Sony Acid Music Studio has all the right tools for everyone from the casual music creator, all the way up to the true professional. The learning curve for the program, while not steep, does require some level of dedication to make the program realize it's full potential. The program does help the user along in some respects with easy to follow “Show Me How” tutorials. In no time, the user will be doing fades and cuts and edits and creating a sound track.

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While Sony Acid Music Studio is for the most part user friendly, having some level of musical skill will yield more inspiring creations. In our research and use of this low cost, yet powerful loop and sample based editing and creation software, we found that not only are the aspiring musicians and music students using the program to create music pieces...but filmographers can and do use it to create music tracks for projects....and professional music artist use Sony Acid Music Studio to create some incredible tunes. Everything from Country, to Rock and some jamming Hip Hop and Rap Beats have been created by professionals in the industry while using Sony Acid products as part of the creative process.

The latest version is Sony Acid Music Studio 7, and as a music tool it does so much. It does mixing, music effects, effects such as panning, echo, reverb, distortions and even delay. For something really cool, play around with re sampling your own vocals and stacking your vocals in the chorus.... the program is one of those must have programs if you have the least bit of interest in music creation. Not only does the program come with a huge amount of samples and loops for the user to be able to start utilizing right away, but the program also allows the user to do some live recording. Plug in a microphone ( we suggest a good one, not one of those cheap ones), or you can plug in an instrument into your sound card and click on record to capture you guitar licks, keyboard or vocals.

It's all pretty simple looking, to begin a project just pick your loops, and it's a matter of point and drag the mouse pointer to paint the music loop or sample onto a track. With multi track capabilities about the only limitation is the users own creativity and imagination.

Heres a run down of what the program does.
Over 3,000 ACIDized music loops
Multicore processor support
Intuitive pick, paint, and play interface
Unlimited tracks for audio and MIDI
Video scoring track
Automatic pitch and tempo matching
Alternate time signature support
Real-time loop preview
Support for multiple file formats in the same project
Mixing and Editing
Multitrack audio and MIDI recording
Multiple events per track with automatic crossfades
Studio-quality effects including EQ, reverb, delay, and more
Chopper editing tool and loop cloning
Beatmapper remix tool
Track-level volume, panning, and effects editing
Master bus track for project-wide volume and pan fades
Real-time audio effects preview during playback
Event reverse
CD audio extraction
Metronome
MIDI
Over 1,000 MIDI files for song creation
90 DLS instruments and 25 DLS-based projects
MIDI editing and sequencing
Inline MIDI editing with drum grid
MIDI step recording
MIDI track envelopes and keyframes
MIDI import and export
MIDI input filters for tracks
Audio Control
16-bit, 48kHz audio support
DirectX audio plug-in support
Tempo-based DirectX effects
VST instrument support
VST audio effect support
ASIO driver support
Export and Sharing
ATRAC editing and encoding
Gracenote MusicID CD album recognition
Integrated disc-at-once (DAO) CD burning
Unlimited MP3 export
Export to Sony Net MD players
Supported Formats:
Opens: AIFF, AVI, BMP, GIF, JPG, MIDI, MP3, OGG, PCA, SFA, SWF, TGA, TIF, W64, WAV, WMA
Saves: AIFF, ATRAC3, AVI, MP3, OGG, QuickTime, RealAudio, RealVideo, W64, WAV, WMA

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Now there are plenty of other music editing and creation software products on the market, more than a share of really expensive ones. Though if you equate price to professionalism, then your an idiot. Even professional music producers can make use of this powerful software. Sony Acid Music Studio does not just do it all for you, you do have to actually work on the creation of the music. So if you are thinking of just fronting and not actually having to invest some time in the creative process, then do not look here. On the other hand if you want to reap the creative rewards of this simple to use, yet powerful software, take Sony Acid Music Studio for a test drive. Get the demo at;

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/acidfamily.asp

Welcome fellow Impulse Gamers, now that we have the low down on Acid Music Studio, what it can do with music loops and mixing, I thought it only appropriate to speak to a real professional artist that makes use of Sony Acid products in some capacity as they create their music. Rapper iCON the Mic King has been round the block and still sounding surprisingly fresh with the mix of Rap and hints of soul. With this man it seems like his dedication to his art, is whole. (Making a living at it, can't be half bad either... but if you really listen, the music is a life time, not a past time for iCON the Mic King.

1: First off, thank you for taking time out to do this over the net interview for Impulse Gamer. To kick it off, I have to ask....the music industry is competitive enough,  Granted a music artist has to be freaking good at what they do. But for Rap especially, For a Rapper you have to have some mad skills, it seems you have to really be feeling it or you are not even yesterdays news. How tough is it?

