SONY Acid Music Studio 8.0 - System Builder - OEM

Pros: The stuff that comes with it is fun to listen to

Cons: Comes with virtually no help on how to use, create, record - the tutorials seem specific to beat loops and using canned recordings of samples and stuff. Cannot figure this thing out for the life of me. Not for a noob I guess. Wish I'd read the other reviews stating such before I bought it.

Other Thoughts: I own and use Sony Vegas HD, which has a similar layout and video tutorials - no problem using that and figuring out how it works.

Pros: I've been a fan of Acid products from the beginning ,you need a fast machine,lots of Ram and plenty of gigs.
The program is as good as you are.I've used every generation of Acid from 2.00 and up
I can take a live recording and if the musician flubbed a line,find the exact spot in the song that may have ben done right ,cut and paste by lining up the track visually and voila.
It's a good program ,but like anything you have to work at it.

Cons: Midi can be frustrating if you don't know what you are doing or there is incompatibility.
When editing make sure there are no external internet programs running ,you make pick up a snap crackle and pop eg Weatherchannel alarms

Other Thoughts: This is a really cheap solution for someone who does a lot of editing and understands the basics of home studio recording.
It's a decent program along with soundforge

Pros: Great multi-track recorder, effects, when used properly can really add to a track and it has a great built in synthesizer that can imitate any instrument you can program in or find a pack for online. It also allows for midi connections and is very easy to use with amps and audio interfaces.

Cons: This is not Audacity, let me get it out there right away, this is not a simple plug-n-play program. People call it basic, but honestly it's entry-level professional and as such, it's easy to mess up.

This software can put out high definition audio at the highest of quality or it can put out garbage, but it's up to you to know what settings to use. The reviewer below me probably used it for a day, didn't have the settings right and possibly had a memory issue. If you don't have the program set up properly, it WILL NOT work properly.

I've personally used ACID from 5.0 onward and have upgraded each time. The basics remain the same, the quality goes up but the settings continue to become more complicated. Back in the early '00s we didn't have such an influx in playback methods, codexes and general inputs, needless to say, now-a-days, we do. You really need to do your homework before using this.

Other Thoughts: In short, this is a cheap, entry level professional multi-track recorder that includes a sythensizer with an amplitude of features, inputs and filters. There are track packs full of midis and general high-definition sounds, all royalty free called Acid Loops which I highly recommend you pick up if you are looking to mix a track.

As for recording, it picks up my UCA-202 perfectly and sounds beautiful when I record my voice. It has everything you would ever want from a basic program but has the options that professional would need in a full studio. Unfortunately it only goes as far as the user and equipment it's hooked up to it can go. Ignorant user, bad settings, poor equipment, poor sound.

I've made it a point in the entire review and I'll say it again, make sure you know what you're doing. Don't complain because it's not doing what you want, it's probably something you're not doing right in the settings.

Pros: Cheap Windows 7 - multi track recorder. Was only 29 bucks on sale here in a combo. Lots of bells and whistles.

Cons: Cant even play back a .wav file without making it sound like a highly compressed MP3. Compared Windows media player playback with a loaded wav file and the difference is night and day.

Other Thoughts: If it would have cost any more, I would have sent it back for a refund. At least it was obvious right away how bad it was, before I invested much time on the learning curve. I usually avoid Sony products because of the low quality of their products. Just needed a reminder I guess.