is so much new capability in ACID Pro 6 it's astounding. The new sound engine is vastly more stable and flexible. The new VSTi automation is a HUGE enhancement. And just the included KOMPAKT version is worth the upgrade all by itself.

Like every major new version of any software, you will find some glitches. But this version puts ACID much more on a square footing when competing with comprehensive DAW software like Cubase.

IMHO everyone who can do so should upgrade right away, while the price is so good.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: Laurence

Date:5/2/2006 3:01:33 PM

Well I like it more than Tracktion or Sonar. It's not the feature set that I like so much, it's the approach. Yeah it's worth the upgrade.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: MacMoney

Date:5/2/2006 8:20:03 PM

YES It's worth it!

George Ware

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: Tobias7000

Date:5/2/2006 9:15:35 PM

I used to rely on multiple programs to get my work done. AcidPro 6 changes that! Saves big chunks of time staying in the same framework for production ... not to mention the great workflow. No contest in my opinion.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: ohmaya

Date:5/3/2006 11:41:43 PM

All the new features aren't worth anything if you can get the program to stay up. It closes up in the middle of a task without warning, and has all kinds of little bugs and glitches. I also have a new latency issue I never had in three previous versions.
5.0 is worth staying with until the update(s) come out.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: feign

Date:5/4/2006 3:12:01 AM

I think it's a major, significant upgrade, far beyond Acid Pro 5. So far I have not encountered any instability, but then each of us uses the program in different ways for different purposes. There are a couple minor complaints I have about the preview sound quality. But for me, the enhancements in using MIDI tracks are an enormous improvement over previous versions. For example, editing a pre-existing MIDI track was, for me, a confusing nightmare in Acid 5. Now the MIDI file appears on the timeline, with each track separated. It's easy and intuitive now to change the voices, apply grooves and filters and edit the notes. I know this is a basic thing for some people, but for me, this improvement alone is worth the upgrade price.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: billybk

Date:5/4/2006 5:48:17 AM

"I didn't see anything really major that 6 had over 5."


If all you do is use audio loops using the basic pick, paint & play paradigm and you are content with ACID Pro 5's archiac MIDI implementation and total lack of Vegas style multi-tracking and surface control support, then there is probably not a lot for you then. OTOH, for me and my workflow ACID Pro 6, with it's revamped DAW features, leaves AP5, in the dust. I've deleted AP5, off my hard drive and don't miss it all. For me the highlights of ACID Pro 6 and the new features that I use every day are:

Vegas style recording: Gone are the days of that archaic audio & midi record dialog box. Now you initiate and set the record attributes from the track itself.

Multitracking: Now you can actaully record multiple audio and MIDI tracks, at once.

Input Monitoring: Now you can actually do live input monitoring. How about inserting a amp sim like Amplitube or Guitar Rig and play in realtime, from your guitar.

Track Record Meters: Invaluable for monitoring your input source when recording.

Revamped multi-threaded Audio Engine: It is now dual core/multi CPU compatible and optimized. I can easily get extremely low latencies (I've got as low as 1msec (64 buffers). I've also noticed the audio engine can be stressed a lot more before crackling.

Multiple media clips per track: The old one clip per track paradigm has been discarded. Now you can have various clips on one track and utilize them via the tracks Clip Pool.

Enhanced Paint Tool: Audio & Midi events can be added with increased note accuracy.

Auto Cross-Fade: Now you can utilize Vegas style auto cross fades and have various fade types to choose from.

Inline MIDI Track Editing: Now you can edit MIDI from the Track View. Makes it a lot easier when lining up audio & MIDI clips, on the timeline too.

Drum Grid Editing: There are many included drum key maps and you can create your own with the drum map editor, as well.

Extensive MIDI Track Envelope & Keyframe automation:

Project Sections: Great addition to ACID for seamless arranging, of song sections.

Surface Control Support: One of my favorite new features, since I happen to have a Frontier TranzPort wireless DAW controller. Being able to use ACID Pro wirelessly is a dream come true.


BTW, the inclusion of the special ACID Pro edition of N.I.'s Kompact (along with a separate DVD of over 2GB's of sample content) is worth the $129 upgrade fee alone.