Well it certainly is a lot easier than you made it sound [laughs]! However the struggle for me isn't in the creation of the rhymes it's more in keeping all the balls I have to juggle in the air. In these times with the industry being a lot less lucrative you end up having to wear multiple hats to stay afloat. Even so I don't mind the challenges and I like to think I make it look easy!

2: How did you get your start? What's your best memory of when you first got your start? What's your worst?

My parents moved me out of Philadelphia for high school and rhyming was one of the ways I stayed connected to my "urban roots." I started out freestyling in '95, then started releasing records and hitting the road in 2002 and haven't really looked back. Best memory? Everything was magic when I was first starting I didn't understand all the mechanics of rapping so it seemed like I was dealing with word magicians so every cipher, every show, and battle was amazing to me. You can still hear those ethics I learned from then in the way I write. I guess my I just loved how fast in my case that the student became the teacher. Worst memory? I don't like focusing on negatives [laughs]!

3: Jumping around a bit here, since we are tying this interview in with Mixing and sequencing on Sony Acid Music Studio, I understand that no matter how good your system is, if the Mic is crap, it just ain't happening. Between some of the basic Microphones such as a Dynamic or Condenser Microphones also have a number of different pick up patterns. (Cardioid , omni directional, and figure eight pattern...) Are there certain types you find yourself using? Do they help in that sound your trying to get?

Honestly I don't get that in-depth with it. I have a Rode NT-1A condenser mic I record everything in Acid then I hand it over to my main producer Chum the Skrilla Guerilla and he works his magic in Acid and SoundForge. He has all the good plug-ins and the know how. Truthfully I would want something warmer like the Blue Baby Bottle mic. I'm pretty sure they are both cardoid but as a starving artist I can't really afford it so I just got what I could and I'm lucky enough to have an engineer who is real good at what he does.

4: What do you like the most about Sony Acid Music Studio?

I love how intuitive and easy to use it is. As with the rest of the Sony products once you know one you know them all. It makes it very easy for me to whip up custom instrumentals and intros for my shows and even make a beat or two if I feel like it. It's especially easy to record myself. I arm a track and hit ctrl + r then jump in the booth. It's kinda funny to watch.

5: I have to admit, I was more than a little surprised at some of the intricate string intros for such songs as Drifting with the tide ft. awar. That is some really masterful stuff going on. How hard is it to keep the bass elements with out screwing up the upper frequencies? (I know mad skills...) How involved is the process?

Vanderslice made that track, I'm not sure the process that went into it, however I know from watching Chum mix tracks it's pretty much a guess and check process. You generally have an idea of what will work from all the experience with the program but even so you have to play around with the various assignable effects until it sounds the way you want it to.

6: Speaking of the arrangements, some artists do it all as they go, some start out with it, while some even dread it and leave it for the very end. Do you have a process you stick to? Or is it different every time?

I generally have an idea of what events I want to happen in the beat as I go however a lot of the times those ideas don't mesh with the producer's ideas and we'll argue it out but we'll arrange the beat roughly and then fine-tune it once all the vocals are laid and manipulated. Sometimes if a beat is arranged in such a definitive way when I get it I'll just write directly to it so there no post-arrangement at all but the former happens a lot more than the latter.

7: Is there a song that you created and are not particularly happy with, and if you could, you would take it back.... And Why?

[Laughs] If I say that then all the readers of this interview will go download it so I should just lie and say a song that I really like. There's plenty of songs I have that I don't like anymore because I outgrew them in one way or another. I loved them all when I made them though so that's gotta count for something. I don't think I'd take anything back however I did kick around the idea of re-recording some songs and re-releasing them as a record called "Revisionist History."

8: Tell us, if you can of your latest project...

I just released the first set of songs in my "Headphone Classics" series. The songs are "Drifting with the Tide,” “Fall from Grace,” and Sparks Fly. All songs feature my dude Awar and are produced by my man Vanderslice. We did videos for “Drifting...” and “Fall From Grace.” Headphone Classics is a series of songs I’m going to be releasing quarterly as a way to give the fans new music and videos regularly without having to reduce myself to making mixtapes.

9: Thank you so much for taking time out for this, now open floor. What would you like to tell your fans and your soon to be new ones?

Thank you for taking the time to shed some light on the best rapper ever. [Laughs] Thank you (the reader) for taking some time to check me out. Feel free to find out more and stay in contact at:
www.iconthemicking.com
facebook.com/iconthemicking
myspace.com/iconthemicking

I’m So Good At This! Peace!

How about that Fellow Impulse Gamers?

You can also check out iCon The Mic King on iTunes, just search for iCon The Mic King. If you do not have iTunes yet, get it at www.apple.com

Have fun, play games, be creative!
Edwin Millheim