Sonic Foundry, and subsequently Sony, gradually added to the core feature set with ever‑better pitch and tempo‑manipulation algorithms, an excellent groove‑based audio quantising system, and ReWire support. Eventually, as other sequencers started to acquire their own tools for pitch‑shifting and tempo‑matching audio loops, Acid struck back with DAW‑like features such as audio recording, MIDI sequencing, plug‑in support for virtual instruments and effects, expanded mixing capabilities and automation. By the time of version 7, Acid Pro provided an all‑round music production environment, albeit one that still retained a loop‑based focus.ĭespite its age, Acid Pro 7 has continued to work well under different iterations of Windows. Elsewhere, however, things have moved on: loop‑based options are now present in most popular DAWs, and there is direct competition from the likes of Ableton Live, Bitwig Studio and FL Studio. So, while Acid Pro was the undoubted king of the loop castle for the first few years of its life, anyone coming to this way of working more recently will have been faced with plenty of choice.Īs well as its original loop‑based feature set, Acid Pro is also a capable multitrack audio recording package and a MIDI sequencer. So what’s new in version 8? Perhaps the most significant change is that Acid Pro now runs as a 64‑bit application. Yes, that’s very much a change under the hood, but should mean Acid’s longevity is assured for a good while yet, and that it can handle more complex projects on modern computers.

At the same time, though, it will run on a pretty modest system, and 32‑bit support is maintained for those who still need it. More obvious to the existing user is the restyling of the user interface.

Magix acid pro 8 review