For ACID Pro aficionados, this upgrade should be a no brainer, IMO.


Cheers,

Billy Buck

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: JohnnyRoy

Date:5/4/2006 6:16:11 AM

> Is there anything that was improved that they didn't mention in the e-mail messages?

I’m not sure if the emails highlight the fact that the audio engine has been rewritten and fine tuned so be more efficient. This should affect all ACID users whether you are just looping or recording your own parts.

I have to agree with the others. ACID Pro 6 could have been a whole new product offering it is so different. It combines ACID with Vegas into the best looping DAW you can imagine. The upgrade is a no-brainer. I did not and will not upgrade to SONAR 5. I don’t use it anymore now that ACID Pro 6 has arrived. That saved me money right there.

~jr

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: jumbuk

Date:5/4/2006 3:49:44 PM

"but acid 5 i much more stable"

Not my experience. Several problems I had to work around in Acid 5 have now been fixed. I have tried hard to crash 6 but not succeeded. It is the most stable version yet on my two PCs.

" and essentially the same program."

Weell, I guess Acid 1.0 was "essentially the same program", so in that sense you are right! Anyone who has actually used 6 for more than 5 minutes could hardly miss the differences though. If you are happy not to be able to use your control surface, record mix automation, easily record audio and MIDI, build songs with sections etc, then I guess you may as well stick with 5. Why not go back to 2.0, I hear that was pretty stable?

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: Illogical

Date:5/4/2006 5:22:17 PM

^ haha

yeah 6 is a pretty good bargain, it's got some wrinkles but highly usable and tons more power than 5.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: jumbuk

Date:5/4/2006 6:53:43 PM

One thing I have noticed on this forum - whereas most of the AP5 and AP4 bug posts were generally config problems or genuine bugs, there have been quite a few AP6 posts that eventually got resolved as being either user problems in understanding how to use a new feature, or problems beyond Sony's control, such as .NET or installation issues. Not all, mind you, there are some genuine bugs.

However, perhaps this is a good sign - it means that AP6 really does have enough new features that users are taking a little time to understand exactly how to use the new features or understand the changes to the old features that flowed from the decision to move to a multi-clip paradigm.

I personally don't mind users posting here to get help on understanding how to use a new feature, although it p***s me off when someone doesn't even bother to read the manual or check the Help file first. What does REALLY p*** me off though is the user that starts with a big flame to Sony about supposedly bug-ridden software, then posts a "bug" that later turns out to be a user error or misunderstanding. There seem to be more of these this time around.

Anyway, AP6 is here and it's good. I am no apologist for Sony - they should fix bugs and help users solve installation issues as quickly as possible - but I can see no reason why anyone would not want this upgrade.

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: nikko1221

Date:5/12/2006 10:22:56 AM

Re: "...or problems beyond Sony's control, such as .NET or installation issues."
I disagree. Software authors need to be aware of a platform's requirements and create products that are compliant.

I can't install the A6 demo version as the installer requires .NET 1.1 SP2 to run. My PC's all have .NET 2. Sony support says I need to uninstall/reinstall .NET, AND all hot fixes, and THEN install Acid.

I have a corporate managed PC that is centrally updated (using SMS). That system spits out Windows patches & hot fixes on a regular basis, so Sony's uninstall/reinstall suggestion amounts to a LOT of work.

So, is the upgrade worth it? Until an Acid 6 rev is released that installs normally on a rather plain vanilla PC (with a very up to date OS), I think not.

I also asked them not to do the same .NET thing to Sound Forge. I'd hate to lose that too :(

Subject:RE: Is Acid Pro 6 worth it?

Reply by: liquid

Date:5/12/2006 10:37:35 AM

I think I owe sony here cause I had problems this week and made my bitching verry public so let me just add this. I have been using acid 6 for 3 days now. I have had some minor problems. I belive some of them were caused by acid, and some by my own stupidity. But in their defense, acid hasn't crashed once yet, sounds excellet, has soom cool new features that I always dreamed of having in acid. I don't know about acid 5, i had 4...but from 4 to 6 the difference is great. The multitracking alone and stability is worth it. i think you'll be happy.